Capt
Albert Sidney Reid
Information about birth
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Date of birth: 29/04/1892 |
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Place of birth: Invercargill, Southland, New Zealand |
General information
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Profession: Teacher |
Army information
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Country: New Zealand |
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Force: New Zealand Expeditionary Force |
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Rank: Captain |
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Service number: 25/66 |
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Enlistment date: 06/09/1915 |
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Enlistment place: Trentham, Wellington, New Zealand |
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Units: — Otago Regiment, 3rd Bn. (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 29/11/1917 |
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Place of death: Reutel, Beselare, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Age: 25 |
Cemetery
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Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood Plot: I Row: A Grave: 5 |
Distinctions and medals 2
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British War Medal Medal |
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Victory Medal Medal |
Points of interest 3
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Enlistment place | ||
| #3 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Captain Albert Sidney Reid of 3rd Bn. Otago Regiment, 4th Brigade New Zealand Expeditionary Force had fought in The 3rd Battle of Ypres, also known as Passchendaele. Throughout the Winter of 1917/1918, following the battle, the newly established Allied front-line had to be consolidated and defended.
Albert had been a School Master at the Wanganui Collegiate School, was the son of George Alexander and Catherine Reid and a native of Invercargill, Southland, New Zealand. He enlisted as Private Reid on the 6th of September 1915 and on the 21st of January 1916 is promoted to 2nd Lieutenant. His unit embarked from Wellington, New Zealand for Egypt on 5 February 1916, landing on 12 March. They then later embarked from Alexandria for France on 7 April 1916. On 16 September Reid received gunshot wounds to his right arm and side and was transferred to the UK for treatment. Following his recovering he reports to Reserve Battalion, Sling Camp on 13 March 1917 and on 15 March is promoted again to Lieutenant. Reid is eventually taken on strength to 3rd Battalion, Otago Infantry Regiment on 11 April 1917, and posted to the 4th Company, with temporary rank of Captain. The Battalion proceeded overseas to France on 28 May 1917, and then to Belgium where they partake in the Battle of Passchendaele.
On the night of November 14-15 the 4th Brigade relieved the 21st British Division in the left sub-sector of the line which extended between the Reutelbeek and Noordemdhoek, east of Polygon Wood. Later, on November 21st, the 3rd Battalion moved to relieve Wellington troops in the right sub-sector. This area of the frontline saw a particularly large amount of raiding and 'artillery duels' between German and Allied forces. Starting on 27 November Allied artillery delivered concentrated fire over the Polderhoek Château area and continued this with increasing intensity over the succeeding days with 30 November recorded as being a day of 'constant and furious artillery dueling'. As a result many casualties were suffered by 3rd battalion N.Z.E.F. in that final week of November.
Captain Reid was Killed in action on 29 November 1917, aged 25. He had been promoted to Captain just the day before. It is stated in the memorial to him at the Wanganui Collegiate School that Reid was killed by a German Sniper; this is according to Lieutenant P.F. Armstrong (18581) who had also been a master at the college and who was one of Reid's subalterns at the time of his death. Armstrong was also Killed in Action on 6 April 1918. Reid is remembered by the college as having been a great sportsman and someone who had in just a short time gained the respect and friendship of both staff and students; they had looked forward to his returning to the school following the end of the war. Furthermore, in the recommendation for his promotion on 25th August 1917 Reid is described as being a 'reliable and efficient Officer'. Captain Albert Sidney Reid is buried at Buttes New British Cemetery; Plot I, Row A, Grave 5.
Albert had been a School Master at the Wanganui Collegiate School, was the son of George Alexander and Catherine Reid and a native of Invercargill, Southland, New Zealand. He enlisted as Private Reid on the 6th of September 1915 and on the 21st of January 1916 is promoted to 2nd Lieutenant. His unit embarked from Wellington, New Zealand for Egypt on 5 February 1916, landing on 12 March. They then later embarked from Alexandria for France on 7 April 1916. On 16 September Reid received gunshot wounds to his right arm and side and was transferred to the UK for treatment. Following his recovering he reports to Reserve Battalion, Sling Camp on 13 March 1917 and on 15 March is promoted again to Lieutenant. Reid is eventually taken on strength to 3rd Battalion, Otago Infantry Regiment on 11 April 1917, and posted to the 4th Company, with temporary rank of Captain. The Battalion proceeded overseas to France on 28 May 1917, and then to Belgium where they partake in the Battle of Passchendaele.
On the night of November 14-15 the 4th Brigade relieved the 21st British Division in the left sub-sector of the line which extended between the Reutelbeek and Noordemdhoek, east of Polygon Wood. Later, on November 21st, the 3rd Battalion moved to relieve Wellington troops in the right sub-sector. This area of the frontline saw a particularly large amount of raiding and 'artillery duels' between German and Allied forces. Starting on 27 November Allied artillery delivered concentrated fire over the Polderhoek Château area and continued this with increasing intensity over the succeeding days with 30 November recorded as being a day of 'constant and furious artillery dueling'. As a result many casualties were suffered by 3rd battalion N.Z.E.F. in that final week of November.
Captain Reid was Killed in action on 29 November 1917, aged 25. He had been promoted to Captain just the day before. It is stated in the memorial to him at the Wanganui Collegiate School that Reid was killed by a German Sniper; this is according to Lieutenant P.F. Armstrong (18581) who had also been a master at the college and who was one of Reid's subalterns at the time of his death. Armstrong was also Killed in Action on 6 April 1918. Reid is remembered by the college as having been a great sportsman and someone who had in just a short time gained the respect and friendship of both staff and students; they had looked forward to his returning to the school following the end of the war. Furthermore, in the recommendation for his promotion on 25th August 1917 Reid is described as being a 'reliable and efficient Officer'. Captain Albert Sidney Reid is buried at Buttes New British Cemetery; Plot I, Row A, Grave 5.
Sources 1
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Byrne A.E., The Official History of the Otago Regiment, N.Z.E.F. in the Great War 1914-1918, (Dunedin, Wilkie & Co, Ltd), pg. 260-261. Sources used |
More information 5
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Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/480426 |
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Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=e6201603-2ff2-48d3-ae4a-fd50b2917ddf |
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/7181922 |
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Online Cenotaph (Auckland Museum) https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/c12880 |
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The NZEF Project (UNSW Canberra) https://nzef.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=213889 |