Vavia

Surname

Vavia AWMM

Also known as

Vavia William AWMM

Service number

WWI 16/1203 AWMM

Gender

Male AWMM

Religion

Catholic, Christian AWMM

Birth

9 Aug 1895 AWMM

Date of birth

9th August 1895

Public - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 18 July 2024 - Military Record

Place of birth

Mauke, Cook Islands

Public - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 18 July 2024 - Military Record

Birth notes

Son of Mr. and Mrs. Williams, of Mauke, Makatea, Cook Islands.

Public - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 18 July 2024 - https://www.nzwargraves.org.nz/casualties/vavia

Next of kin

WW1 Williams (father), Makatea, Mauke, Rarotonga, Cook Islands, Pacific Islands AWMM

Relationship status

Single

Public - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 18 July 2024 - Military Record

War

World War I, 1914-1918 AWMM

Campaign

Battle of the Somme AWMM

Armed force / branch

Army AWMM

Service number

WWI 16/1203 AWMM

Medals and Awards

• British War Medal (1914-1920) AWMM
• Victory Medal AWMM

Enlistment

WW1 Labourer/Civilian AWMM

Embarkation details

WW1 05 Feb 1916 AWMM
HMNZT 42 or HMNZT 43 or HMNZT 44 AWMM Vessel was Ulimaroa or Mokoia or Navua AWMM Private AWMM Rarotongans, attached A Company AWMM Maori Contingent AWMM

Medical notes

Died of wounds, Cause of Death AWMM

Last rank

WW1 Private AWMM
New Zealand Pioneer Battalion AWMM

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission gives Vavia an initial - "W" - and lists him as the son of "Mr. and Mrs. Williams, of Mauke, Makatea, Cook Islands".

Next of Kin: Mr Williams, Makatea, Rarotonga (Roll of Honour, Auckland Province 1914-1918 (Volume 2)) AWMM

Death

1 Oct 1916 BDM NZ1918/60090

Cause of death

Died of wounds AWMM

Cemetery

Flatiron Copse Cemetery, Mametz, Somme, France AWMM I. G. 48. AWMM

Memorial name

• Auckland War Memorial Museum, World War 1 Hall of Memories AWMM
• Cook Islands Roll of Honour Board, RSA Rarotonga AWMM

Related objects

External links

• Military personnel file
  https://collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search/#/entity/aims-archive/R22016453
  Further Reference
• Commonwealth War Graves
  https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/557256/vavia/
  Further Reference
• Cook Islands Online Cenotaph
  https://www.cookislandsonlinecenotaph.com/
  Further Reference
• New Zealand War Graves Trust
  https://www.nzwargraves.org.nz/
  Further Reference
• MEN WHO HAVE FALLEN. New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16369, 25 October 1916, Page 8
  https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19161025.2.65
  Further Reference

References

• New Zealand Army Expeditionary Force. (1917). Nominal Rolls of New Zealand Expeditionary Force Volume II. Wellington, N.Z.: Govt. Printer.
  25: 3
• Soutar, M. (2019). Whitiki! Whiti! Whiti! E!: Maori In the First World War. New Zealand: David Bateman Ltd.
• ‘Finding Our Way Back to Atiu’, Parts 1 -4, Cook Islands Television News/Cook Islands WW1 NZEF ANZAC Soldiers Research Project, 2019
• This record was partially compiled from information kindly provided by Bobby Nicholas, Paula Paniani and Cate Walker, Cook Islands Military History Research Project
• Roll of Honour, Auckland Province (digital copy), 1914 - 1919. Auckland War Memorial Museum Library. MS-2016-2.
• Weddell, H. (2016). Soldiers from the Pacific : the story of Pacific Island soldiers in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in World War One. Wellington, New Zealand : Defence of New Zealand Study Group.
• Pugsley, C. (1995). Te Hokowhitu a Tu : the Maori Pioneer Battalion in the first World War. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed.