Te Ngawai District Memorial

       

In Memory Killed in Action 1914 - 1918

CASWELL G. A.
CASWELL W.
McVEY D.
McVEY W.
SNUSHALL E.
VINCENT S.V.
YATES F. G.

Killed in Action 1939 - 1945

McVEY G. T.
HOWES V. C.

Sergeant Victor Charles Howes, Serial No. NZ413418
Royal New Zealand Air Force, 75 (NZ) Squadron, RAF
DOD 28 April 1943
Age at Death 20
Memorial Name Runnymede Memorial, Surrey, United Kingdom
Albury War Memorial
Victor Howes was the son of Victor Robert and Dolina Enid Howes of Albury
CWGC  Cenotaph Record

12/11/2010 Timaru Herald 'I never saw him again'
Edith Kinsman still clearly remembers him driving out of the farm gate. He was off to catch the train; he was off to war. It was the early 1940s but Mrs Kinsman remembers her brother, Vic Howes, leaving the family farm at Te Ngawai as if it was yesterday. She never saw him again, but yesterday, more than 65 years later, she honoured her big brother's memory, wearing his war medals to the Armistice Day ceremony at Albury � down the road from the Howes family farm where the 11 siblings grew up. Like the other young men of the district, Vic Howes caught the Fairlie Flyer train at Albury, bound for a voyage to war. Vic was last seen on Anzac Day 1943 when the air force man flew out on an operation. He was two months short of his 21st birthday. It is assumed his plane went down in the Norwegian Sea. While his remains were never recovered, and he does not have a grave, Mr Howes is not forgotten. His name appears on war memorials at Albury, Te Ngawai, Fairlie and in the Burkes Pass cemetery. It was at Albury that Mrs Kinsman remembered her brother yesterday.

Recently her nephew, Gavin Marriott, applied to the Ministry of Defence for his uncle's medals to be released to his family. Like many servicemen killed in action, he had never been presented with all the medals he had won. Yesterday was a bit of a surprise for Mrs Kinsman, the last of the 11 Howes brothers and sisters. She knew her nephew was taking her for a drive from her Fairlie home, but it was not until they reached Albury that Mr Marriott gave her her brother's medals to wear at the ceremony. "I remember it as plain as day," Mrs Kinsman said of waving her older brother goodbye as a teenager. Equally she remembered the day the minister arrived to give the family the news that Vic was missing. "[Vic] had a little dog � half terrier and spaniel � called Paddy, and it sat and waited for him until he died," she said of the loyal pooch.

Mrs Kinsman joined about 20 Albury residents, the Mackenzie Highland Pipe Band and youngsters from the local school for what has become established as an annual event in the village. The Mackenzie Returned and Services Association started organising the Armistice commemoration about six years ago. Initially it was intended to hold the service in alternate years, Mackenzie RSA president Mick Glover said, but its popularity meant it had become an annual commemoration. As well as the traditional wreath-laying and reciting of the challenge and response, the short service also includes the reading of the names of all those from the district who lost their lives in both world wars � 25 in World War I and seven, including Mr Howes, in World War II. By the chat taking place over morning tea in the Albury Tavern after the service, it seems a fair bet that Armistice commemoration will be a feature of life in Albury for years to come.

[There was is a photo with the article of Mrs Kinsman with the five medals:
1939-1945 Star, Air Crew Europe Star, 1939-1945 British service medal, 1939-1945 NZ service medal, The King George VI New Zealand Memorial Cross on a mauve ribbon.]

Air Crew Europe Star.
For operational flying over Europe from United Kingdom bases between the 3rd. of September 1939 and the 5th. of June 1944. Like the Atlantic Star, the criteria for the award of the 39-45 Star have to be fulfilled first. 120 days as an air crew member, 60 days for the 39-45 Star, then another 60 days for this star. Bars for Atlantic, and France and Germany, could be won, but only one bar may be worn on this ribbon. The ribbon is pale blue for the Airforce, and its day and night continuous service is depicted by the yellow and black.

Looks like the entire family were known by their middle names.
SNUSHALL, HENRY ERNEST,  Trooper,  Canterbury Mounted Rifles, N.Z.E.F.,  Main Body,  Service No: 7/125, died 21 August 1915 at the age of 21. He was the son of John William and Edith Snushall, of Fairlie, Canterbury. William Percy, Henry Ernest and Daniel Maurice (known as Maurice) were the sons of John William Snushall (known as William) and Emma Edith (known as Edith) nee Kee. On the Fairlie War memorial Ernest is list as H.E. Snushall.

Name: McVEY, William Robert Rank: Private Regiment/Service: Otago Infantry Regiment, N.Z.E.F. Unit Text: 2nd Bn. 18th Reinforcements, J Company Next of Kin: J. McVey (father), Albury Embarkation Date: 11 October 1916 Place of Embarkation: Wellington, New Zealand Vessel: Tofua HMNZT 67 Destination: Plymouth, England Date of Death: 8 August 1917 Service No: 28904 S/o Mr. and Mrs. J. McVey, of Albury Cemetery: Trois Arbres Cemetery,  Steenwerck, France.

"Weekly News" 23 February 1944 Pte. Thomas George McVey, of Timaru killed in action, 28 November 1943 New Zealand Infantry - 26th Bn. Age: 45 DOD: 28/11/1943 Service No: 888 S/o John McVey and of Annie McVey (nee Morrison) Cemetery: Sangro River War Cemetery, Italy.

Photo of the Albury Tavern courtesy of Gail Woods (nee Rowland). Taken Easter 2000.  The old wooden hotel is located on 1.5 acres with private accommodation of four double / three single bedrooms situated on State Highway 8 on the way to Fairlie.  Inside the pub there are many framed old photos of the tavern and the local football representatives the the Roll of Honour for the Albury Football Club for the Great War.  Killed in Action 17 names. Wounded: 27 names. Returned: 25 names. Additional names include:
Bennett, J
Irving, C
McInnes, L???
Nelson, T
Scannell, M.J.

Evening Post, 18 August 1915, Page 8 Wounded
Caswell, Henry, 7/29, Tpr. (M. Caswell, Albury, father) ; forearm, 27th July. admitted to Hospital Ship Delta 7th to 8th August.

Grey River Argus, 10 August 1918, Page 2
Slightly Wounded, Remaining With Unit. Lance-Sergeant C. B. Baker (M.M.) Albury

Evening Post, 21 July 1941, Page 9
ASKIN, Ralph Winston, Sergeant, R.N.Z.A.F. reported killed on operations, Mr. H.W. Askin, Aorangi Downs, Albury, Canterbury (f).

Evening Post, 5 April 1943, Page 3 N.Z.E.F. Casualties
Killed in action. LONGMAN, Edward W., Gnr. Mrs. M. E. Longman, 170 Church Street West, Timaru (m.).
Died of wounds. ASKIN, Stanley E., Pte. Mr. U. G. Askin, Albury (brother).

Evening Post, 21 June 1944, Page 6 Died of Wounds
BARBER, William G. (M.M.), T/Cpl. Mrs. J. Peterson, Albury, via Timaru (friend).

Evening Post, 28 April 1941, Page 9
ROLL OF HONOUR SECOND N.Z.E.F.
WOUNDED. Second-Lieutenant John Windeyer Fisher. Mr. H. Hill Fisher, Albury, South Canterbury (f.).

Evening Post, 5 January 1943, Page 3 NZEF Casualties - killed in action
NORRIS, Peter T. (M.C), Capt. Canon A. H. Norris,- The Vicarage, Geraldine (f.).
FISHER, John W., Lieut. Mr. H. H. Fisher, "Shenley," Albury (f.).

Evening Post, 22 November 1943, Page 3 Air Force Casualties
HOWES, Victor C, Sgt. Previously reported missing, death now officially presumed as at 28/4/43; Albury, South Canterbury.

Evening Post, 6 April 1944, Page 6 N.Z.E.F. Casualties - Wounded
SARGENT, Philip G., Pte. Mrs. V. G. Sargent. Muritah, Albury (m).
STRUTHERS, Ronald A., Pte. Mrs M. J. Struthers. Kimbell. Fairlie (m.)

Evening Post, 17 February 1945, Page 8 DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS.
Flying Office Bruce E. Smith - Mrs. I.H. Smith, Box 32, Albury, South Canterbury (m).

Te Ngawai unlikely to be back on map
Friday, 22 August 2008 Timaru Herald
A bid to have Te Ngawai, the location, back on official maps has hit a big obstacle - a 140-year-old translation mistake. Te Ngawai (which in Maori would mean "the the water") is really Te Ana a Wai, the water cavern. The Tengawai river was incorrectly recorded in the 1860s by a surveyor and it has never been corrected. The Te Ngawai community was established in 1897, but dispersed after the Second World War. In 1963 Te Ngawai was replaced on the map by Camp Valley and Limestone Valley. Two years ago north-west Albury residents, applied to the New Zealand Geographic Board to have the Te Ngawai district return to official maps. However, the Arowhenua Runaka is reluctant to perpetuate a translation mistake and grammatical inaccuracy. Representative said place names should be correct. Why perpetuate a mistake simply because it was more than 100 years old? Te Ngawai the place and the Tengawai River should both be named correctly - Te Ana a Wai. The Runaka wanted other place names such as Tekapo - Takapo, Ohau - Ohou, Omarama - Te Ao Marama (the coming of light) to be corrected. The Runaka's argument was correct, but raised the issue of common usage versus actual name. Many of South Canterbury's Maori place names were incorrect. Mr J. Sutherland said 111 years ago a community called Te Ngawai was formed and it had a school even a district rugby team. Putting Te Ngawai back on map was recognition of that community. He felt the war memorial was a sensitive issue. "During two world wars young men and women left Te Ngawai not knowing whether they would ever return to a place named by their fathers (in good faith) after the nearby river. Most of them were educated at the Te Ngawai School, and at a time when few rural folk travelled any further than biking distance this Te Ngawai was home." The name Te Ana a Wai had a meaning. The river passed caves in the gorge through the Albury Ranges. The area and river could both be known as Te Ana a Wai.

Behind the Albury War Memorial, on the same lot, the Mackenzie District Council, protected trees are: 
Fraxinus excelsior (English Ash);
Ulmus procera (English Elm);
Malus spp (Ornamental Apple);
Ulmus pumila (Elm)

South Canterbury, New ZealandGenWeb Project