Pte
Robert Vesey
Information about birth
|
Date of birth: 05/01/1896 |
|
Place of birth: Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand |
General information
|
Profession: Iron Moulder |
Army information
|
Country: New Zealand |
|
Force: New Zealand Expeditionary Force |
|
Rank: Private |
|
Service number: 46810 |
|
Enlistment date: 05/01/1917 |
|
Enlistment place: Invercargill, Southland, New Zealand |
|
Units: — Canterbury Regiment, 2nd Bn. (Last known unit) |
Information about death
|
Date of death: 13/12/1917 |
|
Place of death: Polygon Wood, Zonnebeke, Belgium |
|
Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
|
Age: 21 |
Cemetery
|
Polygon Wood Cemetery Plot: / Row: F Grave: 17 |
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 Robert Vesey served in the 2nd Canterbury Regiment, of the 2nd New Zealand Brigade. Robert was born in Christchurch in 1896. He was imprisoned on the 6th of August 1914. When enlisting in January 1917 he gives His Majesty’s Prison in Invercargill as his last address. Invercargill Prison was established in 1910 and served as a Borstal, a type of youth detention centre. By the time he enlisted, both his parents had already past. Robert joined his unit in the field in August that same year.
After the Third Battle of Ypres, the New Zealand Division was situated in the Polygon Wood area. They spent quite some time on wiring, repairing crumbling trenches and improving defences. The landscape was covered with waterlogged shell holes. 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 were situated.
After the unsuccessful attack on Polderhoek on 3 December, the various battalions took turns in the front lines and in reserve. At the time of Robert’s death, the 2nd Canterbury Regiment was in support, in bivouacs in Polygon Wood. According to the regimental history of the Otago Regiment, its positions were heavily shelled on December 12th and 13th.
Robert Vesey, still only 21, was killed on the 13th of December 1917. According to a statement in his service record, Robert was buried by Reverend Lush near the hamlet of Polderhoek (J.16.c.70.30.). In 1919 Vesey’s remains are reinterred in Polygon Wood Cemetery, where he still rests today.
After the Third Battle of Ypres, the New Zealand Division was situated in the Polygon Wood area. They spent quite some time on wiring, repairing crumbling trenches and improving defences. The landscape was covered with waterlogged shell holes. 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 were situated.
After the unsuccessful attack on Polderhoek on 3 December, the various battalions took turns in the front lines and in reserve. At the time of Robert’s death, the 2nd Canterbury Regiment was in support, in bivouacs in Polygon Wood. According to the regimental history of the Otago Regiment, its positions were heavily shelled on December 12th and 13th.
Robert Vesey, still only 21, was killed on the 13th of December 1917. According to a statement in his service record, Robert was buried by Reverend Lush near the hamlet of Polderhoek (J.16.c.70.30.). In 1919 Vesey’s remains are reinterred in Polygon Wood Cemetery, where he still rests today.
Sources 7
|
"The history of the Canterbury Regiment N.Z.E.F. : 1914-1919", Ferguson D., Whitcombe and Tombs, 1921, page 218 - 223 Sources used |
|
Auckland Cenotaph https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/C16139?n=46810&ordinal=2&from=%2Fwar-memorial%2Fonline-cenotaph%2Fsearch Sources used |
|
Byrne, A.E., Official History of the Otago Regiment, N.Z.E.F. in the Great War 1914-1918, Dunedin, Wilkie & Co, Ltd, p. 238-241. Sources used |
|
CWGC https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/480076/vesey,-robert/ Sources used |
|
NZEF-Project https://nzef.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=262036 Sources used |
|
Service Record https://www.archway.archives.govt.nz/ViewFullItem.do?code=22020664 Sources used |
|
The long long trail http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/ Sources used |