CARTER, Horace Edgar
Born 22 August 1888; died 26 November 1918; buried 27 November 1918; age 32
Regimental No: 35947
Horace CARTER was the 12th child of Alfred Carter and Annie Belle MCLEOD. The family eventually numbered 15 children, nine boys and six girls. Seven of the boys, including Horace[1], enlisted for service in World War 1, and at least two of them were killed in action. Horace was born in South Petherton, Somerset, England, on 22 August 1888.
Their father, Alfred, was born in England c. 1839. As a young man he went to Canada and the 1861 Canadian census listed him as a peddler in Ashburnham, Ontario, West Canada. On 14 July 1866 he married Annie in Fredericton, the capital of New Brunswick in eastern Canada. Their first daughter Laura Maud was born in Canada in 1868. Within the next two years Alfred took his wife and young daughter to live in England to settle and have more children: Mary Adelia b1870; Alfred Alexander b1872; Henry Thomas b1876; Annie Elizabeth b1876; Charles Edward b1878; Albert Brook b1880; Malcolm Ross b1881; William Francis b1883; Allan Randolph b1885; Daisy Beatrice b1887; Horace Edgar b1888; May b1890; Gladys Olive b1892; Kenneth Stanley Lionel b1895.
Two of the siblings had died before the 1911 census - Alfred in 1874 and Laura in 1910. Malcolm, who had enlisted with the 1st Border Regiment on 16 December 1904, drowned at sea on February 1912 en route from Port Blair to Rangoon. In the parliamentary borough of Battersea and Clapham register of 1905, Malcolm had been living at 16 Belmont Road, Wandsworth with his mother listed as the landlord.
Horace travelled to New Zealand around 1910, probably with Albert and their sister Annie. However, no shipping records have been found for his arrival in New Zealand.
By 1914 Horace was settled enough to marry Alice Ruth TURNER on 20 January 1914 in Timaru. She was the daughter of Edward Charles Turner and Elizabeth BARKER, had been born in Kaikoura, and had four siblings. On 21 November 1914 Horace and Alice’s son Geoffrey Horace Vernon was born in Timaru.
In April 1915 Horace's brother Albert enlisted with the NZ Expeditionary Force. He stated on his attestation for service that he had served 3.5 years with the Royal Marines Light Infantry in the UK and had attained the rank of Sergeant. His medical examination reported tattoos of a dragon on his chest, and a snake on his leg. His service didn't last long as he was found to be medically unfit and discharged in September. Undaunted, he re-enlisted on 18 September 1916 at Trentham as part of the 3rd Wellington Regiment and left for the Western Front in January 1917.
Three weeks before Albert's second enlistment another of the brothers, Charles, who had enlisted at Portsmouth with the 1st Battalion Hampshire Regiment was killed in action at Flanders, France on 3 September 1916.
Nevertheless, Horace, had decided he too had to 'do his bit' and he attested for active service at Featherston on 6 November 1916. He stated on his attestation record that he was working as a commercial traveller for a Christchurch company, Sartorial Service Ltd. For the time Horace was a tall man, his medical examination noting 6ft. 1in. as his height. Many of his contemporaries were recorded as less than 5ft 8in. tall.
In February 1917, according to a letter from Horace to the military authorities, he had had to 'send his wife away for two operations'. Alice had returned to live in Torquay Street, Kaikoura, presumably so her parents could provide some support to her and Geoffrey while Horace was on active service and perhaps because she was not well. In the same letter, Horace stated that he had 'six brothers that had served or are serving in the present war.'
In March 1917 Horace had to appear before a Medical Board, which decided he was not fit enough for active service but would be useful for home service, so he was retained, with the rank of Sergeant, to work in the Quartermaster's Store. His medical condition was called haemoptysis, or spitting up blood or blood-tinged sputum from the respiratory tract.
On 12 October 1917 Horace's brother Albert became a victim of the bungled attack at Passchendaele, when he was killed in action. His name is amongst those on the NZ Memorial Tyne Cot Cemetery, Belgium.
Twelve months later, in October 1918, Horace was discharged from military service, a medical board having again declared him unfit from haemoptysis[2].
Not long after, tragedy struck Horace again when his wife Alice died, on 9 November 1918, in Kaikoura, aged 26 years. No death notice was published by the family, and it is not known if the cause of death was influenza. She was buried on 11 November in the cemetery in Kaikoura. Horace's whereabouts at the time his wife died are not known. What is known is that he died at the Victoria Military Hospital in Newtown, Wellington on 26 November, outliving his wife by a mere 15 days. This hospital was formerly the Victoria Hospital for Chronic Invalids but was handed over to the military for soldiers returning from the war. Horace was buried in the Soldiers’ Section of Karori Cemetery on 27 November.
Born 22 August 1888; died 26 November 1918; buried 27 November 1918; age 32
Regimental No: 35947
Horace CARTER was the 12th child of Alfred Carter and Annie Belle MCLEOD. The family eventually numbered 15 children, nine boys and six girls. Seven of the boys, including Horace[1], enlisted for service in World War 1, and at least two of them were killed in action. Horace was born in South Petherton, Somerset, England, on 22 August 1888.
Their father, Alfred, was born in England c. 1839. As a young man he went to Canada and the 1861 Canadian census listed him as a peddler in Ashburnham, Ontario, West Canada. On 14 July 1866 he married Annie in Fredericton, the capital of New Brunswick in eastern Canada. Their first daughter Laura Maud was born in Canada in 1868. Within the next two years Alfred took his wife and young daughter to live in England to settle and have more children: Mary Adelia b1870; Alfred Alexander b1872; Henry Thomas b1876; Annie Elizabeth b1876; Charles Edward b1878; Albert Brook b1880; Malcolm Ross b1881; William Francis b1883; Allan Randolph b1885; Daisy Beatrice b1887; Horace Edgar b1888; May b1890; Gladys Olive b1892; Kenneth Stanley Lionel b1895.
Two of the siblings had died before the 1911 census - Alfred in 1874 and Laura in 1910. Malcolm, who had enlisted with the 1st Border Regiment on 16 December 1904, drowned at sea on February 1912 en route from Port Blair to Rangoon. In the parliamentary borough of Battersea and Clapham register of 1905, Malcolm had been living at 16 Belmont Road, Wandsworth with his mother listed as the landlord.
Horace travelled to New Zealand around 1910, probably with Albert and their sister Annie. However, no shipping records have been found for his arrival in New Zealand.
By 1914 Horace was settled enough to marry Alice Ruth TURNER on 20 January 1914 in Timaru. She was the daughter of Edward Charles Turner and Elizabeth BARKER, had been born in Kaikoura, and had four siblings. On 21 November 1914 Horace and Alice’s son Geoffrey Horace Vernon was born in Timaru.
In April 1915 Horace's brother Albert enlisted with the NZ Expeditionary Force. He stated on his attestation for service that he had served 3.5 years with the Royal Marines Light Infantry in the UK and had attained the rank of Sergeant. His medical examination reported tattoos of a dragon on his chest, and a snake on his leg. His service didn't last long as he was found to be medically unfit and discharged in September. Undaunted, he re-enlisted on 18 September 1916 at Trentham as part of the 3rd Wellington Regiment and left for the Western Front in January 1917.
Three weeks before Albert's second enlistment another of the brothers, Charles, who had enlisted at Portsmouth with the 1st Battalion Hampshire Regiment was killed in action at Flanders, France on 3 September 1916.
Nevertheless, Horace, had decided he too had to 'do his bit' and he attested for active service at Featherston on 6 November 1916. He stated on his attestation record that he was working as a commercial traveller for a Christchurch company, Sartorial Service Ltd. For the time Horace was a tall man, his medical examination noting 6ft. 1in. as his height. Many of his contemporaries were recorded as less than 5ft 8in. tall.
In February 1917, according to a letter from Horace to the military authorities, he had had to 'send his wife away for two operations'. Alice had returned to live in Torquay Street, Kaikoura, presumably so her parents could provide some support to her and Geoffrey while Horace was on active service and perhaps because she was not well. In the same letter, Horace stated that he had 'six brothers that had served or are serving in the present war.'
In March 1917 Horace had to appear before a Medical Board, which decided he was not fit enough for active service but would be useful for home service, so he was retained, with the rank of Sergeant, to work in the Quartermaster's Store. His medical condition was called haemoptysis, or spitting up blood or blood-tinged sputum from the respiratory tract.
On 12 October 1917 Horace's brother Albert became a victim of the bungled attack at Passchendaele, when he was killed in action. His name is amongst those on the NZ Memorial Tyne Cot Cemetery, Belgium.
Twelve months later, in October 1918, Horace was discharged from military service, a medical board having again declared him unfit from haemoptysis[2].
Not long after, tragedy struck Horace again when his wife Alice died, on 9 November 1918, in Kaikoura, aged 26 years. No death notice was published by the family, and it is not known if the cause of death was influenza. She was buried on 11 November in the cemetery in Kaikoura. Horace's whereabouts at the time his wife died are not known. What is known is that he died at the Victoria Military Hospital in Newtown, Wellington on 26 November, outliving his wife by a mere 15 days. This hospital was formerly the Victoria Hospital for Chronic Invalids but was handed over to the military for soldiers returning from the war. Horace was buried in the Soldiers’ Section of Karori Cemetery on 27 November.
A death notice was published in the Evening Post on 29 November:
CARTER – On the 26th November, 1918, at Victoria Hospital, Sergeant Horace Carter, beloved son of Mr A Carter, Somerset, England; aged 32 years.
Horace's father Alfred died in Somerset in August 1918. His mother Annie died in Essex in 1923.
In St Andrews Church, Ansford, Somerset the following Ledger Stone was dedicated:
My husband Alfred CARTER for 14 years Churchwarden of this parish, died 11 Aug 1918, at Ansford, aged 79. And their sons, Sgt: Charles Edward; Sgt: Horace Edgar, NZ, and Pte: Albert Stone (sic), NZ who fell in action in the war of 1917.
Alice and Horace's son Geoffrey, orphaned by the time he was four years old, was presumably brought up by his mother's family. He married twice and had five children. He died in 2001 in Oamaru.
Researched and written by Beverley Hamlin
Grave Information:
Section: Soldiers
Plot: 29 D
[1] Henry Thomas, Albert Brook (KIA at Passchendaele), William Francis, Allan Randolph, Kenneth Stanley Lionel, Charles Edward (KIA).
[2] Haemoptysis is the coughing up of blood or blood-stained mucus from the bronchi, larynx, trachea, or lungs. This can occur with lung cancer, infections such as tuberculosis, bronchitis, or pneumonia, and certain cardiovascular conditions.
Sources:
1. New Zealand Births Deaths & Marriages historical – www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz
2. Newspapers – www.paperspast.natlib.gov.nz
3. Karori Cemetery – www.wellington.govt.nz > Services > Community & Culture > Cemeteries, including the photos of headstone
4. New Zealand Electoral Rolls and family information – www.ancestry.co.uk
5. Archives New Zealand New Zealand Army World War 1 records – www.archway.archives.govt.nz
6. General Registrar’s Office, England - www.gro.gov.uk
CARTER – On the 26th November, 1918, at Victoria Hospital, Sergeant Horace Carter, beloved son of Mr A Carter, Somerset, England; aged 32 years.
Horace's father Alfred died in Somerset in August 1918. His mother Annie died in Essex in 1923.
In St Andrews Church, Ansford, Somerset the following Ledger Stone was dedicated:
My husband Alfred CARTER for 14 years Churchwarden of this parish, died 11 Aug 1918, at Ansford, aged 79. And their sons, Sgt: Charles Edward; Sgt: Horace Edgar, NZ, and Pte: Albert Stone (sic), NZ who fell in action in the war of 1917.
Alice and Horace's son Geoffrey, orphaned by the time he was four years old, was presumably brought up by his mother's family. He married twice and had five children. He died in 2001 in Oamaru.
Researched and written by Beverley Hamlin
Grave Information:
Section: Soldiers
Plot: 29 D
[1] Henry Thomas, Albert Brook (KIA at Passchendaele), William Francis, Allan Randolph, Kenneth Stanley Lionel, Charles Edward (KIA).
[2] Haemoptysis is the coughing up of blood or blood-stained mucus from the bronchi, larynx, trachea, or lungs. This can occur with lung cancer, infections such as tuberculosis, bronchitis, or pneumonia, and certain cardiovascular conditions.
Sources:
1. New Zealand Births Deaths & Marriages historical – www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz
2. Newspapers – www.paperspast.natlib.gov.nz
3. Karori Cemetery – www.wellington.govt.nz > Services > Community & Culture > Cemeteries, including the photos of headstone
4. New Zealand Electoral Rolls and family information – www.ancestry.co.uk
5. Archives New Zealand New Zealand Army World War 1 records – www.archway.archives.govt.nz
6. General Registrar’s Office, England - www.gro.gov.uk