Pte
Doric Milford Stewart
Information about birth
|
Date of birth: 22/06/1892 |
|
Place of birth: Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand |
General information
|
Profession: Engineer |
Army information
|
Country: New Zealand |
|
Force: New Zealand Expeditionary Force |
|
Rank: Private |
|
Service number: 6/3170 |
|
Enlistment date: 26/05/1915 |
|
Enlistment place: Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand |
|
Units: — Canterbury Regiment, 3rd Bn. (Last known unit) |
Information about death
|
Date of death: 15/12/1917 |
|
Place of death: Polygon Wood, Zonnebeke, Belgium |
|
Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
|
Age: 25 |
Cemetery
|
Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood Plot: I Row: A Grave: 14 |
Distinctions and medals 2
|
British War Medal Medal |
|
Victory Medal Medal |
Points of interest 3
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Enlistment place | ||
| #3 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Private Doric Milford Stewart served in the Canterbury Regiment, Third Battalion, 4th New Zealand Brigade. He was the son of of David George Stewart, of 29, Dublin St., Lyttelton, New Zealand, and the late Sarah Charlotte Stewart.
By September 1917 the New Zealand Division was preparing to fight at the battles of Broodseinde and Passchendaele. Doric’s battalion was part of 4th NZ Brigade and took part on the attack on Gravenstafel on 4 October. It is not known if he was personally involved. The New Zealand Division was in the Polygon Wood area after the end of the Third Battle of Ypres. Much of the time was spent in wiring, repairing crumbling trenches and improving defences. The landscape was covered with waterlogged shellholes. The right of the New Zealand position was enfiladed from Polderhoek and a decision was made to capture the spur on which the ruins of Polderhoek Chateau and German pillboxes sat.
After the unsuccessful attack on Polderhoek on 3 December, the various battalions took turns in the line and in reserve. Neither the New Zealand Division history or that of the Canterbury Regiment give detailed information for the December 1917-February 1918 period so it is impossible to say with any certainty how Doric Milford Stewart died on 15 December 1917. The opposing German forces generally held higher ground and movement in the New Zealand lines was often observed and shelled or machine-gunned. On the night of 15/16 December the 3rd Canterbury Battalion relieved the 1st Canterburys at Polygon Wood and it was here that Doric was killed, aged 25. His body was retrieved and buried nearby. He is now in the same area, at Buttes New British Cemetery, Plot I, Row A, Grave 14.
By September 1917 the New Zealand Division was preparing to fight at the battles of Broodseinde and Passchendaele. Doric’s battalion was part of 4th NZ Brigade and took part on the attack on Gravenstafel on 4 October. It is not known if he was personally involved. The New Zealand Division was in the Polygon Wood area after the end of the Third Battle of Ypres. Much of the time was spent in wiring, repairing crumbling trenches and improving defences. The landscape was covered with waterlogged shellholes. The right of the New Zealand position was enfiladed from Polderhoek and a decision was made to capture the spur on which the ruins of Polderhoek Chateau and German pillboxes sat.
After the unsuccessful attack on Polderhoek on 3 December, the various battalions took turns in the line and in reserve. Neither the New Zealand Division history or that of the Canterbury Regiment give detailed information for the December 1917-February 1918 period so it is impossible to say with any certainty how Doric Milford Stewart died on 15 December 1917. The opposing German forces generally held higher ground and movement in the New Zealand lines was often observed and shelled or machine-gunned. On the night of 15/16 December the 3rd Canterbury Battalion relieved the 1st Canterburys at Polygon Wood and it was here that Doric was killed, aged 25. His body was retrieved and buried nearby. He is now in the same area, at Buttes New British Cemetery, Plot I, Row A, Grave 14.
Sources 6
|
"The history of the Canterbury Regiment N.Z.E.F. : 1914-1919", Ferguson D., Whitcombe and Tombs, 1921, page 218 - 223 + chart Sources used |
|
Auckland Cenotaph https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/C15035?n=stewart%206%2F3170&ordinal=0&from=%2Fwar-memorial%2Fonline-cenotaph%2Fsearch Sources used |
|
CWGC https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/480463/stewart,-doric-milford/ Sources used |
|
NZEF Project https://nzef.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=244391 Sources used |
|
Service Records https://discoveringanzacs.naa.gov.au/browse/records/542240 Sources used |
|
The Long, Long Trail https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/ Sources used |