William Oliver Ennis

Born 1871 - Died Feb 1926

Service number: WWI 16/582 AWMM
Also known as: —
Armed force / branch: Army AWMM
1st NZ Maori Contingent; Otago Inf Regt; 28th Aust Inf; NZ Maori Pioneers Btn
Public - Lorraine M - Researcher - 9 March 2016 - Military Record
Last rank: Inter War Lieutenant Colonel/Military AWMM New Zealand (Maori) Pioneer Battalion AWMM
War: World War I, 1914-1918 AWMM

Enquire

Lay a poppy

William Oliver Ennis — The Pioneer Māori Battalion returns to Auckland on the Westmoreland. Lieutenant-Colonel W. O. Ennis, D.S.O., of Invercargill, who had command of the returning Maori Pioneer Battalion, and the Maori chaplain, Rev. H. Wainohu, photographed aboard the Westmoreland. New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, 10 April 1919, p.34. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections SDR-19190410-34-01 No Known Copyright Restrictions

Show empty fields Hide sources

Wars and conflicts

War: World War I, 1914-1918 AWMM
Campaign: Egyptian - Gallipoli, Egyptian EF & Western European
Public - Lorraine M - Researcher - 9 March 2016 - Military Record
Armed force / branch: Army AWMM
1st NZ Maori Contingent; Otago Inf Regt; 28th Aust Inf; NZ Maori Pioneers Btn
Public - Lorraine M - Researcher - 9 March 2016 - Military Record
Service number: WWI 16/582 AWMM
Military service: Volunteer service with Southland Hussars, 1890s. AWMM
Adjutant of South Island Railway Battalion, 1913. AWMM
South Island Railway Battalion AWMM
NZ Pioneer (Maori) Battalion, D Company AWMM
1914-1919; & 1921-1926 with the NZ Territorials
Public - Lorraine M - Researcher - 9 March 2016 - Military Record
Promotions/ Postings/ Transfers: —

Military decorations

Medals and Awards: Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) AWMM
DSO: London Gazette, 1 January 1918. Citation: "For distinguished service in the field [in France and Flanders]." AWMM
1914-1915 Star AWMM
British War Medal (1914-1920) AWMM
Victory Medal with oak leaf AWMM
Jubilee Medal 1897 AWMM
Mentioned in Despatches (MiD) AWMM
London Gazette 28 December 1917, p13575 AWMM

Training and Enlistment

Military training: 6yrs Southland Mounted Rifles; 2yrs Railway Battalion
Public - Lorraine M - Researcher - 9 March 2016 - Military Record
Branch Trade Proficiency: —
Enlistment: WW1 22 Nov 1914 AWMM Railwayman/Civilian AWMM
14 Dec 1914 at Avondale
Public - Lorraine M - Researcher - 9 March 2016 - Military Record
Age on enlistment: 39yrs 6mths
Public - Lorraine M - Researcher - 9 March 2016 - Military Record
Occupation before enlistment: —

Embarkations

Embarkation details: WW1 14 Feb 1915-26 Mar 1915 AWMM
HMNZT 20 AWMM Vessel was Warrimoo AWMM Captain/Military AWMM Headquarters Staff AWMM 1st Maori Contingent AWMM

Medical history

Medical notes: Accidental Death, Cause of Death AWMM
Accidental death AWMM
1915 wounded at Gallipoli; Mar 1918 Bronchitis
Public - Lorraine M - Researcher - 9 March 2016 - Military Record

Last known rank

Last rank: Inter War 19 May 1919 AWMM
end of war AWMM
Lieutenant Colonel/Military AWMM
New Zealand (Maori) Pioneer Battalion AWMM
Last rank: —

About death

Death: Feb 1926 AWMM
Age 55 AWMM
Date of death: 12 Feb 1926
Public - Lorraine M - Researcher - 9 March 2016 - Christchurch City Council's Cemetery Records
Age at death: —
Place of death: Huia Private Hospital, Auckland
Public - Lorraine M - Researcher - 9 March 2016 - Christchurch City Council's Cemetery Records
Cause of death: Accidental Death AWMM
Death notes: William Oliver (Olliver) Ennis died in the Huia Private Hospital, Auckland, after being injured in a vehicle accident.
Public - Lorraine M - Researcher - 9 March 2016 - Christchurch City Council's Cemetery Records & Newspaper Reports
Cemetery: —
Cemetery name: Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch, NZ
Public - Lorraine M - Researcher - 9 March 2016 - Christchurch City Council's Cemetery Records
Grave reference: Block 39; Plot 51
Public - Lorraine M - Researcher - 9 March 2016 - Christchurch City Council's Cemetery Records
Obituary: MR. W. 0. ENNIS. The death of Mr. William Oliver Ennis, which occurred late on Saturday afternoon, as a result of a motor accident, removes a most popular officer of the Railway Department. Mr. Ennis was 55 years of age and joined the Railway Department at Invergargill 40 years ago to-day. He was station master in several parts of the South Island, and later was traffic manager at Christchurch. About I8 months ago ha was appointed staff superintendent for New Zealand, with headquarters at Wellington. Mr Ennis has served on various commissions in connection with departmental affairs. He was also at one time treasurer and vice president of the New Zealand Railway Officers Institute.
During the war he served at Gallipoli and in France, leaving New Zealand as Captain Adjutant of the Pioneer Battalion. He was wounded at Gallipoli, and gassed in France. He was awarded the D.S.0., with a bar, and reached the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. In I897 Mr. Ennis was a member of the New Zealand Jubilee contingent sent to England to take part in the jubilee of Queen Victoria. In his younger days Mr. Ennis played Rugby football for Southland, and was stroke of the railway rowing four at Invercargill, where he was born. Mr. Ennis was on a visit to Auckland inquiring into a staff reorganisation scheme, and was accompanied by his wife. There are two sons. Mr Eric Ennis, surveyor of Christchurch. and Mr Douglas Ennis of the electrical department of that city
Public - Lorraine M - Researcher - 9 March 2016 - Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 38, 15 February 1926, Page 10
Memorial name: —
Memorial reference: —

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.

William Oliver Ennis

William Oliver Ennis

Identity

About

Images and documents

Images

Documents

Civilian life

About birth

Service

Wars and conflicts

Military decorations

Training and Enlistment

Embarkations

Prisoner of war

Medical history

Last known rank

Biographical information

Biographical information

Death

About death

Memorials

Memorial

Sources

Sources