Charles Roland Gumbley
Died 12 Oct 1917
- Service number
- WWI 25857 AWMM
- Also known as
- Charlie AWMM
- Armed force / branch
- Army AWMM
- Last rank
- WW1 Private AWMM Auckland Infantry Regiment, 3rd Battalion AWMM
- War
- World War I, 1914-1918 AWMM
About
- Title
- —
- Forenames
- Charles Roland AWMM
- Surname
- Gumbley AWMM
- Ingoa
- —
- Also known as
- Charlie AWMM
- Service number
- WWI 25857 AWMM
- Gender
- Male AWMM
- Iwi / Hapū / Waka / Rohe
- —
- Religion
- —
Images
Documents
About birth
- Birth
- —
- Date of birth
- —
- Place of birth
- Fernhill, HastingsPublic - David - Other Relative - 7 January 2015 - family history
- Birth notes
- Son of Charles Henry & Laura Gumbley, of Fernhill, Hastings, NapierPublic - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 18 May 2023 - Military Record
- Address before enlistment
- Storekeeper of Fernhill, Hawkes BayPublic - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 18 May 2023 - Military Record
- Post war occupation
- —
- Next of kin
- Mrs Laura Gumbley (mother), Post-office, Fernhill, New Zealand AWMM
- Relationship status
- SinglePublic - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 18 May 2023 - Military Record
Wars and conflicts
- War
- World War I, 1914-1918 AWMM
- Campaign
- 1917 AWMM Passchendaele AWMM
- Armed force / branch
- Army AWMM
- Service number
- WWI 25857 AWMM
- Military service
- —
- Promotions/ Postings/ Transfers
- —
Military decorations
- Medals and Awards
- —
Training and Enlistment
- Military training
- —
- Branch Trade Proficiency
- —
- Enlistment
- WW1 Unknown AWMM Storekeeper/Civilian AWMM
- Age on enlistment
- —
- Occupation before enlistment
- —
Embarkations
- Embarkation details
- WW1 25 Sep 1916-21 Nov 1916 AWMM
HMNZT 64 AWMM Vessel was Devon AWMM Rifleman AWMM 11th Reinforcements, 1st Battalion, E Company AWMM New Zealand Rifle Brigade AWMM
Prisoner of war
- Capture details
- —
- Days interned
- —
- Liberation date
- —
- POW liberation details
- —
- Liberation Repatriation
- —
- POW serial number
- —
Medical history
- Medical notes
- Killed in Action, Cause of Death AWMM
Last known rank
- Last rank
- WW1 Private AWMM
Auckland Infantry Regiment, 3rd Battalion AWMM - Last rank
- —
Biographical information
- Charles Gumbley was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Henry Gumbley, of Fernhill, Hastings, New Zealand.
Next of Kin: Mr C. H. Grumbley, Fernhill, Hastings (Roll of Honour, Auckland Province 1914-1918 (Volume 1))
Private Charles Roland “Charlie” Gumbley (25857) was born on 2 August 1895, the son of Charles Henry and Laura Ellen Gumbley of Fernhill, Hastings. After leaving school he spent several years in Gisborne undertaking clerical work before returning home to assist family at the C. H. Gumbley store in Fernhill, where he was employed as a storekeeper. He was described locally as a popular young man, highly esteemed by a wide circle of friends.
Gumbley enlisted in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in 1916 and embarked from Wellington on 25 September 1916 with the 17th Reinforcements. While training in England, including a period at Sling Camp, he wrote regularly to his parents. On 4 March 1917 he sent a postcard home, reassuring them that he was “A1 and as fit as a fiddle” and expecting to move to the Somme front within the month. He signed off, “from your loving son, Charlie.”
In May 1917 he proceeded to France and joined the 3rd Battalion, Auckland Regiment. He was killed in action in Belgium on 12 October 1917 during the Passchendaele campaign, aged 22.
Private Gumbley is buried at Cement House Cemetery, Langemark-Poelkapelle, and is commemorated on the Auckland War Memorial Museum World War I Hall of Memories. His story endures through the care of his family, who have contributed letters and personal material to his Online Cenotaph record (Profile written for “A Flight to Remember”, an Anzac Day 2026 initiative by Online Cenotaph and Air New Zealand). AWMM
About death
- Death
- 12 Oct 1917 AWMM
- Date of death
- —
- Age at death
- —
- Place of death
- —
- Cause of death
- Killed in Action AWMM
- Death notes
- —
- Cemetery
- Cement House Cemetery, Langemark-Poelkapelle, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium AWMM XVI. B. 5. AWMM
- Cemetery name
- —
- Grave reference
- —
- Obituary
- Another well-known ex-Gisbornite has made the supreme sacrifice. The sad advice was received to-day by Mrs. C. G. Bayliss that her brother, Private C. R. Gumbley had been killed in action on October 12th. He left Napier with the 17th Reinforcements having . enlisted when he was only 19 years of age and he was aged about 20 when killed. He was a very popular young man, who was highly esteemed by a large circle of friends. He was formerly in the employ of Messrs DeLautour, Barker, and Stock, and latterly of Mr. T. Corson.Public - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 18 May 2023 - ROLL OF HONOR
POVERTY BAY HERALD, VOLUME XLIV, ISSUE 14443, 1 NOVEMBER 1917, PAGE 3 - Memorial name
- —
- Memorial reference
- —
Memorial
- Memorial name
- Auckland War Memorial Museum, World War 1 Hall of Memories AWMM
Related objects
Sources
- External links
- Military personnel file
https://collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search/#/entity/aims-archive/R16789568
Further Reference - A Street Near You record
https://astreetnearyou.org/person/847601/-
Further Reference - Commonwealth War Graves Commission Casualty record
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/847601
Further Reference - Passchendaele Museum Profile
https://archives.passchendaele.be/en/soldier/514
Further Reference - New Zealand War Graves Trust
https://www.nzwargraves.org.nz/
Further Reference
- Military personnel file
- References
- Macdonald, L. (1978). Passchendaele : the story of the third Battle of Ypres 1917. London : Penguin Books.
- Harper, G. (2000). Massacre at Passchendaele : the New Zealand story. Auckland, N.Z.: HarperCollins.
- New Zealand Army Expeditionary Force. (1917). Nominal Rolls of New Zealand Expeditionary Force Volume II. Wellington, N.Z.: Govt. Printer.
41: 28 - 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. 1: Includes portrait - 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. 5: Includes portrait - Roll of Honour, Auckland Province (digital copy), 1914 - 1919. Auckland War Memorial Museum Library. MS-2016-2.
- 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.
- Austin, W. (1924). The official history of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade (The Earl of Liverpool's Own). Wellington, N.Z.: L T Watkins.
- 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.