Alfred Charles Bluck
Born 20 Dec 1878 - Died 18 May 1915
- Service number
- WWI 13/281 AWMM
- Also known as
- —
- Armed force / branch
- Army AWMM
- Last rank
- WW1 Captain/Military AWMM Auckland Mounted Rifles, 4th (Waikato) Squadron AWMM
- War
- World War I, 1914-1918 AWMM
About
- Title
- —
- Forenames
- Alfred Charles AWMM
- Surname
- Bluck AWMM
- Ingoa
- —
- Also known as
- —
- Service number
- WWI 13/281 AWMM
- Gender
- Male AWMM
- Iwi / Hapū / Waka / Rohe
- —
- Religion
- —
Images
Documents
About birth
- Birth
- 20 Dec 1878 AWMM MS 2002/83
- Date of birth
- —
- Place of birth
- —
- Birth notes
- —
- Address before enlistment
- WW1 Unknown AWMM Te Awamutu, New Zealand AWMM
- Post war occupation
- —
- Next of kin
- WW1 Mrs C. Bluck (wife), Te Awamutu, New Zealand AWMM
- Relationship status
- Pre 16 Oct 1914 AWMM Married AWMM
Wars and conflicts
- War
- World War I, 1914-1918 AWMM
- Campaign
- 1915-1916 AWMM Gallipoli AWMM
- 1915-1916 AWMM Gallipoli AWMM
- Armed force / branch
- Army AWMM
- Service number
- WWI 13/281 AWMM
- Military service
- —
- Promotions/ Postings/ Transfers
- —
Military decorations
- Medals and Awards
- 1914-1915 Star AWMM
- British War Medal (1914-1920) AWMM
- Victory Medal AWMM
Training and Enlistment
- Military training
- —
- Branch Trade Proficiency
- —
- Enlistment
- WW1 Unknown AWMM Farmer/Civilian AWMM
- Age on enlistment
- —
- Occupation before enlistment
- —
Embarkations
- Embarkation details
- WW1 16 Oct 1914-03 Dec 1914 AWMM
HMNZT 8 or HMNZT 12 AWMM Vessel was Star of India or Waimana AWMM Captain/Military AWMM Auckland Mounted Rifles AWMM Main Body AWMM
Prisoner of war
- Capture details
- —
- Days interned
- —
- Liberation date
- —
- POW liberation details
- —
- Liberation Repatriation
- —
- POW serial number
- —
Medical history
- Medical notes
- Killed in Action, Cause of Death AWMM
Last known rank
- Last rank
- WW1 Captain/Military AWMM
Auckland Mounted Rifles, 4th (Waikato) Squadron AWMM - Last rank
- —
Biographical information
- Alfred Charles Bluck was born at Pukekohe, Auckland, on 20 February 1878, the son of Alfred and Matilda Bluck. A farmer from Te Awamutu, he married Ethel May Taylor at Pirongia in 1901, and the couple had two sons, George and Timothy. Before the outbreak of World War I he served with the 4th (Waikato) Mounted Rifles, gaining promotion to captain in 1912.
Bluck enlisted in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force on 1 September 1914 as captain of the 4th Squadron, Auckland Mounted Rifles. He embarked with the Main Body, serving in Egypt before taking part in the Gallipoli campaign. During the fighting at Gallipoli he was killed in action in May 1915 while leading his men. His personnel file records his death as occurring about 22 May 1915, although the Commonwealth War Graves Commission records the date as 18 May 1915. He was awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.
Auckland War Memorial Museum holds a collection of papers relating to Bluck's war service (MS-2002-83), several of which have been digitised through Pou Kanohi: New Zealand at War. These include a moving letter written to his wife, Ethel, from Alexandria on 11 May 1915, only days before his death. Writing while preparing to sail, he reassured her that he was well, reflected on the responsibility of commanding his squadron, and encouraged her to "be brave". He recalled first meeting her at the Te Akau Ball in Raglan and expressed his hope that they would one day be together again, promising that they would "look after each other for the rest of the time".
Next of Kin: Mrs E. Bluck, Te Awamutu (Roll of Honour, Auckland Province 1914-1918 (Volume 1)) AWMM - DOB is actually 20th December 1876 from the BDM recordPublic - Linda - Researcher - 2 November 2024 - NZBDM
https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/Search/Search?Path=querySubmit.m%3fReportName%3dBirthSearch%26recordsPP%3d30#SearchResults
- Alfred Charles Bluck was born at Pukekohe, Auckland, on 20 February 1878, the son of Alfred and Matilda Bluck. A farmer from Te Awamutu, he married Ethel May Taylor at Pirongia in 1901, and the couple had two sons, George and Timothy. Before the outbreak of World War I he served with the 4th (Waikato) Mounted Rifles, gaining promotion to captain in 1912.
About death
- Death
- 18 May 1915 AWMM
Age 38 AWMM - Date of death
- —
- Age at death
- —
- Place of death
- —
- Cause of death
- Killed in Action AWMM
- Death notes
- —
- Cemetery
- Walker's Ridge Cemetery, Anzac, Turkey AWMM I.C.4. AWMM
- Cemetery name
- —
- Grave reference
- —
- Obituary
- —
- Memorial name
- —
- Memorial reference
- —
Memorial
- Memorial name
- 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/R7879553
Further Reference - A Street Near You record
https://astreetnearyou.org/person/604706/-
Further Reference - Commonwealth War Graves Commission Casualty record
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/604706
Further Reference
- Military personnel file
- References
- New Zealand Army Expeditionary Force. (1914-1919). Nominal Rolls of New Zealand Expeditionary Force, Volume I. Wellington, N.Z.: Govt. Printer.
Page No: 62 - AWMM Papers relating to war service of Alfred Charles Bluck and Howard James Hugill, 1907 - 1942. Auckland War Memorial Museum Library. MS 2002/83.
- Auckland Star
Marriages. Auckland Star, Volume XXXII, Issue 25, 30 January 1901, Page 8 - The New Zealand Herald
Killed in action.Volume LII, Issue 15931, 31 May 1915, Page 1 - Unknown Soldier. War diary of an unknown soldier, 1915. Auckland War Memorial Museum-Tāmaki Paenga Hira. MS-2014-8.
Soldier mentioned in this account - Roll of Honour, Auckland Province (digital copy), 1914 - 1919. Auckland War Memorial Museum Library. MS-2016-2.
- Waite, F. (1919). The New Zealanders at Gallipoli. Auckland, N.Z.: Printed and published under Authority of the New Zealand Government by Whitcombe & Tombs.
- Nicol, C.G. (1921). The story of two campaigns: Official war history of the Auckland Mounted Rifles Regiment 1914-1919. Auckland, N.Z.: Wilson & Horton.
- New Zealand Army Expeditionary Force. (1914-1919). Nominal Rolls of New Zealand Expeditionary Force, Volume I. Wellington, N.Z.: Govt. Printer.
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