Geoffrey Crawcour Wilson
Born 26 Nov 1893 - Died 12 Oct 1917
- Service number
- WWI 24/327 AWMM
- Also known as
- Geoffrey Cracow AWMM
- Geoffrey Cracow AWMM
- Armed force / branch
- Army AWMM
- Last rank
- WW1 Rifleman AWMM New Zealand Rifle Brigade, 2nd Battalion, A Company AWMM
- War
- World War I, 1914-1918 AWMM
About
- Title
- —
- Forenames
- Geoffrey Crawcour AWMM
- Surname
- Wilson AWMM
- Ingoa
- —
- Also known as
- Geoffrey Cracow AWMM
- Geoffrey Cracow AWMM
- Service number
- WWI 24/327 AWMM
- Gender
- Male AWMM
- Iwi / Hapū / Waka / Rohe
- —
- Religion
- —
Images
Documents
About birth
- Birth
- 26 Nov 1893 AWMM
- Date of birth
- —
- Place of birth
- —
- Birth notes
- —
- Address before enlistment
- WW1 Pre 28 May 1915 AWMM Rotokohu, New Zealand AWMM
- Post war occupation
- —
- Next of kin
- WW1 W.A. Wilson (father), 92 Aldborough Road, Seven Kings, Ilford, Essex, England AWMM
- His father was William Alfred Wilson; his mother Elizabeth. At the time of their completing the Final Verification Papers, they had moved to "St. Breock," Woodford Bridge, Essex, England.Public - Geoffrey - Researcher - 24 April 2018 - CWGC Record
- Relationship status
- Pre 09 Oct 1915 AWMM Single/WWI AWMM
Wars and conflicts
- War
- World War I, 1914-1918 AWMM
- Campaign
- 1914-1919 AWMM Western Front AWMM
- 1914-1916 AWMM Egypt AWMM
- 1917 AWMM Passchendaele AWMM
- Armed force / branch
- Army AWMM
- Service number
- WWI 24/327 AWMM
- Military service
- D Company, 13th Regiment AWMM
- New Zealand Rifle Brigade, 2nd Battalion, D Company AWMM
- Promotions/ Postings/ Transfers
- —
Military decorations
- Medals and Awards
- 1914-1915 Star AWMM
- British War Medal (1914-1920) AWMM
- Victory Medal AWMM
Training and Enlistment
- Military training
- —
- Branch Trade Proficiency
- —
- Enlistment
- WW1 28 May 1915 AWMM
Age 21 AWMM
Farmer/Civilian AWMM - Age on enlistment
- —
- Occupation before enlistment
- —
Embarkations
- Embarkation details
- WW1 09 Oct 1915-17 Nov 1915 AWMM
HMNZT 30 AWMM Vessel was Maunganui AWMM Rifleman AWMM A Company AWMM New Zealand Rifle Brigade, 2nd Battalion AWMM
Prisoner of war
- Capture details
- —
- Days interned
- —
- Liberation date
- —
- POW liberation details
- —
- Liberation Repatriation
- —
- POW serial number
- —
Medical history
- Medical notes
- Height, Unknown Period AWMM
5 feet 4 1/4 inches AWMM - Weight, Unknown Period AWMM
132 pounds AWMM - Chest expansion, Unknown Period AWMM
33 inches (min), 36 inches (max) AWMM - Complexion, Unknown Period AWMM
Dark AWMM - Eye colour, Unknown Period AWMM
Dark brown AWMM - Hair colour, Unknown Period AWMM
Black AWMM - Hospital Diseases , Wounds, WWI AWMM
Admitted to 15 General Hospital on 11 January 1916 (reason not stated). Discharged to Duty (Class A) on 19 January 1916. Rejoined unit on 11 February 1916. AWMM - Hospital Diseases , Wounds, WWI AWMM
Hospitalised in France sometime in June 1916 (reason not stated). Rejoined unit on 26 June 1916. AWMM - Hospital Diseases , Wounds, WWI AWMM
Wounded (gunshot wound to head and left shoulder) in France on 30 September 1916. Shipped to England on 8 October 1916. Admitted to hospital on 9 October (see service record for further details), and then to Walton-on-Thames. Transferred to Base Depot at Codford on 21 November 1916. AWMM - Killed in Action, Cause of Death AWMM
- Height, Unknown Period AWMM
Last known rank
- Last rank
- WW1 Rifleman AWMM
New Zealand Rifle Brigade, 2nd Battalion, A Company AWMM - Last rank
- —
Biographical information
- Geoffrey Wilson was the son of William Alfred and Elizabeth Emily Wilson (née Crawcour), of St. Breock, Vicarage Road, Woodford Bridge, Essex, England.
Period of Service:
New Zealand: 134days.
Overseas: 2 years 4 days.
Total Service: 2 years 138 days.
Recorded as Geoffrey Cracow in the Nominal Rolls
"A hardworking military man: Rifleman Geoffrey Crawcour Wilson
An English-born farmer from Rotokohu, 21 year old Rifleman Wilson volunteered for service in 1915. He served in the New Zealand Army for a period of 2 years and 138 days.
Serving with the 2nd Battalion, 3rd New Zealand (Rifle) Brigade during the Egyptian Campaign of 1915-1916, he was wounded twice in 1916 and subsequently hospitalised in France.
In late 1916, Rifleman Wilson’s battalion moved to the Western Front, for the last phase of the Battle of the Somme, and the Battle of Messines before eventually moving to Passchendaele.
The 3rd Battle of Ypres had begun in July 1917, and by the time the New Zealand battalions were engaged at Passchendaele in early October initial successes had faded with heavy rain and artillery fire turning the battlefield into a quagmire.
On the morning of the 12th October, the 2nd Battalion advanced across open ground towards Bellevue Spur on the Passchendaele Ridge, which unknown to them had been fortified with German concrete pillboxes armed with machine guns. Many soldiers, including Wilson, were killed as they pressed on against heavy opposition.
Following Wilson’s death, his family in England were presented with his 1914-1915 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal, in addition to the 'death penny' given to each bereaved family.
This single tag was returned to his family, along with his 16th Waikato collar badge engraved with the motto: “Ka Whawhai, Tonu, Ake Ake”. Excerpt from Coombe, Sophie. 'Faces of Passchendaele', Auckland War Memorial Museum - Tāmaki Paenga Hira, Published: 12/10/2018. AWMM
About death
- Death
- 12 Oct 1917 AWMM
Age 23 AWMM - Date of death
- —
- Age at death
- —
- Place of death
- —
- Cause of death
- Killed in Action AWMM
- Death notes
- —
- Cemetery
- Poelcapelle British Cemetery, Langemark-Poelkapelle, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium AWMM XXXI.B.1. AWMM
- Cemetery name
- —
- Grave reference
- —
- Obituary
- —
- Memorial name
- —
- Memorial reference
- —
Memorial
- Memorial name
- Ilford War Memorial Hall, Ilford, Essex AWMM
Related objects
Sources
- External links
- Military personnel file
https://collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search/#/entity/aims-archive/R22021745
Further Reference - Ilford War Memorial Hall
http://www.redbridgefirstworldwar.org.uk/memorials/ilford-war-memorial-hall
Further Reference - Coombe, Sophie. 'Faces of Passchendaele', Auckland War Memorial Museum - Tāmaki Paenga Hira, Published: 12/10/2018.
https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/discover/stories/faces-of-passchendaele
Further Reference - A Street Near You record
https://astreetnearyou.org/person/492310/-
Further Reference - Commonwealth War Graves Commission Casualty record
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/492310
Further Reference - Passchendaele Museum Profile
https://archives.passchendaele.be/en/soldier/4539
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. (1914-1919). Nominal Rolls of New Zealand Expeditionary Force, Volume I. Wellington, N.Z.: Govt. Printer.
Page No: 789 - Hinkly, Shirley. Papers relating to World War I soldier Geoffrey Crawcour Wilson, 1907 - 1938. Auckland War Memorial Museum Library. MS-2005/34.
- 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. 2: Includes portrait - Austin, W. (1924). The official history of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade (The Earl of Liverpool's Own). Wellington, N.Z.: L T Watkins.
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.