BOOCK, Bertram
Born 5 October 1886; died 10 November 1918; buried 12 November 1918; age 32
Regimental number 3/2344
Bert Boock’s father, Israel Boock (also known as Isaac Boock) was born in Krakow, Poland in 1854. That is probably where he learnt his trade as a tailor, before coming to New Zealand because tailoring is the only occupation recorded for him in any official record in this country. He arrived in Wellington on the ‘Stad Haarlem’ in April 1879. Barely a year later, on 23 June 1880, he married another new migrant, Welsh-born Lilly (or Lily as she was sometimes known) LEVY at the synagogue on The Terrace in Wellington. By then, he was using the name Israel rather than his birth name Isaac. He set up his tailoring business in Cuba Street and worked mainly there until his retirement. In his earliest days in Wellington he and Lily, lived at various addresses in the Te Aro area before they firmly settled at 83 Aro Street where they remained for the rest of their lives.
Israel and Lily began their family as soon as they were married. Bertram (or Bert as he was known) was the middle child of nine, seven boys and two girls. He went to the local schools: first to Te Aro Infants in Ghuznee Street, then to Te Aro primary school around the corner in Willis Street, and finally, for about 6 months in 1900, to Mt Cook Boys School. He left in August of that year for work when he would have been 14. It is possible that Bert and his brothers felt some pressure to begin contributing income to the household as soon as possible because their father Israel had applied to the Court to be declared bankrupt in 1897, with liabilities of £250/12/4 to set against assets of £22/3/5. It would have been a tough 3 years until Israel was released from bankruptcy in February 1900 and perhaps for some time after that.
It is not clear where Bert began working, but by the time he was 20 he must have developed his interest in becoming a pharmacist. Although new entrants needed to study and be examined before they could be registered with the Pharmacy Board, their training would have been largely on the job, as a form of apprenticeship. It is possible that Bert did find a chemist willing to take him on in Wellington, but by 1911 he was living and working in Palmerston North. On the electoral roll for that year he recorded his occupation as a chemist’s assistant, and he was working in the Queen Street shop of local chemist Harry Scott. His choice of occupation might have influenced his youngest brother Henry, or Harry, who in 1913 was listed in the newspaper as one of those who had passed Section A of the Pharmacy Board examination.
In June 1915, when the newspapers would have been full of news about the losses at Gallipoli, Bert enlisted. He was 29. His medical examination report stated the was just over 6 feet in height, and was therefore somewhat taller than many men of the time. Perhaps because of his qualifications as a chemist, he was posted to the New Zealand Medical Corps. He was based at Awapuni and in January 1917 he was deployed to the troop transport ship ‘Aparima’ for "duty on voyage and return". Presumably on his return he took up his medical duties at the training camps once again.
Bert was not the only son of Israel and Lily to serve during the war. His brother David enlisted in August 1914, right at the outset, although his Army file seems to show that he served for only a few months. After Bert’s joining up in 1915, two other brothers enlisted in 1916, Ernest in February and Henry in September. In addition, the oldest son Louis, who had moved to Australia, was serving with the Australian Imperial Force. It seems that Lily was quietly pleased at this effort by her sons. When Louis’s name came up in a ballot in 1917, she wrote to the ‘Dominion’ to say that he had already been serving with the Australians for the past 15 months, making four of her sons in the fighting line.
Born 5 October 1886; died 10 November 1918; buried 12 November 1918; age 32
Regimental number 3/2344
Bert Boock’s father, Israel Boock (also known as Isaac Boock) was born in Krakow, Poland in 1854. That is probably where he learnt his trade as a tailor, before coming to New Zealand because tailoring is the only occupation recorded for him in any official record in this country. He arrived in Wellington on the ‘Stad Haarlem’ in April 1879. Barely a year later, on 23 June 1880, he married another new migrant, Welsh-born Lilly (or Lily as she was sometimes known) LEVY at the synagogue on The Terrace in Wellington. By then, he was using the name Israel rather than his birth name Isaac. He set up his tailoring business in Cuba Street and worked mainly there until his retirement. In his earliest days in Wellington he and Lily, lived at various addresses in the Te Aro area before they firmly settled at 83 Aro Street where they remained for the rest of their lives.
Israel and Lily began their family as soon as they were married. Bertram (or Bert as he was known) was the middle child of nine, seven boys and two girls. He went to the local schools: first to Te Aro Infants in Ghuznee Street, then to Te Aro primary school around the corner in Willis Street, and finally, for about 6 months in 1900, to Mt Cook Boys School. He left in August of that year for work when he would have been 14. It is possible that Bert and his brothers felt some pressure to begin contributing income to the household as soon as possible because their father Israel had applied to the Court to be declared bankrupt in 1897, with liabilities of £250/12/4 to set against assets of £22/3/5. It would have been a tough 3 years until Israel was released from bankruptcy in February 1900 and perhaps for some time after that.
It is not clear where Bert began working, but by the time he was 20 he must have developed his interest in becoming a pharmacist. Although new entrants needed to study and be examined before they could be registered with the Pharmacy Board, their training would have been largely on the job, as a form of apprenticeship. It is possible that Bert did find a chemist willing to take him on in Wellington, but by 1911 he was living and working in Palmerston North. On the electoral roll for that year he recorded his occupation as a chemist’s assistant, and he was working in the Queen Street shop of local chemist Harry Scott. His choice of occupation might have influenced his youngest brother Henry, or Harry, who in 1913 was listed in the newspaper as one of those who had passed Section A of the Pharmacy Board examination.
In June 1915, when the newspapers would have been full of news about the losses at Gallipoli, Bert enlisted. He was 29. His medical examination report stated the was just over 6 feet in height, and was therefore somewhat taller than many men of the time. Perhaps because of his qualifications as a chemist, he was posted to the New Zealand Medical Corps. He was based at Awapuni and in January 1917 he was deployed to the troop transport ship ‘Aparima’ for "duty on voyage and return". Presumably on his return he took up his medical duties at the training camps once again.
Bert was not the only son of Israel and Lily to serve during the war. His brother David enlisted in August 1914, right at the outset, although his Army file seems to show that he served for only a few months. After Bert’s joining up in 1915, two other brothers enlisted in 1916, Ernest in February and Henry in September. In addition, the oldest son Louis, who had moved to Australia, was serving with the Australian Imperial Force. It seems that Lily was quietly pleased at this effort by her sons. When Louis’s name came up in a ballot in 1917, she wrote to the ‘Dominion’ to say that he had already been serving with the Australians for the past 15 months, making four of her sons in the fighting line.
Four Boock brothers who served in World War 1: Ernest, Stanley, Harry and Bertram
Used with permission. Stephen Levine (ed.), A Standard for the People: The 150th Anniversary of the Wellington Hebrew Congregation,
1843-1993, Hazard Press, 1995
Used with permission. Stephen Levine (ed.), A Standard for the People: The 150th Anniversary of the Wellington Hebrew Congregation,
1843-1993, Hazard Press, 1995
When Bert arrived back in New Zealand, he had been promoted to the rank of Staff Sergeant-Major and was posted to Featherston Camp. That was where he caught influenza, followed by broncho-pneumonia. He was admitted to the camp hospital on 6 November and died after five days, on the day before Armistice Day. Although 160 of the flu victims from Featherston Camp were buried in a soldier’s section of the town’s local cemetery, Bert’s body was brought into Wellington and he was buried in the Jewish Section of Karori Cemetery, Plot 131 A.
Memorial notices from Bert’s family and from family friends were printed in the ‘Evening Post’ on the anniversary of his death for several years.
In December 1925, Lily died, aged 67. Israel lived on for another 15 years, gradually becoming more frail but supported by members of his family. In 1938, one of his sons, David applied on his behalf to become naturalised. His application was supported by Labour’s Wellington Central MP (and effectively Deputy Prime Minister) Peter Fraser who said he had known Israel since 1918 and declared him to be ‘an excellent type of person’. The application was granted on 25 March 1938, 59 years after his arrival in New Zealand. He died in August 1940, aged 89. Lily and Israel were both buried in the Jewish Section of Karori Cemetery, not far from the grave of their son Bert.
Researched and written by Max Kerr
Memorial notices from Bert’s family and from family friends were printed in the ‘Evening Post’ on the anniversary of his death for several years.
In December 1925, Lily died, aged 67. Israel lived on for another 15 years, gradually becoming more frail but supported by members of his family. In 1938, one of his sons, David applied on his behalf to become naturalised. His application was supported by Labour’s Wellington Central MP (and effectively Deputy Prime Minister) Peter Fraser who said he had known Israel since 1918 and declared him to be ‘an excellent type of person’. The application was granted on 25 March 1938, 59 years after his arrival in New Zealand. He died in August 1940, aged 89. Lily and Israel were both buried in the Jewish Section of Karori Cemetery, not far from the grave of their son Bert.
Researched and written by Max Kerr