David George Aghan
Born 20 Jun 1892 - Died 1 Dec 1976
- Service number
- WWI 13299 AWMM
- 185864 AWMM
- Also known as
- —
- Armed force / branch
- Army AWMM
- Last rank
- Inter War
- War
- World War I, 1914-1918 AWMM
About
- Title
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- Forenames
- David George AWMM
- Surname
- Aghan AWMM
- Ingoa
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- Also known as
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- Service number
- WWI 13299 AWMM
- 185864 AWMM
- Gender
- Male AWMM
- Iwi / Hapū / Waka / Rohe
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- Religion
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Images
Documents
About birth
- Birth
- 20 Jun 1892 AWMM
Wahgunyah, Indigo Shire, Victoria, Australia AWMM - Date of birth
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- Place of birth
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- Birth notes
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- Address before enlistment
- Unknown AWMM 274 Ponsonby Road, Ponsonby, Auckland, New Zealand AWMM
- Post war occupation
- Mining Engineer/Civilian AWMM
- Next of kin
- William Young Aghan (father), 23 Mountfield Street, Brunswick East, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia AWMM
Wars and conflicts
- War
- World War I, 1914-1918 AWMM
- Campaign
- 1914-1916 AWMM Egypt AWMM
- Armed force / branch
- Army AWMM
- Service number
- WWI 13299 AWMM
- 185864 AWMM
- Military service
- Promotions/ Postings/ Transfers
- —
Military decorations
- Medals and Awards
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Training and Enlistment
- Military training
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- Branch Trade Proficiency
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- Enlistment
- WW1 Unknown AWMM
Age 23 AWMM
French Polisher/Civilian AWMM - Age on enlistment
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- Occupation before enlistment
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Embarkations
- Embarkation details
- WW1 27 May 1916-26 Jul 1916 AWMM
HMNZT 54 AWMM Vessel was Willochra AWMM Trooper AWMM New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade AWMM New Zealand Expeditionary Force AWMM
Prisoner of war
- Capture details
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- Days interned
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- Liberation date
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- POW liberation details
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- Liberation Repatriation
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- POW serial number
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Medical history
- Medical notes
- Height, Unknown Period AWMM
5 feet 7 inches AWMM - Complexion, Unknown Period AWMM
Dark AWMM - Eye colour, Unknown Period AWMM
Brown AWMM - Hair colour, Unknown Period AWMM
Black AWMM - Weight, Unknown Period AWMM
9 stone AWMM - Hospital Diseases , Wounds, WWI AWMM
Admitted at Kantara 24 August 1917 AWMM - Hospital Diseases , Wounds, WWI AWMM
Transported on hospital train to Cairo AWMM - Hospital Diseases , Wounds, WWI AWMM
Admitted to convalescent home in Heliopolis, Egypt due to effect of heat AWMM - Hospital Diseases , Wounds, WWI AWMM
Admitted to convalescent home in Port Said 13 September 1917 where his condition improved. AWMM - Hospital Diseases , Wounds, WWI AWMM
29 September 1917 Discharged , fit for duty AWMM
- Height, Unknown Period AWMM
Last known rank
- Last rank
- Inter War 5 Sept 1919 AWMM
Discharge on termination of engagement AWMM - Last rank
- —
Biographical information
- Alfred John Aghan (13300) and his younger brother David George Aghan (13299) were Australian-born siblings of Chinese descent who served with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force during World War I.
Alfred was born in Victoria in 1890 and David in 1892 or 1893, the sons of William Ah Gan, a migrant from Guangzhou in southern China, and Eliza Southgate, who was English. In 1904 the family anglicised their surname from Ah Gan to Aghan. David’s date of birth is recorded in World War II Australian Military files as 20 June 1893. He later voluntarily enlisted in the Australian Military Forces Militia (service number 185864).
In 1916 the brothers left Melbourne for New Zealand and enlisted in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Although eligible to serve as British subjects, they found it easier to enlist in New Zealand. Both joined the Auckland Mounted Rifles. They arrived in England before proceeding to Egypt, and served in Egypt and Palestine, contributing to mounted operations across Sinai and the Middle East. Their service reflects the often overlooked participation of men of Chinese descent within the forces of the British Empire during World War I.
Alfred’s notebooks and photograph albums document daily life and campaigning conditions in the desert. After the war, the brothers returned home to New Zealand aboard the Ulimaroa, and later settled again in Melbourne. Alfred married Violet Catherine Reardon in 1921 and David married Joy Alvin Pugh. They entered business together and remained active within returned soldiers’ networks.
In 2016, the Aghan family gifted Alfred and David’s wartime collection, including albums, identity discs, badges, pay books, notebooks and personal effects, to Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira. These taonga are now held in the Museum’s Human History and Documentary Heritage collections, ensuring that the story of the Aghan brothers remains visible within New Zealand’s wartime record.
Alfred died in 1961 and David in 1976. In later generations, their Chinese heritage was consciously reclaimed by their descendants (Profile written for “A Flight to Remember”, an Anzac Day 2026 initiative by Online Cenotaph and Air New Zealand). AWMM
About death
- Death
- 1 Dec 1976 AWMM
Age 83 AWMM - Date of death
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- Age at death
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- Place of death
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- Cause of death
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- Death notes
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- Cemetery
- Warrnambool Cemetery, Warrnambool, City of Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia AWMM IND PATH 4 006 AWMM
- Cemetery name
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- Grave reference
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- Obituary
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- Memorial name
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- Memorial reference
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Memorial
- Memorial name
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Related Serviceperson
Sources
- External links
- Military personnel file
https://collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search/#/entity/aims-archive/R20543391
Further Reference - Other military personnel file
https://collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search/#/entity/aims-archive/R22269483
Further Reference - White, Georgina. Aghan Brothers. Auckland War Memorial Museum - Tāmaki Paenga Hira. First published: 18 May 2021.
https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/features/alfred-aghan
Further Reference - Wellington Times (NSW : 1899 - 1954) Thu 8 Jul 1926, Page 8, Wedding
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/137391483
Further Reference
- Military personnel file
- References
- 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. (1917). Nominal Rolls of New Zealand Expeditionary Force Volume II. Wellington, N.Z.: Govt. Printer.
33: 2 - Kennedy, A. (2015). Chinese Anzacs : Australians of Chinese descent in the defence forces 1885-1919 (revised to include New Zealand-born Chinese of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force 1914-1919) (2nd ed). Wellington: New Zealand Chinese Association.
- Beattie, P.J. & Pomeroy, M. (2013-2020). Onward : portraits of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (vols 1-5). Auckland, New Zealand: Fair Dinkum Publications
Vol. 4: Includes portrait - This record was part of “A Flight to Remember”, an Anzac Day 2026 commemorative partnership between Online Cenotaph and Air New Zealand, where service stories were shared onboard a dawn flight from Auckland to Sydney.
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.