James Gordon May
Born 9 Oct 1885 - Died 21 Oct 1917
- Service number
- WWI 42152 AWMM
- Also known as
- —
- Armed force / branch
- Army AWMM
- Last rank
- WW1 Private AWMM Auckland Infantry Regiment AWMM
- War
- World War I, 1914-1918 AWMM
About
- Title
- —
- Forenames
- James Gordon AWMM
- Surname
- May AWMM
- Ingoa
- —
- Also known as
- —
- Service number
- WWI 42152 AWMM
- Gender
- Male AWMM
- Iwi / Hapū / Waka / Rohe
- —
- Religion
- —
Images
Documents
About birth
- Birth
- 9 Oct 1885 Public Source
- Date of birth
- 9 October 1885Public - Audrey - Other Relative - 8 April 2015 - Birth registration and family papers
- Place of birth
- Sandwell, Port Adelaide, AustraliaPublic - Audrey - Other Relative - 8 April 2015 - Birth registration and family papers
- Birth notes
- He was the first son and eldest child of Henry and Catherine May, who had emigrated from KingsbridgePublic - Audrey - Other Relative - 8 April 2015 - Birth registration and family papers
- Address before enlistment
- —
- Post war occupation
- —
- Next of kin
- Miss Eva McLaren (adopted sister), 57 Waitoa Road, Hataitai, Wellington, New Zealand AWMM
- Note: Eva was his sister, who had been adopted as a child, by the McLaren family after the death of her birth parents.Public - Audrey - Other Relative - 8 April 2015 - Family papers
- Relationship status
- —
Wars and conflicts
- War
- World War I, 1914-1918 AWMM
- Campaign
- 1917 AWMM Passchendaele AWMM
- Armed force / branch
- Army AWMM
- Service number
- WWI 42152 AWMM
- Military service
- —
- Promotions/ Postings/ Transfers
- —
Military decorations
- Medals and Awards
- —
Training and Enlistment
- Military training
- —
- Branch Trade Proficiency
- —
- Enlistment
- WW1 Unknown AWMM Railways Employee/Civilian AWMM
- December 1916.Public - Audrey - Other Relative - 8 April 2015 - Military Personnel files.
- Age on enlistment
- 31Public - Audrey - Other Relative - 8 April 2015 - Birth registration.
- Occupation before enlistment
- —
Embarkations
- Embarkation details
- WW1 05 Apr 1917-10 Jun 1917 AWMM
HMNZT 81 AWMM Vessel was Devon AWMM Private AWMM 24th Reinforcements, E Company AWMM New Zealand Expeditionary Force AWMM
Prisoner of war
- Capture details
- —
- Days interned
- —
- Liberation date
- —
- POW liberation details
- —
- Liberation Repatriation
- —
- POW serial number
- —
Medical history
- Medical notes
- Died of Disease, Cause of Death AWMM
Died of disease AWMM
Last known rank
- Last rank
- WW1 Private AWMM
Auckland Infantry Regiment AWMM - Last rank
- —
Biographical information
- James May was the son of Henry and Margaret May, of New Zealand.
Next of Kin: Mr H. T. May, Korito, New Plymouth (Roll of Honour, Auckland Province 1914-1918 (Volume 2)) AWMM - Jim had left school at 13 and was working on a farm at this time, but later he obtained a job with the NZ Railways and was working at Ohaupo when the war began in 1914.
He enlisted on 5 December 1916 and had been living in New Zealand for 19 years at this time. He named his youngest sister, Miss Eva McLaren of Hataitai, Wellington (who had been adopted by a family named McLaren) as his next-of-kin on enlistment. He embarked on the 5 April 1917 as a private in the 24th reinforcements, E Company of the 2nd NZ Expeditionary Force from Wellington, on the ship ‘Devon’ HMNZT81, bound for Devonport in England. His next-of-kin on embarkation was his brother, Wm. T. May, Korito, New Plymouth.
On his arrival he joined his regiment at Sling for basic training before being sent to Etaples in France on 9 July 1917. Once there he joined the 2nd Battalion of the Auckland Infantry Regiment, and served in the 2nd Company at Rouen.
However his war was to be very short, as he became ill, and was sent from a field base to a hospital at Etaples on 14 October 1917. He died there of ‘infective jaundice” just one week later, on 21 October 1917, and was buried in the Etaples Military Cemetery at Pas-de-Calais in France. He was 32 years old. His grave has his age incorrectly as 35.
Although he did not live in Te Kuiti , his name is on the Te Kuiti War Memorial, probably because of the connection that NZ Railways had with the town at the time and the fact that he had worked in Ohaupo and Te Kuiti before the war.
He was posthumously awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.
His name is on the Roll of Honour at:
1.Railways Honour Board, Wellington Station.
2.Te Kuiti War Memorial.
3.Mangorei Was Memorial Hall, New Plymouth.Public - Audrey - 23 May 2023 - Family papers. WW1 Personnel records. Oral History.
Someone has put incorrect information in paragraph 1 about Jim's mother, who was not Margaret. She was Catherine nee Moore. - James (Jim) May was the eldest child and first son of Henry and Catherine May who had emigrated from Salcombe, Devon, England, first to Adelaide, and later to New Plymouth, New Zealand. Henry was a shipwright, and later a carpenter.
When Jim was 12 his mother died, and his father remarried, but when he was 14 his father died, and the family of seven children was split up.Public - Audrey - Other Relative - 8 April 2015 - Family papers
- James May was the son of Henry and Margaret May, of New Zealand.
About death
- Death
- 21 Oct 1917 AWMM
Age 35 AWMM - Date of death
- —
- Age at death
- —
- Place of death
- —
- Cause of death
- Died of Disease AWMM
- JaundicePublic - Audrey - Other Relative - 8 April 2015 - Military records
- Death notes
- Buried Etaples Military Cemetery, France. Plot 30 Row E.Public - Audrey - Other Relative - 8 April 2015 - Military records
- Cemetery
- Etaples Military Cemetery, Pas-de-Calais, France AWMM XXX. E. 22. AWMM
- Cemetery name
- —
- Grave reference
- —
- Obituary
- —
- Memorial name
- —
- Memorial reference
- —
Memorial
- Memorial name
- Railways Roll of Honour board. Wellington Railway Station, Pipitea, Wellington 6011. AWMM
- Auckland War Memorial Museum, World War 1 Hall of Memories AWMM
Related objects
Sources
- External links
- Military personnel file
https://collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search/#/entity/aims-archive/R21374144
Further Reference - A Street Near You record
https://astreetnearyou.org/person/498145/-
Further Reference - Commonwealth War Graves Commission Casualty record
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/498145
Further Reference - Passchendaele Museum Profile
https://archives.passchendaele.be/en/soldier/3431
Further Reference - New Zealand War Graves Trust
https://www.nzwargraves.org.nz/
Further Reference
- Military personnel file
- References
- Macdonald, L. (1978). Passchendaele : the story of the third Battle of Ypres 1917. London : Penguin Books.
- Harper, G. (2000). Massacre at Passchendaele : the New Zealand story. Auckland, N.Z.: HarperCollins.
- New Zealand Army Expeditionary Force. (1918). Nominal Rolls of New Zealand Expeditionary Force Volume III. Wellington, N.Z.: Govt. Printer.
59: 15 - Roll of Honour, Auckland Province (digital copy), 1914 - 1919. Auckland War Memorial Museum Library. MS-2016-2.
- Burton, O. (1922). The Auckland regiment : being an account of the doings on active service of the First, Second and Third Battalions of the Auckland Regiment. Wellington, N.Z.: Whitcombe & Tombs.
- HMNZT 81 - Bulldogs' bark and Devon lyre : being the unofficial organ of the Right Wing, 24th Reinforcement. N.Z.E.F. Morgan, R.C. (Robert Carhampton), editor. Kiely, R.D. (Robert Dale), editor. -- Capetown : Printed by the Cape Times : 1917
The development of the Online Cenotaph is an ongoing process; updates, new images and records are added weekly. In some cases, records have yet to be confirmed by Museum staff, and there could be mistakes or omissions in the information provided.
Online Cenotaph Data by Auckland War Memorial Museum is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.