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Lance Sergeant William Harold Petrie
Description
TitleLance Sergeant William Harold PetrieSummaryA soldier in World War One. DescriptionWilliam was born 16 November 1891 at Christchurch, son of James and Jane Petrie of Brookside. Before enlisting he was working as a farm labourer for Mr Quigley at Doyleston. He had previous military experience and was a keen soldier as a corporal in the A Squadron Canterbury Yeomanry Cavalry. He was a prominent footballer, having played for the Irwell Club for several seasons. He was described as “a fine stamp of soldier who has a great many friends in the Ellesmere district, all of whom will learn of his misfortune with regret”. He was 5ft 11in tall with a fresh complexion, grey eyes and brown hair.
He enlisted on 14 August 1914 at Rangiora and was assigned to the Canterbury Mounted Rifles. He embarked with the Main Body on 16 October 1914. He had a bout of influenza and was sent to Hospital in Malta but rejoined his unit on 20 August 1915 before missing in action on 28 August during the renewed fighting for Hill 60. A board of enquiry determined that he had been killed in action on the 28th, aged 24. His name is inscribed on the Hill 60 Memorial to the Missing, Gallipoli. He is remembered on the Irwell plaque of the Ellesmere County War Memorial.
Hill 60 (Kaiajik Aghyl, or Sheepfold of the Little Rock), on the 60 metre contour line, is the end of a range which runs south-eastward to Hill 100 between Kaiajik Dere and Asma Dere. Hill 60 (New Zealand) Memorial is situated in Hill 60 Cemetery, which lies among the old trenches.The eight month campaign in Gallipoli was fought by Commonwealth and French forces in an attempt to force Turkey out of the war, to relieve the deadlock of the Western Front in France and Belgium, and to open a supply route to Russia through the Dardanelles and the Black Sea. The Allies landed on the peninsula on 25-26 April 1915; the 29th Division at Cape Helles in the south and the Australian and New Zealand Corps north of Gaba Tepe on the west coast, an area soon known as Anzac. On 6 August, further landings were made at Suvla, just north of Anzac, and the climax of the campaign came in early August when simultaneous assaults were launched on all three fronts. At the beginning of August 1915, Hill 60, which commanded the shore ward communications between the forces at Anzac and Suvla, was in Turkish hands. On 22 August, it was attacked from Anzac by the Canterbury and Otago Mounted Rifles, followed later by the 18th Australian Infantry Battalion and supported on the flanks by other troops. It was partly captured and on 27-29 August, and the captured ground was extended by the 13th, 14th, 15th, 17th and 18th Australian Infantry Battalions, the New Zealand Mounted Rifles, the 5th Connaught Rangers, and the 9th and 10th Australian Light Horse. The ground was held until the evacuation in December. The Hill 60 Memorial is one of four memorials erected to commemorate New Zealand soldiers who died on the Gallipoli peninsula and and whose graves are not known. This memorial relates to the actions at Hill 60. It bears more than 180 names. Hill 60 Cemetery lies among the trenches of the actions of Hill 60. It was made after those engagements, and enlarged after the Armistice by the concentration of graves from Norfolk Trench Cemetery and from the battlefield. There are 788 burials and commemorations in the cemetery. 712 of the burials are unidentified, but special memorials commemorate 34 casualties known or believed to be buried among them.First NameWilliam HaroldLast NamePetrieAddress30 Fairfield Avenue, Addington, ChristchurchFamilySingleSon of James and Jane Petrie of BrooksideDate of Birth16 November 1891Place of BirthChristchurch Date of Death28 August 1915Place of DeathGallipoliCause of DeathKilled in action Age at Death24
He enlisted on 14 August 1914 at Rangiora and was assigned to the Canterbury Mounted Rifles. He embarked with the Main Body on 16 October 1914. He had a bout of influenza and was sent to Hospital in Malta but rejoined his unit on 20 August 1915 before missing in action on 28 August during the renewed fighting for Hill 60. A board of enquiry determined that he had been killed in action on the 28th, aged 24. His name is inscribed on the Hill 60 Memorial to the Missing, Gallipoli. He is remembered on the Irwell plaque of the Ellesmere County War Memorial.
Hill 60 (Kaiajik Aghyl, or Sheepfold of the Little Rock), on the 60 metre contour line, is the end of a range which runs south-eastward to Hill 100 between Kaiajik Dere and Asma Dere. Hill 60 (New Zealand) Memorial is situated in Hill 60 Cemetery, which lies among the old trenches.The eight month campaign in Gallipoli was fought by Commonwealth and French forces in an attempt to force Turkey out of the war, to relieve the deadlock of the Western Front in France and Belgium, and to open a supply route to Russia through the Dardanelles and the Black Sea. The Allies landed on the peninsula on 25-26 April 1915; the 29th Division at Cape Helles in the south and the Australian and New Zealand Corps north of Gaba Tepe on the west coast, an area soon known as Anzac. On 6 August, further landings were made at Suvla, just north of Anzac, and the climax of the campaign came in early August when simultaneous assaults were launched on all three fronts. At the beginning of August 1915, Hill 60, which commanded the shore ward communications between the forces at Anzac and Suvla, was in Turkish hands. On 22 August, it was attacked from Anzac by the Canterbury and Otago Mounted Rifles, followed later by the 18th Australian Infantry Battalion and supported on the flanks by other troops. It was partly captured and on 27-29 August, and the captured ground was extended by the 13th, 14th, 15th, 17th and 18th Australian Infantry Battalions, the New Zealand Mounted Rifles, the 5th Connaught Rangers, and the 9th and 10th Australian Light Horse. The ground was held until the evacuation in December. The Hill 60 Memorial is one of four memorials erected to commemorate New Zealand soldiers who died on the Gallipoli peninsula and and whose graves are not known. This memorial relates to the actions at Hill 60. It bears more than 180 names. Hill 60 Cemetery lies among the trenches of the actions of Hill 60. It was made after those engagements, and enlarged after the Armistice by the concentration of graves from Norfolk Trench Cemetery and from the battlefield. There are 788 burials and commemorations in the cemetery. 712 of the burials are unidentified, but special memorials commemorate 34 casualties known or believed to be buried among them.First NameWilliam HaroldLast NamePetrieAddress30 Fairfield Avenue, Addington, ChristchurchFamilySingleSon of James and Jane Petrie of BrooksideDate of Birth16 November 1891Place of BirthChristchurch Date of Death28 August 1915Place of DeathGallipoliCause of DeathKilled in action Age at Death24
Connections
CollectionSoldiers of Selwyn World War OneImageLeeston and Ellesmere County War MemorialMore InformationAuckland War Memorial Cenotaph
Military Service
Memorial or CemeteryEllesmere County War MemorialHill 60 Memorial to the MissingOccupation before EnlistingFarm Labourer Regiment or ServiceCanterbury Mounted RiflesEnlistment Details14th August 1914 at RangioraService Number7/389TransportTahitiAthenicCountryNew Zealand
Attribution
Researched ByL. M. Seaton
Lance Sergeant William Harold Petrie. Selwyn Stories, accessed 10/11/2025, https://selwynstories.selwynlibraries.co.nz/nodes/view/251
