Pte
Ernest Perfect

Information about birth

Date of birth:
26/06/1892
Place of birth:
Woodville, Manawatu-Wanganui, New Zealand

General information

Profession:
Mill Hand, Sawmill

Army information

Country:
New Zealand
Force:
New Zealand Expeditionary Force
Rank:
Private
Service number:
32781
Enlistment date:
29/07/1916
Enlistment place:
Trentham, Wellington, New Zealand
Units:
 —  Otago Regiment, 2nd Bn.  (Last known unit)

Information about death

Date of death:
12/10/1917
Place of death:
Marsh Bottom, Passchendaele, Belgium
Cause of death:
Killed in action (K.I.A.)
Age:
25

Memorial

Distinctions and medals 2

Points of interest 3

#1 Place of birth
#2 Enlistment place
#3 Place of death (approximate)

My story

Private Ernest Perfect, a former mill hand, served in the 2nd Otago Battalion, part of the 2nd New Zealand Brigade, New Zealand Division. His battalion took part in the First Battle of Passchendaele on 12 October 1917.

The New Zealand Division attacked with two brigades, the 3rd New Zealand Rifle Brigade on the left and the 2nd New Zealand Brigade on the right. The jump-off line of this last Brigade was located between the Ravebeek on the right and Peter Pan on the left. The 2nd New Zealand Brigade consisted of the 2nd Battalion of Otago, the 1st Battalion of Otago and the 1st Battalion of Canterbury. The 2nd Battalion of Otago was to lead the attack and capture the Red Line (the first objective) which extended from the Ravebeek on the right across Bellevue Spur on the left.

Reaching the jump-off line south of Peter Pan along the Ravebeek was difficult due to the muddy ground conditions and enemy fire. At 5.25 a.m. the opening barrage commenced and the 2nd Battalion of Otago advanced. The right struggled up from Marsh Bottom while the left flank was held up by uncut wire. The combination of uncut wire and machine gun fire from pillboxes on the crest of Bellevue spur made further advancement impossible. The surviving attackers were told to dig in where they were, which was southwest of Laamkreek.

Private Ernest Perfect was Reported missing on the 12th of October 1917. A finding by a court of inquiry changed this status to ‘missing and presumed killed in the field’ on 19 November 1917. His body was never recovered. Private Perfect is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing.

Files 1

Sources 6

A.E. Byrne, Official History of the Otago Regiment, N.Z.E.F. in the Great War 1914-1918, Dunedin: Wilkie & Co, Ltd., jaar van uitgave onbekend, p. 209-224.
Sources used
Auckland Cenotaph
https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/C12229?n=Ernest%20Perfect&ordinal=0&from=%2Fwar-memorial%2Fonline-cenotaph%2Fsearch
Sources used
Chris McCarthy, Passchendaele : The Day-by-Day account, London : Unicorn Publishing Group, 2018, 128-130.
Sources used
CWGC
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/848064/perfect,-ernest/
Sources used
Discovering Anzacs
http://discoveringanzacs.naa.gov.au/
Sources used
The Long, Long Trail
https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/
Sources used