Arthur Joseph Best

I whānau mai i te 30 Aug 1885 - I mate atu i te 21 Oct 1920

Nama Hōia: WWI 10/2073 AWMM
Ingoa kārangaranga: —
Te Ope o Tū / te peka: Army AWMM
Te tūnga whakamutunga: WW1 Private AWMM Wellington Infantry Battalion AWMM
Pakanga: World War I, 1914-1918 AWMM

Mātātuhi

Lay a poppy

Arthur Joseph Best — Nominal Roll Vol 1, Page: 52 - No known copyright restrictions No Known Copyright Restrictions

Whakaatu mai ngā āpure e wātea ana Hunaia ngā mātāwai kōrero

Ngā pakanga me ngā whawhai

Pakanga: World War I, 1914-1918 AWMM
Kauhanga riri: 1915-1916 AWMM Gallipoli AWMM
Te Ope o Tū / te peka: Army AWMM
Nama Hōia: WWI 10/2073 AWMM
Urunga ki te ope taua: —
Whakapikinga / Tukunga / Whakawhitinga: —

Ngā tohu taumata rau ope taua

Mētara me ngā Tohu: 1914-1915 Star AWMM
British War Medal (1914-1920) AWMM
Victory Medal AWMM

Te Whakangungu me te Urunga atu

Whakangungu ope taua: —
Branch Trade Proficiency: —
Te urunga: WW1 15 Feb 1915 Military Personnel file
Age 30 AWMM
Farmer/Civilian Military Personnel file
Pakeke i te whakaurunga: —
Mahi i mua i te ekenga waka: —

Te maha o ngā ekenga waka

Taipitopito ekenga waka: WW1 13 Jun 1915-24 Jul 1915 AWMM
HMNZT 24 AWMM Vessel was Maunganui AWMM Private AWMM Wellington Infantry Battalion AWMM 5th Reinforcements AWMM

Whakapapa hauora

Tuhinga hauora: 4 Aug 1915 AWMM Hospital Diseases , Wounds, WWI AWMM
Wounded in action, severe gunshot wounds, head and forearm at Gallipoli AWMM
23 Aug 1915 AWMM Hospital Diseases , Wounds, WWI AWMM
Evacuated to UK for medical treatment, disembarked South Hampton AWMM
13 Jan 1917 AWMM Hospital Diseases , Wounds, WWI AWMM
Embarked for NZ, HS Marama AWMM
Suicide, Cause of Death AWMM
His suicide was attributable to his war service AWMM
Died after Discharge from Wounds Inflicted or Disease Contracted while on Active Service, Cause of Death AWMM

Te tūnga whakamutunga e mōhiotia ana

Te tūnga whakamutunga: WW1 4 Apr 1917 AWMM
No longer physically fit for war service on account of wounds received in action AWMM
Private AWMM
Wellington Infantry Battalion AWMM
Te tūnga whakamutunga: —

Kōrero taurongo

Son of Elizabeth and Joseph Best.

Summary of Service: Arthur Joseph Best attested into the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) on 15 February 1915. On 8 August 1915 while serving with the Wellington Infantry Battalion at Gallipoli, Best suffered severe gunshot wounds to the head and a forearm. He was evacuated to the United Kingdom where he was in hospital until November 1916, after which he was transferred to a convalescence depot. Best returned to New Zealand in March 1917 and was discharged from the NZEF on 4 April 1917 as being no longer physically fit for war service on account of wounds received in action.

Circumstances of Death: On 19 October 1920 Arthur Best committed suicide by shooting himself at his home in Kairanga, near Palmerston North. His brother Harold who lived with him, testified that Arthur's "vacancy and despondency caused me to worry so much over him. He wanted to be by himself all the time. This lasted for about six months after his return [from overseas] . . . There was no recurrence of this trouble until about a fortnight or three weeks ago." His brother thought that Arthur’s depression had been brought on by worry over a farm he was planning to buy and also noted that there was a history of suicide in his family. Their mother had committed suicide when Arthur was a few months old and a sister had killed herself early in 1920. The coroner found that Arthur Best "had no financial or other worries but had been badly wounded in the head at Gallipoli and had suffered severe mental depression from this cause, and this fact was no doubt not unconnected with his sudden rash act, which does not seem to have been premeditated".

Conclusion: Arthur Best's death was noted by the military authorities on his NZEF personal file. The memorial plaque and scroll issued by the New Zealand government to the next of kin of NZEF personnel who died as result of their war service was not issued to Best's next of kin. There is now a well-established link between serious head injuries and depression and suicide. The evidence given by Harold Best and the finding by the coroner who investigated Arthur Best's death strongly indicate that his suicide was attributable to his war service and he should, therefore, be added to the appropriate rolls of honour. Prepared by John Crawford, NZDF Historian AWMM

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Arthur Joseph Best