|
1911: Electorate: Bruce: Percy James Benbow; Residence: Glenore
Occ: Farmer Percy
enlisted WW1 on Percy was farewelled with a social and dance on
the 6 January 1917 (Regimental No. 38256; Rank Private N.Z.E.F.) before
Missing: Private Percy James Benbow is the second son of Mr
James Benbow, formerly of "Carriante" Bankside, but now of Hampdon, Otago.
Private Benbow was farming with his father and enlisted in the
Twenty-second Reinforcements. Sister is Mrs A. Shelloch, of the
Mead. Then came the news “Killed in action on Press, 13 May 1918: Mr James Benbow, of Hampden, and formerly of
Temuka and Bankside, has received advice that his second son, Private Percy James Benbow, of the 22nd Reinforcements, who was reported missing on October
12th, 1917, has now been declared killed in action on October 12th.
Private Benbow always took a keen interest in all farming pursuits, and
was highly esteemed and respected throughout the district. He received his
education at the Ashburton Guardian, 16 August 1920: A memorial to members of the Ashburton A. and P. Association who fell in the Great War was unveiled by the President, Mr W. J. Taylor, at a meeting of the general committee on Saturday, all members standing in respectful silence. The memorial takes the form of a handsomely-framed picture, in which are grouped individual photos of those killed at the war. Before unveiling the memorial the president said it was a small tribute to the memory of. the men who gave their lives to their country. The names are as follows:—P. W. Doig, P. G. Rickard, T. Langley, J. G. B. Kirkness, J. M. Hampton, P. J. Benbow, C. G. McConachie, A. J. Childs, G. Hill, S. K. Osborne, M.M., and D. J. Dynefe;
Passchendaele has since 1917 been a byword for the horror of the Great War - it conjures images of shattered landscape, of mud, shell craters and barbed wire, and of helpless soldiers mown down by machine-guns and artillery. The Belgian village of Passchendaele near Ypres in Flanders, became an objective that cost the lives of thousands of people, including many New Zealanders. The ridge leading to the village was the site of the worst disaster, in terms of lives lost, in New Zealand’s history. (Src: Passchendaele Percy Benbow's sacrifice is remembered at Tyne Cot Memorial Cemetery Ref: N.Z. Apse, Panel 2); Temuka War Memorial and Ashburton Images and data used in this site copyright -
©
 |
Percy James Benbow was b: 29 Sep 1889 in Temuka to parents James
and Alice Benbow. He was admitted 21 Oct 1895 to the Rangitira Valley
School which he left 08 Jun 1903 to work at
home.