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Carl Gustav Schmitt was born on 9 December 1837 at Frankfurt am Main, Germany, the fifth child of Aloys Schmitt, a celebrated composer, pianist and teacher, and his wife, Auguste Caroline Wohl. His uncle, Jacob Schmitt…

David Luckie (Mitchell was added later) was born in Montrose, Forfarshire, Scotland, on 5 October 1827, the son of Thomas Luckie, a merchant, and his wife, Mary Mitchell. He was educated there and worked in a mercantile…

Leonard John Cronin was born in Aramoho, Whanganui, on 16 November 1900, the son of Joseph Henry Cronin, an engineer, and his wife, Margaret Edwards. He was educated at Woodville District High School and began work as a…

Francis Vernon Douglas was born in Johnsonville, near Wellington, on 22 May 1910, the fifth of eight children (five sons and three daughters) of Kathleen Gaffney and her husband, George Charles Douglas, an Australian-…

Harry Atmore was born in Nelson on 14 December 1870, the 11th child of Edward Atmore, a gardener, and his wife, Ellen Winearls. Harry was educated at the Bridge Street School and then apprenticed to a signwriter in…

Bill Carson was honoured in sport as the fifth person to represent New Zealand in both cricket and rugby, and in war as a recipient of the Military Cross for bravery. The son of the Gisborne harbourmaster, Alexander…

Colin Falkland Gray was born at Papanui, Christchurch, on 9 November 1914, the elder of twin sons of Margaret Langford and her husband, Robert Leonard Gray, an electrical engineer. He was educated at Huntley School in…

Christopher Vincent Cosmo Stanich Homer was born in Sydney, Australia, on 9 March 1902, the son of Ernest Matthew Homer, a grocer’s assistant, and his wife, Florence May Lillian Pritchard. After education at the North…

Hugh Stewart was born at Premnay, East Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on 1 September 1884, the son of Margaret Mackintosh and her husband, John Stewart, the parish’s Presbyterian minister. After excelling at the village…

Michael Herbert Watt was born at Green Island, near Dunedin, on 16 March 1887, the 11th of 13 children of Scottish-born parents Michael Watt and his wife, Isabella Shand. His father was minister of the local…

Thomas William Potter was born in Streatham, Surrey, England, on 2 August 1843, the son of John Potter, an agricultural labourer, and his wife, Jane Phipps. He later changed his name to Porter and claimed to have been…

Ellen Dougherty was born at Cutters Bay, Marlborough, New Zealand, on 20 September 1844, the daughter of Sarah McAuley and her husband, Daniel Dougherty. Her father had been a whaler for some years before establishing a…

Frances Isabella Haselden was born probably in 1841 or 1842 in London, England, the daughter of Maria Simpson Moore and her husband, Charles Haselden. The family emigrated to New Zealand in 1860 or 1861. Frances…

Isabel Noeline Baker was born at Opawa, Christchurch, on 25 December 1878, the second and only surviving child of John Holland Baker, chief surveyor of Canterbury, and his wife, Isabel Strachey. Noeline, as she was…

Herbert Leslie Bockett was born on 29 June 1905 in Ōpōtiki to Charles Frederick Bockett and his wife, Lilian Mary Bridger, who farmed in the area. Bert and his twin brother, Arthur, were educated at Dilworth Ulster…

Algernon Charles Gifford was born on board the Zealandia on Good Friday, 18 April 1862, somewhere off the Cape of Good Hope. He was the son of Sarah Annie Evans and her husband, Algernon Gifford, an Anglican clergyman…

Elizabeth Messenger was born Betty Margery Esson on 25 July 1908 at Thames, the second of three children of Amy Isobel Dodd and her husband, Melvin Brown Esson, a senior telegraphist with the Post and Telegraph…

Frank Milner was born in Nile Street, Nelson, New Zealand, on 7 November 1875, the son of William Milner, a draper, and his wife, Annie Dodson Swanson. He attended the Bridge Street Boys' School in Nelson and gained top…

Montague Ongley was born in Oamaru on 10 December 1888, the 10th in the large family of Frederick Ongley, a gardener, and his wife, Mary Ann Mullin. His father was born in England and his mother in Ireland. Several…

Francis (Frank) Morphet Twisleton was born at Settle in Yorkshire, England, on 17 February 1873. He was the son of Thomas Twisleton, a farmer and businessman, and his wife, Mary Ann Morphet. After attending Giggleswick…