John Alexander Huntley Holmes
John Alexander Huntley Holmes (Service no. 7/428) was a First World War soldier with links to Halswell.
John Alexander Huntley Holmes was born on the 22nd of November 1884 in Christchurch. John grew up with his twin sister, Mary, and his five other siblings. John was the second-oldest child of Hannah and George Gordon Holmes. The Holmes family made their fortune from sheep farming and owned the prestigious "Knocklynn" Manor in Halswell which was built in 1902. John was schooled at Christ's College.
A single man for his whole life, John cut a dashing figure in his prime, with his dark complexion, grey eyes and salt and pepper hair.
Among the first wave of recruits to sign up for the war, John signed up on August 12th at the Addington showgrounds. At the time, he stood five feet ten and a half inches tall, and his chest measurement was 39 to 41 inches at most. Five days later, on the 17th of August 1914, John joined group 9 of the Canterbury Mounted Rifles. Records show that when John signed up, he committed to bringing his horse with him.
Travelling by boat with his fellow soldiers, John spent nearly two months on the trip to Alexandria, Egypt landing on the 3rd of December 1914. After only four months, Private John was promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal. While fighting in the Dardanelles Gallipoli campaign, John was shot in battle on 21st August 1915. Taken to the safety of the Number 2 Australian General Hospital in Ghezireh, Cairo, Egypt. Unfortunately he developed paratyphoid and pneumonia he died on the 30th of September 1915. A soldier of the Great War who died of wounds received at Gallipoli.
John's body never returned to New Zealand; he was buried in the Cairo War Memorial Cemetery in Egypt. John is remembered on the Tai Tapu, Pigeon Bay and Halswell War Memorials.
John Alexander Huntly Holmes' deceased estate was published in the Hawera & Normanby Star on August 8, 1916. The article lists the value of his estate as £4,266 which today would be would be approximately equivalent to $54,155 - In 1915, the average wage in New Zealand was roughly £4/ week. showing that John was a wealthy man for the times.
His family continued to live in the Halswell area after he died. Mary (Minnie) Elizabeth Holmes married Christian Cecil Paterson on 2nd September 1909 Christchurch and they had two children George Huntley Paterson and Nancy Fanshawe Paterson. Mary and Christian divorced in 1946. However, Mary continued to live in Halswell till her death on the 9th June 1977 she is buried in St. Mary's Anglican Church Cemetery here in Halswell with her Parents Hannah and George Gordon Holmes and her son George Huntley Paterson.
Related Resources
Online cenotaph record for John Alexander Huntley Holmes. Auckland War Memorial Museum
John Alexander Huntley Holmes' military personnel file. Archives New Zealand (Archway)
John Alexander Huntly Holmes Selwyn Kete : Soldiers of Selwyn
FOR KING AND EMPIRE., Sun, Volume II, Issue 517, 6 October 1915
A PENINSULA TROOPER'S LETTER., Press, Volume LI, Issue 15202, 13 February 1915
CASUALTIES., Sun, Volume II, Issue 516, 5 October 1915
THE FALLEN AND WOUNDED., Press, Volume LI, Issue 15401, 5 October 1915
DEATH DUTIES., Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXXII, 8 August 1916
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/213743378/mary-elizabeth-paterson?