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Thomas Lachlan Macdonald was born in Invercargill on 14 December 1898, the son of Thomas Forsaith Macdonald, a farmer, and his wife, Margaret Ann Matheson. Tom took great pride in his Scottish descent: one of his great-…

William Robert Murray was born at Kirkby Stephen, Westmorland, England, on 25 April 1896, the son of Elizabeth Carne and her husband, John Murray, a postman. The youngest of six children, Bill attended the local board…

Stuart Newall (baptised as Stewart) was born in the parish of Durrisdeer, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, on 9 May 1843, the son of Thomas Newall, a tailor, and his wife, Anne Dalziel. Nothing is known of his early life. In…

Born at Inglewood, Taranaki, on 8 December 1906, Geoffrey Newland Roberts was to serve two air forces and the international airline industry with great distinction. His father, Charles Oxford Roberts, had migrated from…

Foss Shanahan was born at Alexandra on 10 June 1910, the son of Thomas Shanahan, a police constable, and his wife, Ethel Florence Foss. He was educated at the Christian Brothers’ Boys’ School in Dunedin and Waitaki Boys…

Robert Thompson Batley, the son of Jane Thompson and George Batley, a mariner, was born in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England, on 15 November 1849. He was educated in Portsmouth, and at about the age of 13 joined the crew…

George Thomson Chapman (baptised George) was born in Stonehaven, Kincardineshire, Scotland, on 14 June 1824, the son of Charles Chapman, a farmer, and his wife, Mary Wood. He became an apprentice in a general store and…

Christina Ferguson was born in Scotland probably in 1814 or 1815, the daughter of John Ferguson, a carpenter, and his wife, Helen. On 8 October 1834, in the parish of East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, Scotland, she married…

James Ring was born at Camberwell, Surrey, England, on 6 April 1856, the youngest son of Harriet Elph and her husband, Stephen Ring, a journeyman carpenter. His photographic career began early. After an education which…

Ann West was born at New Scone, Perthshire, Scotland, on 17 May 1825, the daughter of Mary Brough and her husband, John West, a cotton handloom weaver. Ann may also have worked as a weaver before migrating to the…

Edward Shillington was born in Belfast, Ireland, and baptised there on 15 March 1835. He was the son of Margaret Little and her husband, Edward Shillington, a labourer. Little is known of his early life, but he spent 21…

Francis Dillon Bell, usually called Dillon, is said to have been born in France on 8 October 1822. His father, Edward Bell, was a merchant and the British consul at Bordeaux. His mother, Frances, was the daughter of an…

Constance Alice Rawcliffe, known as Connie, was born on 27 July 1898 at Haydock, Lancashire, England, the daughter of Catherine Williamson and her husband, John Rawcliffe, a police constable. Measles as a baby left…

Mary Isabel Lambie was born in Christchurch on 26 October 1889, the eldest of five children of Margaret Sidey and her husband, George Lambie, a shipping agent. Her father was an elder of the Presbyterian church; her…

Geoffrey Sylvester Peren was born at Streatham, Surrey, England, on 30 November 1892, the son of Ethel Mary Fleming and her husband, Robert Henry Peren. His father came from a farming background but after attending the…

Edward Puttick was born in Timaru on 26 June 1890, the son of John Prior Puttick, a London-born railway platelayer, and his wife, Rachel Orpen, who came from County Kerry, Ireland. He was educated at Waitaki Boys’ High…

One of New Zealand’s most prolific and widely published poets, William Kendrick Smithyman was born on 9 October 1922 in Te Kopuru, a milling town near Dargaville, Northland. He was the only child of William Kendrick…

John (Jock) Angus Adamson was born at Queenstown, Lake Wakatipu, New Zealand, on 15 August 1865, the son of Peter Adamson, a baker, and his wife, Jane Grinley. Nothing is known of his early life or education. On 7 June…

William Wallace Burn (later known as William Wallace Allison Burn) was the first New Zealand army officer to qualify as a military aviator. He was born on 17 July 1891 at Melbourne, Australia, where his parents, Forbes…

Hugh Cassidy was born probably on 8 April 1840 at Dunkineely, County Donegal, Ireland, the son of Andrew Cassidy, a contractor, and his wife, Margaret McGroarty. Around 1858 he emigrated to the goldfields in Victoria,…