59174 - Sapper

William Laird

WHITBY

7th Reinforcements

Timeline


1917

1917

31 May

Enlistment

Wellington Military District

Under the alias of
John WEBB

1917

11 October

Initial training

Narrow Neck, Auckland

1917

30 October

Awarded 7 days confinement to barracks and forfeited 1 day pay by Royal Warrant for drunkenness and absence without leave

1917

21 November

Transfer to England

HMNZT 96 - Maunganui

1917

15 December

Admitted to hospital at sea with syphilis

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 January

Admitted to hospital in England

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 May

Marched in to NZ Depot, Boscombe

1918

30 May

Awarded 28 days detention and forfeited 2 days pay by Royal Warrant for absence without leave when ordered to embark

1918

17 June

Embarked for France

1918

20 June

Joined the Company

1918

15 July

Admitted to hospital with influenza

1918

24 July

Rejoined the Company

1918

8 August

100 Days Offensive

Allied Attacks

1918

17 August

Admitted to hospital with debility

1918

7 September

Marched in to NZ Base Depot, Etaples

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

12 November

Admitted to hospital with influenza

1918

29 November

Marched in to NZ Base Depot, Etaples

1918

3 December

Embarked for England

Marched in to NZ Sling Camp, Bulford

1919

1919

20 January

Marched in to NZ Depot, Codford

1919

30 January

Admitted to hospital with venereal disease

1919

10 March

Forfeited 4 days pay by Royal Warrant for absence without leave

1919

8 April

Marched in to NZ Sling Camp, Bulford

1919

2 June

Marched in to NZ Depot, Torquay

1919

16 August

Awarded 28 days detention and forfeited 28 days pay for receiving stolen goods knowing them to have been stolen

1919

13 September

Transfer to New Zealand

S.S. Paparoa

1919

5 December

Final discharge

End of Service

Decoration

British War Medal
British War Medal

Victory Medal
Victory Medal

Sources and bibliography

  • Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, Online Cenotaph He Toa Taumata Rau: William Laird WHITBY.
  • Nominal Rolls of New Zealand Expeditionary Force, Wellington, Government Printer, 1914-1919, Volume III, Roll N°75, p. 49.

How to cite this page

Anthony BYLEDBAL, “William Laird WHITBY (59174)”, New Zealand Tunnellers, 2024 (2009). Accessed: 21 December 2024. URL: https://www.nztunnellers.com/roll/details.php?id=900