James Waddell
Born 11 Oct 1873 - Died 18 Feb 1954
- Service number
- —
- Also known as
- —
- Armed force / branch
- Army AWMM
- Last rank
- Inter War Lieutenant Colonel/Military AWMM
- War
About
- Title
- —
- Forenames
- James AWMM
- Surname
- Waddell AWMM
- Ingoa
- —
- Also known as
- —
- Service number
- —
- Gender
- Male AWMM
- Iwi / Hapū / Waka / Rohe
- —
- Religion
- —
Images
Documents
Wars and conflicts
- War
- Campaign
- Tunisia AWMM
- 1915-1916 AWMM Gallipoli AWMM
- Somme AWMM
- Verdun AWMM
- Armed force / branch
- Army AWMM
- Service number
- —
- Military service
- 2nd Battalion (Duke of Wellington's) West Riding Regiment AWMM
- Régiment de Marche d'Afrique AWMM
- Regiment de Marche de la Legion etrangere AWMM
- Promotions/ Postings/ Transfers
- —
Military decorations
- Medals and Awards
- Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur (France) AWMM
- Croix de Guerre 1914-1918 (France) AWMM
Croix de Guerre (France) with 7 palmes AWMM - Colonial Medal (France)
Morocco commemorative medal (France)
China expedition commemorative medal (France)Public - Olivier - 24 March 2016 - French Leonore Database
Training and Enlistment
- Military training
- —
- Branch Trade Proficiency
- —
- Enlistment
- Pre WW1 1895 AWMM University Student/Civilian AWMM
- South Africa 25 Apr 1900 AWMM
- Age on enlistment
- —
- Occupation before enlistment
- —
Embarkations
- Embarkation details
- Pre WW1/Regular Military Service British Expeditionary Force AWMM
- WW1
2nd Embarkation AWMM
Prisoner of war
- Capture details
- —
- Days interned
- —
- Liberation date
- —
- POW liberation details
- —
- Liberation Repatriation
- —
- POW serial number
- —
Medical history
- Medical notes
- —
Last known rank
- Last rank
- Inter War 1926 AWMM
Retired AWMM
Lieutenant Colonel/Military AWMM - Last rank
- —
Biographical information
- Son of Ruth and Thomas Waddell (Source: BDM Historical Records Online)
Educated at Otago Boys High School (Source:Public source)
Husband of Blanche Prud'homme (m 1898) and later of Marguerite Fournier (m 1914); father of Jack and 2 other children (Source:Public source)
Entered the 2nd Battalion Duke of Wellington West Riding Regiment as 2nd Lieutenant and served in South Africa and India. Commission gazetted 25 February 1896 (Source:Public source)
Joined the French Foreign Legion in 1900 as a 2nd Lieutenant (Source:Public source)
Also served with the French Army (Source:Public source)
Headstone incorrectly counts his awards.
"A soldier from Dunedin, Commandant James Waddell, of the French Foreign Legion, was recently in London for a few days’ leave. Commandant Waddell has had a very distinguished career in the French Army, and holds the Chinese medal, obtained for work in Pekin, the Sahara medal, the Sahara clasp, and the Moroccan medal. In 1914 he was awarded the Legion of Honour for military services. He served with the French Expeditionary Forces to the Dardanelles, was mentioned in army despatches, was promoted, and received the Croix de Guerre with the palm leaf. He was wounded at Helles, and again mentioned in despatches, and received a second palm leaf. In October Commandant Waddell was fighting in the Champagne, and in July last he went to the Somme, where, with his brother members of the Legion, he took the village of Belloy-en-Santerre. He was again mentioned in despatches, and received a third palm leaf. Commandant Waddell is an ex-Cromwell boy, and is a brother of Mrs Jolly, whose husband was killed in France some time ago." (Source: PERSONAL ITEMS. Press, Volume LIII, Issue 15884, 25 April 1917, Page 7) AWMM
About death
- Death
- 18 Feb 1954 AWMM
Age 81 AWMM - Date of death
- —
- Age at death
- —
- Place of death
- —
- Cause of death
- —
- Death notes
- —
- Cemetery
- Old Levin Cemetery (Tiro Tiro Road), Corner Mako Mako and Tiro Tiro Road, Levin, New Zealand AWMM RSA Row 4 Plot 23 AWMM
- Cemetery name
- Old Levin Cemetery, Tiro Tiro Road, Levin, Horowhenua, NZPublic - Susan - Researcher - 25 June 2025 - Find a Grave website
- Grave reference
- Block: RSA, Row: 4, Plot: 23Public - Susan - Researcher - 25 June 2025 - Horowhenua Council website - cemetery search
- Obituary
- —
- Memorial name
- —
- Memorial reference
- —
Memorial
- Memorial name
- —
Sources
- External links
- London Gazette.
http://www.gazettes-online.co.uk/home.aspx?geotype=London
Sources Used - Wikipedia. James Waddell (French Foreign Legion).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Waddell_(French_Foreign_Legion)
Further Reference - Leask,A., NZ Herald Article
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11432103
Further Reference - Lives of the First World War
https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/7681423
Further Reference - PERSONAL ITEMS. Press, Volume LIII, Issue 15884, 25 April 1917, Page 7
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19170425.2.44
Further Reference
- London Gazette.
- References
- Manawatu Standard
Auckland Grammar School chronicle. 1918, Third term. pp.46-49. - London Gazette
London Gazette. February 25 1896. p. 1125 - Harper, G., Clements, C., & Johns., R. (2019). For King and Other Countries: The New Zealanders Who Fought in Other Services in the First World War. Auckland, New Zealand: Massey University Press.
p. 10, 183-4, 187, 189
- Manawatu Standard
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.