James Dalton Dinneen

Forenames

James Dalton AWMM

Surname

Dinneen AWMM

Service number

WWI 66239 AWMM

Gender

Male AWMM

Birth

16 Jul 1883 AWMM

Next of kin

WW1 Mrs M.V. Dinneen (mother), Mountain Road, Remuera, Auckland, New Zealand AWMM

War

World War I, 1914-1918 AWMM

Campaign

• 1914-1919 AWMM Western Front AWMM
• Battle of the Somme AWMM

Armed force / branch

• Army AWMM
• Air Force AWMM

Service number

WWI 66239 AWMM

Military service

Royal Flying Corps (RFC) AWMM

Medals and Awards

Mentioned in Despatches (MiD) AWMM
Citation for Mentioned in Despatches (MID): "For gallantry and devotion to duty. He led his company brilliantly in the attack on Grid Trench on September 27th 1916. He was first hit by a machine gun bullet, but kept on till hit by a shell. Unfortunately he has since succumbed to his wound. D.O.W. France 1 October 1916." (London Gazette, 4 January 1917, p. 261, Rec. No. 491) AWMM

Embarkation details

WW1 Lieutenant/Military AWMM Royal Flying Corps AWMM

Medical notes

Died of wounds, Cause of Death AWMM

Last rank

Captain/Military AWMM
Auckland Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion AWMM

Son of Michael Dalton and Mary Victoria Dinneen, of Auckland.

Gained Lieutenant's commission on 7 February 1916.

Promoted to Captain on 1 March 1916.

Attended Auckland Grammar School.

Attended Auckland University College (now the University of Auckland).

Next of Kin: Mrs M. Dinneen, Remuera, Auckland (Roll of Honour, Auckland Province 1914-1918 (Volume 1)) AWMM

Death

1 Oct 1916 AWMM
Age  32 AWMM

Cause of death

Died of wounds AWMM

Cemetery

Heilly Station Cemetery, Mericourt-l'Abbe, Somme, France AWMM III.A.24. AWMM

Obituary

Died of Wounds. Dinneen Capt. J. (Chronicles of the N.Z.E.F., 30 October 1916, p. 118)

Obituary: Auckland Grammar School Chronicle. 1916.

Copies of the Auckland Weekly News recently to hand, contain the following appreciation of a deeply lamented officer who fell at the Somme in September last:- Captain J. D. Dinneen, reported as having died of wounds, was formerly a member of the teaching staff of the Auckland Grammar School. He left New Zealand in February, 1915, to volunteer for service in the military wing of the Royal Flying Corps. In this arm of the service he received a lieutenancy, and qualified as a pilot, but had to relinquish his commission owing to a defect in eyesight. Qualifying then in infantry work he became a captain in the Auckland Battalion of the Expeditionary Force, and in that capacity has lately been fighting in France. Captain Dinneen was a B.A. of the New Zealand University. The circumstances in which Captain J. D. Dinneen met his death on the battlefield are related in a letter received this week by his mother, Mrs. M. D. Dinneen, of Manukau Road, Remuera, from Lieut.-Colonel Plugge, commander of the First (Auckland) Infantry Battalion of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, who writes:- 'Captain Dinneen was wounded on September 27th. He was gallantly leading his company to the attack on Gird Trench, and, although he was twice wounded in the arm by machine-gun fire, he went on, but a shell burst close to him, fracturing his thigh, and a fragment striking him in the chest. We were not able to get him in until September 28. Three men were hit in attempting it, but one of his men got out to the shell-hole with food and drink, and covered him up. I saw him when they got him in, and immediately arranged for a change of stretcher-bearers. He was quite cheerful, and only wanted something to drink. My doctor told me afterwards that he had hopes that his fine constitution would pull him through, and it turned out that he had been hit by a phosphorus shell.' In expressing his sympathy with the family in their bereavement, Colonel Plugge adds:- 'He was a splendid company officer, beloved by his men, and absolutely devoid of all fear. I miss him not only as an officer but as an old personal friend, and, though I was responsible for his joining the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, I do not regret it, and I don’t think that he would.' (Chronicles of the N.Z.E.F., 28 March 1917, p. 65)

We regret that Captain J. D. Dineen [sic], Royal Flying Corps, of Auckland, has died of wounds. (Chronicles of the N.Z.E.F., 29 November 1916, p. 148) AWMM

Memorial name

• St. Aidans Church, 5 Ascot Avenue, Remuera, Auckland 1050 AWMM
• Auckland War Memorial Museum, World War 1 Hall of Memories AWMM
• Family memorial grave at Purewa Cemetery. Block D Row 26 Plot 58
  Public - Sue - Researcher - 30 March 2019 - Friends of Purewa photograph

Related objects

External links

• Military personnel file
  https://collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search/#/entity/aims-archive/R20997409
  Further Reference
• Auckland University College Roll of Honour.
  http://www.specialcollections.auckland.ac.nz/ww1-centenary/roll-of-honour/search?page=405
  Further Reference
• World War I Roll of Honour for the Ōrākei Local Board area. Auckland Council. Retrieved October 2017.
  https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/about-auckland-council/how-auckland-council-works/local-boards/all-local-boards/orakei-local-board/Documents/world-war-roll-honour.pdf
  Further Reference
• A Street Near You record
  https://astreetnearyou.org/person/270784/-
  Further Reference
• Commonwealth War Graves Commission Casualty record
  https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/270784
  Further Reference
• New Zealand War Graves Trust
  https://www.nzwargraves.org.nz/
  Further Reference

References

• Included in the World War I Digital Roll of Honour for the Ōrākei Local Board area. The Ōrākei Local Board commissioned a World War I roll of honour for its area to commemorate the war’s centenary. The board welcomes additional information from the public on this project.
• Studholme, J. (1928). New Zealand Expeditionary Force record of personal services during the war of officers, nurses, and first-class warrant officers, and other facts relating to the N.Z.E.F. : unofficial but based on official records. Wellington, N.Z.: Government Printer.
  p. 100.
• McDonald, W. (2001). Honours and awards to the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in the Great War, 1914-1918. Napier, N.Z.: Helen McDonald.
  p. 85.
• Volunteers: the Journal of the New Zealand Military Historical Society
  The Volunteers: The Journal of the New Zealand Military Historical Society (Inc.), no. 3, vol. 9, December 1982, pp. 73 - 74.
• Auckland Grammar School Chronicle. Auckland, N.Z.: Auckland Grammar School.
  Auckland Grammar School chronicle. 1915, Second Term. pp.29-30.
• Auckland Grammar School Chronicle. Auckland, N.Z.: Auckland Grammar School.
  Auckland Grammar School chronicle. 1915, Third term. pp. 22 & 29.
• Auckland Grammar School Chronicle. Auckland, N.Z.: Auckland Grammar School.
  Auckland Grammar School chronicle. 1916, Second term. pp. 37-38.
• Auckland Grammar School Chronicle. Auckland, N.Z.: Auckland Grammar School.
  Auckland Grammar School chronicle. 1916, Third term, pp.8-9.
• Auckland Grammar School Chronicle. Auckland, N.Z.: Auckland Grammar School.
  Auckland Grammar School chronicle. 1917, Second term, pp.11-12.
• Chronicles of the N.Z.E.F.: Records of Matters Concerning the Troops and Gazette of Patriotic Effort [London, England] : New Zealand War Contingent Association, [1916-1919]
  Obituary: 30 October 1916, p. 118
• Chronicles of the N.Z.E.F.: Records of Matters Concerning the Troops and Gazette of Patriotic Effort [London, England] : New Zealand War Contingent Association, [1916-1919]
  Obituary: 29 November 1916, p. 148
• Chronicles of the N.Z.E.F.: Records of Matters Concerning the Troops and Gazette of Patriotic Effort [London, England] : New Zealand War Contingent Association, [1916-1919]
  Obituary: 28 March 1917, p. 65.
• A.U.C. roll of honour, 1914 - 1920. MSS & Archives E-2, Special Collections, University of Auckland Libraries and Learning Services.
• Connolly, A., & Stanes, P. Rememberance: Auckland Grammar School Great War Roll of Honour. Vols 1 & 2. Auckland: Petand Prodctions.
• Roll of Honour, Auckland Province (digital copy), 1914 - 1919. Auckland War Memorial Museum Library. MS-2016-2.
• Harper, G., Clements, C., & Johns., R. (2019). For King and Other Countries: The New Zealanders Who Fought in Other Services in the First World War. Auckland, New Zealand: Massey University Press.
• Burton, O. (1922). The Auckland regiment : being an account of the doings on active service of the First, Second and Third Battalions of the Auckland Regiment. Wellington, N.Z.: Whitcombe & Tombs.