A Visit to the Portrait Studio

Dressed in uniform, they posed proudly in front of the camera. In 1914, there were nearly 50 photography studios in Canterbury and 20 of these were in Christchurch.

Portraits were given as keepsakes for those at home to remember their loved ones at the front. These portraits became memorials for those who died and were buried overseas.

Many of the photographs were reprinted in the newspapers' Roll of Honour pages that reported on the injured and dead. Private photographs therefore became objects of public memory and mourning.

Sergeant Henry James Nicholas (24213)

Noted for his exceptional valour and coolness under pressure, Henry was awarded a Victoria Cross for his "conspicuous bravery" during an attack on Polderhoek Chateau in Belgium on 3 December 1917. He was also awarded a Military Medal for acts of gallantry in the field just nine days before he was killed near Le Quesnoy on 23 October 1917.

Henry was one of the 18,058 New Zealanders who died as a result of World War One.

Watch a video about Henry Nicholas

Sergeant Percy Robert Holland (10/2648)

The son of Christchurch Mayor Harry Holland and his wife Jane, Percy volunteered for service in August 1915.

He survived fighting in Gallipoli but was tragically killed by gas poisoning in France on 4 February 1917. He, along with other soldiers from his battalion, are buried in the Communal Cemetery at Estaires, France.

Percy was one of the 18,058 New Zealanders who died as a result of World War One.

Second Lieutenant James Arthur Sydney Marris (6/672)

Private Arthur Marris fought at Gallipoli where he was wounded twice. He was transferred to the Machine Gun Corps in France and promoted several times.

Arthur suffered shrapnel wounds to the scalp in May 1917 but recovered and remained in England for the rest of the War.

Lieutenant Colonel Percival Clennell Fenwick (3/158A)

Christchurch surgeon Lieutenant Colonel Fenwick joined up for active service shortly after war was declared.

He suffered an injury to his ear drum as a result of a shell explosion at Gallipoli. A fortnight after peace was declared, he fell ill to influenza.

Staff Sergeant Albert Edward Gill (37808)

Six weeks after arriving in France, Bert received a severe wound to the buttocks.

After recovering in a British hospital, he was reassigned to the Clerical Section of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force headquarters in London.

He settled in Leeston, Canterbury and married local woman Maud McLachlan.

Sergeant George William Ladd Thomson (3/143A)

George was a dental assistant in Timaru when he enlisted in August 1914.

After serving with the Medical Corps at Gallipoli, George joined the New Zealand Dental Corps. In March 1917, he was transferred to England as a technician assisting with the restoration of soldiers’ shattered jaws and faces.

After the War, he qualified as a dental surgeon and established a practice in Auckland, where he remained until his retirement.

Lieutenant James Robert Dennistoun

Originally from Peel Forest, South Canterbury, James served with the North Irish Horse unit and later joined the 23^rd Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps.

During a bombing raid on Germany in 1916, his plane caught fire and he had to land behind enemy lines. He died as a result of his injuries in a German hospital.  

James was one of the 18,058 New Zealanders who died as a result of World War One.

Lieutenant Harold Edgar (45317)

Harold was a married self-employed barrister of Christchurch when he enlisted in January 1917.

Having previously been an officer in the Senior Cadets, he was given the rank of Second Lieutenant.

Assigned to the 3^rd New Zealand Light Trench Mortar Battery, Harold fought in France during 1918. He served in New Zealand during World War Two.

Lieutenant Commander Frank Arthur Worsley

After returning from nearly two years in Antarctica in late 1916, Worsley left Wellington for England the following February.

Once there he joined the Royal Navy Reserve and, as Captain of a Q-ship, was responsible for sinking a German U-boat on 26 September 1917.

Later in the war he was part of the North Russia Expeditionary Force.