6/714 - Sapper

John James

ROONEY

3rd Reinforcements

Timeline


1916

1916

11 October

Posted to Tunnelling Corps

From NZ Field Artillery

Initial training

Narrow Neck, Auckland

1916

15 November

Transfer to England

HMNZT 69 - Tahiti

1917

1917

29 January

Marched in to NZ Depot, Boscombe

1917

2 March

Embarked for France

1917

4 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

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

28 October

Detached to Mine School

1917

11 November

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

5 January

Granted leave to Paris

1918

12 January

Rejoined the Company

1918

20 January

Admitted to hospital with venereal disease

1918

3 March

Marched in to NZ Base Depot, Etaples

1918

6 March

Admitted to hospital with scabies

1918

12 March

Marched in to NZ Base Depot, Etaples

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

21 April

Rejoined the Company

1918

15 July

Admitted to hospital with influenza

1918

8 August

100 Days Offensive

Allied Attacks

1918

21 August

Rejoined the Company

1918

18 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

5 October

Admitted to hospital with venereal disease

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

20 November

Marched in to NZ Depot, Christchurch

1919

1919

15 February

Marched in to NZ Depot, Codford

1919

14 March

Transfer to New Zealand

R.M.S. Ionic

1919

24 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 W5550 92/0099670, Military Personnel File: John James ROONEY - 6/714.
  • Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, Online Cenotaph He Toa Taumata Rau: John James ROONEY.
  • Nominal Rolls of New Zealand Expeditionary Force, Wellington, Government Printer, 1914-1919, Volume II, Roll N°45, p. 37.

How to cite this page

Anthony BYLEDBAL, “John James ROONEY (6/714)”, New Zealand Tunnellers, 2024 (2009). Accessed: 22 December 2024. URL: https://www.nztunnellers.com/roll/details.php?id=737