4/1285 - Sapper

Walter Herbert

KELSEY

Main Body - Section No.1

Timeline


1915

1915

5 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

13 April

Admitted to hospital

1916

24 April

Rejoined the Company

1916

20 September

Granted leave

1916

29 September

Rejoined the Company

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

1917

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

14 April

Granted leave to United Kingdom

1917

24 April

Admitted to hospital with injury to corpo-metacarpal joint

1917

27 April

Detached to Assistant Provost Marshal, London

1917

3 May

Rejoined the Company

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
1918

From the Front

The Company was still carrying out the digging of underground premises and defences on the Front near Arras

The Workshop in Arras

1918

24 February

Embarked for England on duty

1918

27 February

Marched in to NZ Depot, Torquay

1918

21 March

Spring Offensive

German Attacks


From the Front

The Company was engaged in the defence of Arras by digging new trenches and dug-outs under constant enemy shellfire

1918

22 March

Placed on duty furlough waiting list

1918

1 April

Transfer to New Zealand

S.S. Athenic

1918

6 June

Final discharge

End of Service

Decoration

British War Medal
British War Medal

Victory Medal
Victory Medal

Sources and bibliography

  • Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, Online Cenotaph He Toa Taumata Rau: Walter Herbert KELSEY.
  • Nominal Roll of New Zealand Expeditionary Force, 1915. New Zealand Engineers Tunnelling Company, Wellington, Government Printer, 1916, p. 2.

How to cite this page

Anthony BYLEDBAL, “Walter Herbert KELSEY (4/1285)”, New Zealand Tunnellers, 2025 (2009). Accessed: 10 May 2025. URL: https://www.nztunnellers.com/roll/details.php?id=443