Charles John Bush-King was a clergyman with the Church of England and enlisted with the New Zealand Field Artillery soon after war broke out. He was one of 13 chaplains who sailed from Wellington in the Main Body and he went on to embark 3 further times during World War I.

In a book entitled "The Man and the Donkey: John Simpson Kirkpatrick (Murphy). A Man Who Did his Job" by T Walsh, Bush-King recalls some of the duties he undertook as a chaplain: "The landing of the Australian and New Zealand troops on the Turkish Beach, afterwards named Anzac Cove, happened on Sunday, April 25, 1915. My first dugout was about half-way up the steep spur of what is named Walker's Ridge. From there I moved, as calls came in, and my plans for visiting the positions occupied by the New Zealand Division, and the arranging of services and the burial of the dead. I moved southwards to our posts known as Pope's, Quinn's, Courtenay's, Plugge's Plateau, Russell Top, Monash Gully and Shrapnel Gully. On the beach, close to our landing, a dressing station was established known as the Australian No. 2. Wounded men were brought in from Monash and Shrapnel Gullies. We had other dressing stations at Supply Gully, Ariburne and No. 3 Outpost on the northern side of our position.

"While moving about I met, on May 3, and Australian with a donkey, on which he brought down wounded from Monash and Shrapnel Gullies. [. . .] I used to help him lift off the wounded into the No. 2 Dugout Station."

The books itself also demonstrates that Bush-King went beyond the ordinary duties of a chaplain. In fact, the book was published because of the work Bush-King did in compiling the information about the subject, as is mentioned in the Foreword: "This booklet has been printed as a result of revived interest in Murphy [Simpson] and his donkey, stimulated by the submission of a manuscript compiled by Padre CJ Bush-King, who happened across his Gallipoli diary and gathered together the scattered references to one of the most remarkable figures in that campaign".

After returning from the war, Bush-King took up residence in Campbell's Bay, on Auckland's North Shore.

Auckland Museum Scars on the Heart World War 1 "The First Anzac Day" display. Display item is a portable communion set used by Chaplain Bush-King on the Gallipoli Peninsula. AWMM