Topic: Henry Eugene Voyce

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Henry Eugene Voyce (service no. 4/459) was a man with links to Cashmere, who fought and died in the First World War.

Henry Eugene Voyce  was born in Christchurch oHenry Eugene Voycen the 22nd August, 1891. His father was Thomas G. Voyce. Thomas was a watchmaker and jeweller, as well as a musician, eg. conductor of the Sydenham Orchestra. He also belonged to the Olive Branch Lodge of the Druids. He died in 1913. Henry’s mother was B. H. Voyce. They lived at 15 Wherstead Road, Thorrington. Later Henry and his mother moved to 120 Rintoul Street, Newtown, Wellington. Henry also had a brother, Alfred Victor, and a sister, Vera Edith.

Henry was a salesman at the Stewart Hardware Company, and belonged to the Thorndon Mutual Improvement Society, and the Old Wellington Naval Defence Rifle Club. He was a Methodist.

He was involved in the Territorials. At one time he was officer commanding the No. 79 Company, Sydenham Cadets, then when he moved to Wellington, he commanded the Wellington Technical College Cadets. When war broke out, he was in doubt of obtaining a commission, so, to make sure he could go to war, he enlisted as a sapper. He signed up on the 13th August, 1914, with the New Zealand Field Engineers, attached to the Signalling Corps. They left New Zealand on 16th October, heading for Suez.

He was engaged to a young lady from Christchurch when war broke out.

Six Imperial commissions were offered to the New Zealand Force in Egypt, and forty New Zealanders went for examination for them. Henry went before two generals, and his papers were specially commended. He attended the School of Instruction in Egypt for a month and then he was granted a temporary commission in the British Army on the 19th April, 1915, just prior to the Gallipoli landings. He became a 2nd Lieutenant in the Worcestershire Regiment.

He died on the 6th August, 1915, aged 24, at Gallipoli, under heavy fire while attacking a strong Turkish position. His body was recovered from in front of the trenches in the Suvla area. He was reported missing, then reported killed. He is buried in Twelve Tree Copse Cemetery, Helles, Turkey.

“He was an admirable type of bright, clean living young New Zealander and had the warm regard of all who knew him, and the respect of his comrades.”

His name is on the roll of honour board at St. Augustine’s Anglican Church, Cashmere.

 

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llnbww100
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on Jun 16th, 2016 at 2:27 PM
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on May 25th, 2016 at 4:56 PM
 

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Henry Eugene Voyce


First Names:Henry Eugene
Last Name:Voyce
Place of Birth:Christchurch
 
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Henry Eugene Voyce by llnbww100 is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 New Zealand License