4/1387 - Sapper

Edward

RICKARD

Main Body - Section No.2

Timeline


1915

1915

23 September

Enlistment

Auckland 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

26 April

Admitted to hospital with measles

1916

19 May

Marched in to NZ Base Depot, Etaples

1916

14 June

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

26 November

Granted leave

1916

10 December

Rejoined the Company

1917

1917

16 March

Admitted to hospital with eyesight problems

1917

21 March

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

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

27 December

Granted leave to United Kingdom

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

11 January

Admitted to hospital with defective vision

1918

24 January

Classified unfit for active service

1918

19 February

Marched in to NZ Depot, Torquay

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

1 April

Transfer to New Zealand

S.S. Athenic

1918

17 May

Granted sick leave

1918

23 May

Reported to local Defence Office

1918

13 June

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 W5550 73/0097774, Military Personnel File: Edward RICKARD - 4/1387.
  • Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, Online Cenotaph He Toa Taumata Rau: Edward RICKARD.
  • Nominal Roll of New Zealand Expeditionary Force, 1915. New Zealand Engineers Tunnelling Company, Wellington, Government Printer, 1916, p. 3.

How to cite this page

Anthony BYLEDBAL, “Edward RICKARD (4/1387)”, New Zealand Tunnellers, 2024 (2009). Accessed: 22 December 2024. URL: https://www.nztunnellers.com/roll/details.php?id=724