4/1576 - Sapper

William

ORMISTON

1st Reinforcements

Timeline


1915

1915

27 August

Enlistment

Wellington Military District

1915

11 October

Initial training

Avondale, Auckland

1915

18 December

Transfer to England

S.S. Ruapehu

1916

1916

3 February

Marched in to the Company Training Camp, Falmouth

1916

9 March

Embarked for France

1916

16 March

From the Front

The Company joined the underground warfare in the North of France

Chantecler, Sector of Arras

1916

28 May

Admitted to hospital with sore throat

1916

7 June

Rejoined the Company

1916

25 September

Admitted to hospital

1916

4 October

Rejoined the Company

Admitted to hospital with pyrexia

1916

18 October

Rejoined the Company

1916

16 November

From the Front

The Company began the operations to connect old underground quarries in Arras in order to accommodate thousands of soldiers for an upcoming battle

1916

27 December

Detached to Mine School

1917

1917

5 January

Rejoined the Company

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

2 May

Detached to Mine School

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

9 May

Rejoined the Company

1917

28 May

Promoted Lance Corporal

1917

2 October

Granted leave

1917

14 October

Rejoined the Company

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

26 January

Admitted to hospital with pyrexia of unknown origin

1918

22 February

Rejoined the Company

1918

25 February

Promoted 2nd Corporal

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

8 August

100 Days Offensive

Allied Attacks

1918

25 September

Granted leave to United Kingdom

1918

27 September

From the Front

The Company experienced its newly reconversion in bridge construction

In front of the Havrincourt Bridge

1918

13 October

Rejoined the Company

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

13 November

Admitted to hospital with pyrexia of unknown origin

1918

24 November

Diagnosed with influenza

1918

20 December

Embarked for England

Admitted to hospital

1919

1919

4 January

Marched in to NZ Depot, Hornchurch

1919

14 March

Transfer to New Zealand

R.M.S. Ionic

1919

22 May

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 W5549 103/0088773, Military Personnel File: William ORMISTON - 4/1576.
  • Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, Online Cenotaph He Toa Taumata Rau: William ORMISTON.
  • Nominal Roll of New Zealand Expeditionary Force, 1915. New Zealand Engineers Tunnelling Company, Wellington, Government Printer, 1916, p. 7.

How to cite this page

Anthony BYLEDBAL, “William ORMISTON (4/1576)”, New Zealand Tunnellers, 2024 (2009). Accessed: 10 May 2024. URL: https://www.nztunnellers.com/roll/details.php?id=652