30378 - Sapper

Philip Henry

GOSSE

3rd Reinforcements

Timeline


1916

1916

22 August

Enlistment

Wellington Military District

1916

4 October

Initial training

Narrow Neck, Auckland

1916

29 October

Appointed temporary Sergeant

1916

15 November

Transfer to England

HMNZT 69 - Tahiti

1917

1917

29 January

Marched in to NZ Depot, Boscombe

1917

31 January

Reverted to temporary Corporal

1917

2 March

Embarked for France

1917

4 March

Marched in to NZ Base Depot, Etaples

1917

17 March

Admitted to hospital with gas poisoining occured while on training

1917

22 March

Marched in to NZ Base Depot, Etaples

1917

9 April

Battle of Arras

British Offensive


From the Front

The Company was employed to rebuild a major road leading to the Front during the battle

Arras-Cambrai Road

1917

13 April

Joined the Company

Reverted to Sapper

1917

1 May

Admitted to hospital with a gunshot wound to the head

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

26 July

Marched in to NZ Base Depot, Etaples

1917

21 September

Admitted to hospital with influenza

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

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

30 June

Marched in to NZ Base Depot, Etaples

1918

16 July

Appointed temporary Corporal

1918

8 August

100 Days Offensive

Allied Attacks

1918

27 September

From the Front

The Company experienced its newly reconversion in bridge construction

In front of the Havrincourt Bridge

1918

17 October

Admitted to hospital with influenza

Reverted to Sapper

1918

29 October

Detached to No.5 Rest Camp, Etaples

1918

31 October

Marched in to NZ Base Depot, Etaples

1918

5 November

Embarked for England

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

15 November

Classified unfit for active service

1918

2 December

Transfer to New Zealand

S.S. Maunganui

1919

1919

29 April

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 W5539 38/0046210, Military Personnel File: Philip Henry GOSSE - 30378.
  • Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, Online Cenotaph He Toa Taumata Rau: Philip Henry GOSSE.
  • Nominal Rolls of New Zealand Expeditionary Force, Wellington, Government Printer, 1914-1919, Volume II, Roll N°45, p. 35.

How to cite this page

Anthony BYLEDBAL, “Philip Henry GOSSE (30378)”, New Zealand Tunnellers, 2024 (2009). Accessed: 26 April 2024. URL: https://www.nztunnellers.com/roll/details.php?id=322