Pte
Stanley Clifford Harling
Information about birth
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Date of birth: 19/09/1872 |
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Place of birth: London (City), Middlesex, England, United Kingdom |
General information
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Last known residence: Dargaville, Hobson, New Zealand |
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Profession: Manager mail order |
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Religion: Church of England |
Army information
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Country: New Zealand |
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Force: New Zealand Expeditionary Force |
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Rank: Private |
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Service number: 54744 |
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Enlistment date: 17/02/1917 |
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Enlistment place: Dargaville, Hobson, New Zealand |
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Units: — Otago Regiment, 3rd Bn. (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 21/11/1917 |
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Place of death: Cameron Covert, Zonnebeke, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Age: 45 |
Cemetery
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Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood Plot: IX special Memorial Row: AA Grave: 6 |
Distinctions and medals 2
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British War Medal Medal |
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Victory Medal Medal |
Points of interest 4
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Last known residence | ||
| #3 | Enlistment place | ||
| #4 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Private Stanley Clifford Harling was already 44 years of age, when he enlisted in February 1917 the 3rd Battalion of the Otago Regiment part of the New Zealand Division.
Born in London, UK, the former mail contractor and his American wife lived in Whatoro, Dargaville, Northern Island of New Zealand.
In November 1917, just beyond the New Zealand Divisional boundary a well-marked spur ran eastward like a finger from the edge of the general plateau down to the flats. On the north its sides drained into the Reutelbeek and on the south to the corresponding valley of the Scherriabeek.
The British line had been arrested at the edge of the plateau, and the spur remained in German possession. From it the enemy not only enfiladed the forward trenches about Cameron Covert and Reutel, but fully commanded and incessantly harasses the whole of the British approaches to this sector of the front. On it were perched the piled ruins of Polderhoek Chateau and groups of pillboxes which occupied sites of the attached buildings amid the shattered trees of the once luxuriant and beautiful pleasances. The Ypres Battle had seen 3 assaults delivered on the spur, and the Chateau had been temporarily won, but only to be lost again to German counter-attacks.
For the satisfactory occupation of the Division’s sector, it was highly desirable that a fresh effort should be made to capture the Polderhoek Spur.
Orders had previously been issued for the relief by the New Zealand Division of the 21st Division on the front extending from the Reutelbeek on the right to Noordemdhoek on the left, east of Polydone Wood, and accordingly the 4th Infantry Brigade on the night of November 14th-15th relieved that Division in the left sub-sector. On November 21st the 3rd Battalion of the Otago Regiment moved into the line in relief of Wellington troops on the right of the Brigade sector. Heavy rain fell all night and considerable work was required to effect drainage of the trenches. There was intermittent German shelling throughout these days.
It was during these preparations that private Stanley Clifford Harling, 45 years of age, was killed in action near Cameron Covert where he was buried immediately by his mates.
Later his body was exhumed and reburied at Buttes New British Cemetery, Special Memorial IX, row AA, grave 6.
Born in London, UK, the former mail contractor and his American wife lived in Whatoro, Dargaville, Northern Island of New Zealand.
In November 1917, just beyond the New Zealand Divisional boundary a well-marked spur ran eastward like a finger from the edge of the general plateau down to the flats. On the north its sides drained into the Reutelbeek and on the south to the corresponding valley of the Scherriabeek.
The British line had been arrested at the edge of the plateau, and the spur remained in German possession. From it the enemy not only enfiladed the forward trenches about Cameron Covert and Reutel, but fully commanded and incessantly harasses the whole of the British approaches to this sector of the front. On it were perched the piled ruins of Polderhoek Chateau and groups of pillboxes which occupied sites of the attached buildings amid the shattered trees of the once luxuriant and beautiful pleasances. The Ypres Battle had seen 3 assaults delivered on the spur, and the Chateau had been temporarily won, but only to be lost again to German counter-attacks.
For the satisfactory occupation of the Division’s sector, it was highly desirable that a fresh effort should be made to capture the Polderhoek Spur.
Orders had previously been issued for the relief by the New Zealand Division of the 21st Division on the front extending from the Reutelbeek on the right to Noordemdhoek on the left, east of Polydone Wood, and accordingly the 4th Infantry Brigade on the night of November 14th-15th relieved that Division in the left sub-sector. On November 21st the 3rd Battalion of the Otago Regiment moved into the line in relief of Wellington troops on the right of the Brigade sector. Heavy rain fell all night and considerable work was required to effect drainage of the trenches. There was intermittent German shelling throughout these days.
It was during these preparations that private Stanley Clifford Harling, 45 years of age, was killed in action near Cameron Covert where he was buried immediately by his mates.
Later his body was exhumed and reburied at Buttes New British Cemetery, Special Memorial IX, row AA, grave 6.
Sources 3
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Bryne A.E., Official History of the Otago Regiment, NZEF in the Great War 1914-1918, 2nd Edition, (Uckfield, The Naval & Military Press Ltd Unit, 2003), p 260-261. Sources used |
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Gray J.H., Map:From the Uttermost Ends of the Earth, the New Zealand Division on the Western Front 1916-1918, (Christchurch, Willsonscott Publishing, 2010), page 160. Sources used |
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Stewart H., The New Zealand Division 1916 - 1919, (Authority of the New Zealand Government, Intype London Ltd, 1920), p304 - 306. 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/480268 |
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Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=38488896-2ae0-4b3b-a034-f6fdec59a916 |
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/7175885 |
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Online Cenotaph (Auckland Museum) https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/c6378 |
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The NZEF Project (UNSW Canberra) https://nzef.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=106858 |