|
Rank |
Rifleman |
|
Name |
Oliver Frank Pennefather |
|
Service |
New Zealand Army |
|
Unit |
2nd Battalion, 3rd New Zealand Rifle Brigade |
|
Attached To |
New Zealand Division, New Zealand Expeditionary Force |
|
Operation |
N/K |
|
Date of Death |
10th July 1916 |
|
Place of Death |
Armentieres, France (Somme) |
|
Circumstances |
Killed in Action |
|
Decorations |
1914-15 Star, War Medal, Victory Medal. |
|
Age |
21 |
|
Buried or Commemorated at |
Ration Park Military Cemetery, La Chapelle D’Armentieres |
|
Grave or Memorial Number |
Plot II : Row E : Grave 16 |
|
Website link |
https://tellthemofus.uk/biography-rifleman-oliver-frank-pennefather-nz-rifle-brigade |
Biography provided by Frank’s great grandniece: Bridget Herlihy PhD MA BA(Hons)
Adult Learning Tutor Ohakea - NZDC, New Zealand Defence College
Te Ope Kātua o Aotearoa | New Zealand Defence Force.)
Rifleman Oliver Frank Pennefather (‘Frank’) was born in Fordell, a small township south of Whanganui in New Zealand’s North Island. He was one of eight children born to Oliver Bateman Pennefather and Francis Annie Pennefather. Like his father, Frank was a farmer before he enlisted in the Army to join the WWI war efforts. He was deployed as part of the 3rd Rifle Battalion.
After completing training, Frank departed New Zealand in mid-1915, landing in Suez on 20th December 1915. He was posted to Ismailia, Egypt for several months, before embarking for France in Alexandria on 6th April 1916.
On the 10 July 1916, while posted to Armentieres in Northern France, Frank agreed to swap a patrol shift with another member of his battalion. It was during this shift that he was killed in action in the field by a German sniper. Frank was only 21 when he died.
He was interred at Ration Farm Military Cemetery, La Chapelle-d’Armentieres, Nord, France, along with a number of fellow New Zealanders who lost their lives near the French-German border.
He was posthumously awarded the 1914-1915 Star Service Medal, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal, which were presented to his parents.
His sister Umilta and her husband Emmett Herlihy delivered their first child, a son, on 10 July 1923; the seventh anniversary of Frank’s death, They named their son Frank in his honour (who then went on to serve with the RNZAF/RAF during WWII).
Source: https://www.geni.com/people/2nd-Lt-Sydney-Stephen-Pennefather-DCM-MC/6000000032510033821
Frank’s brother Sydney Stephen Pennefather joined the New Zealand Army and as a Sergeant was commissioned from the ranks as a 2nd Lieutenant. He served with distinction, and was highly decorated for his valour, being awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal in 1917 for his bravery in leading patrols behind enemy lines and the Military Cross in 1918 for mustering, reorganising and leading two platoons in a successful attack during the battle of Passchendaele. He also served in World War 2, but not in a combat role.
