37564 - Sapper

John James

FREEMAN

4th Reinforcements

Timeline


1916

1916

4 November

Enlistment

Wellington Military District

1917

1917

4 January

Initial training

Narrow Neck, Auckland

1917

16 February

Transfer to England

HMNZT 76 - Aparima

1917

2 May

Marched in to NZ Depot, Christchurch

1917

5 May

From the Front

The Company moved to Monchy, ten kilometres east of Arras, to work on the fortification of the new front line

The Billets in Monchy

1917

3 July

Embarked for France

1917

5 July

Marched in to NZ Base Depot, Etaples

1917

13 July

Joined the Company

1917

1 December

Appointed Cook

1917

14 December

Relinquished appointment of Cook

1918

From the Front

The Company was still carrying out the digging of underground premises and defences on the Front near Arras

The Workshop in Arras

1918

8 March

Appointed Cook

1918

21 March

Spring Offensive

German Attacks


From the Front

The Company was engaged in the defence of Arras by digging new trenches and dug-outs under constant enemy shellfire

1918

25 April

Relinquished appointment of Cook

1918

8 August

100 Days Offensive

Allied Attacks

1918

27 August

Granted leave to United Kingdom

1918

13 September

Rejoined the Company

1918

27 September

From the Front

The Company experienced its newly reconversion in bridge construction

In front of the Havrincourt Bridge

1918

11 November

Armistice

Cessation of Hostilities


From the Front

The Company continued to build bridges to reconnect a fragmented territory

Over the Sambre River, Maubeuge

1918

29 December

Discharged

1918

30 December

Embarque pour l'Angleterre

1919

1919

25 January

Transfer to New Zealand

S.S. Port Melbourne

1919

3 September

Final discharge

End of Service

Decoration

British War Medal
British War Medal

Victory Medal
Victory Medal

Sources and bibliography

  • Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, AABK 18805 W5537 120/0042408, Military Personnel File: John James FREEMAN - 37564.
  • Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, Online Cenotaph He Toa Taumata Rau: John James FREEMAN.
  • Nominal Rolls of New Zealand Expeditionary Force, Wellington, Government Printer, 1914-1919, Volume III, Roll N°55, p. 39.

Photography

  • Philip Jeffery BEATTIE and Matt POMEROY, Onward: Portraits of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, Auckland, Fair Dinkum Publications, 2013-2020.

How to cite this page

Anthony BYLEDBAL, “John James FREEMAN (37564)”, New Zealand Tunnellers, 2024 (2009). Accessed: 28 March 2024. URL: https://www.nztunnellers.com/roll/details.php?id=292