alliekiwi Posted 29 May , 2008 Share Posted 29 May , 2008 I'm searching for a man I think is another great uncle, however it's a bit tricky to tell without seeing the NOK since Harris is a very common surname. I can see on the NZ Archives that there is a file for this chap: HARRIS, Ralph Walter - WW1 36111 - Army The funny thing is that I can't find him on either the nominal roll or the cenotaph. I've tried seraching by service number, and still get nothing. Any ideas why that might be? Allie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alliekiwi Posted 31 May , 2008 Author Share Posted 31 May , 2008 Does anyone have a copy of the book version of the nominal roll? I understand that the CDrom version may be incomplete. Perhaps Ralph Harris is one of the ones left off? Allie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NZMR Posted 9 June , 2008 Share Posted 9 June , 2008 Hi Allie I can't see him on the paper roll, but then I have discovered many men that served with the NZEF who don't appear on the Nominal Roll. This is exclusive of the list of UK enlistees (both British Section and later recruits). It may pay to check british records (perhaps MIC's) and Australian on-line records to see if he transferred from that side of things. Of course the other possibilty is a chap who, for some reason, was enlisted but didn't end up serving overseas but who wasn't discharged and was employed locally. That is a longer shot, but possible. Simple way to find out: get his file from Archives! Interested to know the result of your research either way. Cheers Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZackNZ Posted 10 June , 2008 Share Posted 10 June , 2008 Allie I’ve checked your man’s file. It’s 11 pages long and in really very poor condition i.e. you can hardly read it! One of the worst I've come across!! Ralph Walter Harris was a 34 year old labourer working for S J Toxward, Mangahua, Dannevirke. It looks like he was living with R W Harris, Private Bag Mangahua, Dannevirke. His father was Ralph Finnis(?) Harris, born in Cornwall UK and his mother was Mrs Kate Harris, born Melbourne, Victoria. The mother’s address is Maria Street, Onehunga, Auckland. Ralph was born in Auckland New Zealand on 29 March 1882. He attested on 2 November 1916 and was with the 25th NZ Mounted Rifles - Reg Number 36111. His service reckons from 2 January 1917. He is described as single, being 5 feet 4½ tall, blue eyed, brown haired, weighed 9 stone 10 lbs and his religious profession was Church of England. On 12 Feb 1917 there was an application supported by various people, including his mother, for his discharge - reasons not readable. The file also records that on 2nd May 1917 he was admitted to the Featherston Military Hospital - file records "pain on walking". It is unlikely that he ever left New Zealand - there was some sort of medical problem and the file has an unreadable medical hearing on it. I've also checked the book version of the nominal rolls and he's not there - not a surprise as he probably never left NZ! Sorry but the file is so poor there is little else of much meaning to pick up – happy to email you the digital file. Question is – is this man your man? Cheers Zack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alliekiwi Posted 10 June , 2008 Author Share Posted 10 June , 2008 Sorry, Phil, I didn't see your post on the thread! Zack, thank you so much for taking a look at the file! The answer to 'is this your man' is... well, probably? But it doesn't all fit together. The three brothers of my Ralph (whom I'm not even certain enlisted, but I was wondering if he had because he was the correct age-ish) are: Surname HARRIS Given Name Albert Ernest Category Nominal Roll Vol. 2 Regimental Number 10595 Rank Gunner Next of Kin Title Mrs C Next of Kin Surname HARRIS Next of Kin Relationship Mother Next of Kin Address Catherine Street Onehunga Roll 37 Page 27 Occupation Labourer Surname HARRIS Given Name Alfred Category Nominal Roll Vol. 3 Regimental Number 10604 Rank Rifleman Next of Kin Title Mrs R Next of Kin Surname HARRIS Next of Kin Relationship Mother Next of Kin Address Catherine Street Onehunga Roll 59 Page 18 Occupation Labourer Surname HARRIS Given Name James Marcus Category Nominal Roll Vol. 1 Regimental Number 12/3351 Rank Private Body or Draft Eighth Unit or Regiment Auckland Infantry Batln Marital Status S Last NZ Address Te Kuiti Next of Kin Title Mrs C Next of Kin Surname HARRIS Next of Kin Relationship Mother Next of Kin Address Catherine St Onehunga My Ralph was born in Auckland, NZ on 10 July 1886 according to his school records. So the birthdate doesn't fit. Whilst one can't trust school records to be 100% correct, wrong day month and year - particularly 4 years out - is a little difficult to swallow. The date doesn't match any of his siblings, in case he used their date to enlist for some odd reason. The mother's name was Catherine, but she was called Kate. She lived in Onehunga, but was in Catherine Street - not Maria Street - when the other three enlisted. However, when she died in 1931, she was living in Maria Street. Also, she was born in Panmure, Auckland. Not Melbourne, Australia. However, Kate's parents had left NZ for Australia quite some years before. I found the grandmother's death certificate for NSW, but have been unable to find the grandfather. Will now see if he's listed in Victoria! The father's name was Gustavus Ralph Orlando Tucker Tenney HARRIS, known as Ralph. He was born in Cornwall England. On his marriage certificate, he just used 'Gustavus Ralph' and left off the other names. (Don't blame him!) He left the family in about 1894, virtually never to be heard of again (we don't know what happened to him, where/when died etc) and his wife was illiterate. On her death certificate her husband's names are written as Walter Ralph Adonus Tenney Harris. Three out of five aren't bad when you haven't see the man for 36 years, I suppose... Also, if the son was Ralph Walter, maybe they thought one of the father's name was Walter to match? The children all went to the convent school in Panmure, so they were supposedly Catholic. But that was because their mother had been Catholic - their dad was Church of England. A heck of a lot of coincidences for it not to be my Ralph. If it is my Ralph it just goes to show you can't trust the information they put on their attestation forms! Allie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZackNZ Posted 11 June , 2008 Share Posted 11 June , 2008 Allie It sounds too much of a coincidence for it not to be your man. And you're correct - you certainly can't always trust the information put on attestation forms! I'll check out the brothers - might be something there to clarify things further for you. Cheers Zack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alliekiwi Posted 11 June , 2008 Author Share Posted 11 June , 2008 Thanks, Zack. From the writing, I'm wondering if 'Ralph Finnis Harris' might be Ralph Tennie Harris, a misspelling of Tenney? But you're right... that file is frightfully difficult to read! Thanks for emailing it. Also, I'm wondering if 'Toxward' (employer's name) might be 'Forward'. Although, that being said, I've just found a cemetery record for someone named Toxward, so perhaps your eyesight is better than mine? I give this chap a 'B-' for handwriting. And me a B- for decifering abilities. Allie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZackNZ Posted 11 June , 2008 Share Posted 11 June , 2008 I agree Allie - 'B-' for handwriting.... and you could be right re "Tennie" - I struggled with the file - it's a shocker!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now