4/1492 - Sapper

John

BAXTER

Main Body - Section No.4

Timeline


1915

1915

9 October

Enlistment

Auckland Military District

1915

11 October

Initial training

Avondale, Auckland

1915

18 December

Transfer to England

S.S. Ruapehu

1916

1916

3 February

Marched in to the Company Training Camp, Falmouth

1916

9 March

Embarked for France

1916

16 March

From the Front

The Company joined the underground warfare in the North of France

Chantecler, Sector of Arras

1916

16 November

From the Front

The Company began the operations to connect old underground quarries in Arras in order to accommodate thousands of soldiers for an upcoming battle

1916

12 December

Granted leave

1917

1917

9 January

Admitted to hospital with rhumatism

1917

4 April

Marched in to NZ Depot, Boscombe

1917

9 April

Battle of Arras

British Offensive


From the Front

The Company was employed to rebuild a major road leading to the Front during the battle

Arras-Cambrai Road

1917

5 May

From the Front

The Company moved to Monchy, ten kilometres east of Arras, to work on the fortification of the new front line

The Billets in Monchy

1917

3 July

Embarked for France

1917

5 July

Marched in to NZ Base Depot, Etaples

1917

13 July

Rejoined the Company

1917

8 November

Detached with his section to the Cambrai Sector

1917

30 November

Killed in action

Killed by gas shell bombardment, Havrincourt Wood

Resting place

Louverval Military Cemetery, France

Grave reference

B 14

Decoration

British War Medal
British War Medal

Victory Medal
Victory Medal

Sources and bibliography

  • Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, AABK 18805 W5520 62/0012665, Military Personnel File: John BAXTER - 4/1492.
  • Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, Online Cenotaph He Toa Taumata Rau: John BAXTER.
  • Nominal Roll of New Zealand Expeditionary Force, 1915. New Zealand Engineers Tunnelling Company, Wellington, Government Printer, 1916, p. 5.

How to cite this page

Anthony BYLEDBAL, “John BAXTER (4/1492)”, New Zealand Tunnellers, 2024 (2009). Accessed: 28 March 2024. URL: https://www.nztunnellers.com/roll/details.php?id=40