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Tom Barker was born on 3 June 1887 at Crosthwaite, Westmorland, England, the eldest child of Thomas Grainger Barker, a farm labourer, and his wife, Sarah Trotter. As a boy he worked on farms, attending school part time…

William Pierpont Black's career illustrates some of the more unusual aspects of the New Zealand labour movement in the early twentieth century. William Peter Negrescu was born in Bucharest, Romania, probably in 1876 or…

George Bruce Bolt was born on 24 May 1893 at Dunedin, the son of Frederick William Bolt, a salesman, and his wife, Mary Inkster Tait. His interest in aviation began as a nine-year-old when he watched early hot-air…

George Chamier, the son of William Chamier and his wife, Emily Crookenden, came from a prominent Huguenot family that had been in England since 1691. His great-grandmother's brother, Anthony Chamier, a prominent civil…

Arthur Cook was born at Campbelltown, Tasmania, on 30 November 1885, the son of Martha (Mary) Eberhardt and her husband, Alfred Cook, a labourer and later a station manager. He spent his early years in Australia working…

Freda Mary Pym was born on 9 November 1896 at Alvescott, Oxfordshire, England, one of four children of Emma Bertha Harrison and her husband, Samuel Arnott Pym, a solicitor. Freda attended Cheltenham Ladies' College from…

Muriel Helen Easterfield was born in Wellington on 26 February 1900 to Thomas Hill Easterfield and his wife, Anna Maria Kunigunda Büchel, who came from Bavaria. Her father, who was English, was foundation professor of…

Alexander Don was born in a tent at Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, on 22 January 1857, the eldest of the 10 children of John Don, a goldminer, and his wife, Janet Nicol. Both parents came from Scotland where his father…

Percy Leo Fowler was born at Litherland, Lancashire, England, on 14 December 1902, the son of Percy Nason Fowler, a clothing collector, and his wife, Christina O’Sullivan, a schoolteacher. In 1910 the family emigrated…

Charles Fraser was baptised in Aberdeen, Scotland, on 29 July 1823, the son of Hugh Fraser, a merchant, and his wife, Christina McAllan. Educated at the Grammar School of Aberdeen from 1833 to 1838 and then at Marischal…

Aileen Anna Maria Douglas was the daughter of a miller, John Douglas, and his wife, Bridget Murphy. She was born in County Cavan, Ireland, probably sometime between 1861 and 1863. Little is known of her early life. She…

George Ranald Macdonald, the son of Gertrude Gould and her husband, Ranald Macintosh Macdonald, was born at St Albans, Christchurch, on 4 October 1891. His maternal grandfather, George Gould, had been a leading merchant…

Margaret Louisa Kendall was born on 19 June 1895 in Headingley, Leeds, England, to Alfred Sunderland Kendall, a linen draper, and his wife, Fannie Gibson. She was educated at a Quaker school and the University of St…

Charles Quentin Fernie Pope, known as Quentin, was born in Whanganui on 21 October 1900, the youngest of seven children of Charles Quentin Fernie Pope, a master mariner, and his wife, Lillian Taudevin. Quentin was…

Arthur Espie Porritt was born at Whanganui on 10 August 1900, the son of Ernest Edward Porritt, a medical practitioner, and his wife, Ivy Elizabeth McKenzie. His mother died in 1914 during his first year at Wanganui…

Edward Richardson was born in London, England, probably in 1830 or 1831, the son of Elizabeth Sarah Miller and her husband, Richard Richardson, a merchant. Edward was educated at the City of London School. He trained as…

Mary Edith Clarke was born in Waimate North in the Bay of Islands on 23 September 1888, the daughter of Marsden Clarke, a grazier, and his wife, Frances Emily Stuart. Mary's great-grandfather, George Clarke, had arrived…

Maud Winifred Kimbell was born on 22 December 1880 at Dunedin, New Zealand, the daughter of Eliza Palmer and her husband, Alfred Charles Kimbell, a fruiterer and property owner who served a term as a Dunedin city…

Wilfrid Joseph Sim was born in Dunedin on 3 November 1890, the son of William Alexander Sim and his wife, Frances Mary Walters. His father was a solicitor and later became a judge of the Court of Arbitration and the…

William Sullivan was born on 8 December 1891 in Inglewood, Taranaki, the sixth and youngest child of Samuel John Sullivan and his wife, Sarah Maria Acton. His parents, both of southern Irish farming stock, had emigrated…