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Gunner Ralph Reader Coe
Description
TitleGunner Ralph Reader CoeSummaryA soldier in World War One. DescriptionRalph was born 26 March 1878 at Irwell, son of John and Elizabeth Coe. Before enlisting he was a farmer on Banks Peninsula for a number of years on the Le Lievre property in Gough's Bay, although he enlisted from Burnham. He was an ardent footballer and captain of the Akaroa team for two years including 1911 when Akaroa won the Peninsula Flag competition. He also represented the province on one of the West Coast tours and was for many years a prominent member of the Irwell football team. He was also a keen cricketer. He was 5ft 7in tall.
Ralph enlisted on 19 April 1915 and was assigned to the Canterbury Mounted Rifles, Sixth Reinforcements. He embarked 14 August 1915 on board the Tofua bound for Suez. He survived service at Gallipoli and during the reorganisation of troops for the Western Front was re-assigned to the Field Artilliery. He was transferred to a French Mortar Battery on 12 May and then back to the 11th Battery, 3rd N Z Brigade on 20 June. He was sent to hospital 15 November 1916 having been unwell almost since leaving New Zealand. He was initially diagnosed with gastritis and was evacuated by hospital ship Princess Elizabeth to England on New Year’s Day 1917. After a couple of months in hospital at Brockenhurst he returned to France in late March. However barely two months later on 14 May he was again admitted to hospital and evacuated to England, this time on board the Pieter de Coninck. He was treated at the No 2 New Zealand general Hospital at Brockenhurst, for cancer of the stomach. Later he was moved to the Walton-on-Thames Hospital where he died on 20 June 1917, aged 39. One of his nurses was a cousin, Mary Ellen Coe, to whom he was engaged to be married. He was accorded a Military Funeral at Brookwood Military Cemetery attended by his fiancé Mary and other relatives. He was buried beside another New Zealand soldier with Colonel J. A. Luxford, Military Chaplin, officiating, a salute was fired and the Last Post sounded. Ralph is remembered on the Ellesmere County & Springston War Memorials. There is also a memorial to him and his fiancé’s brother in the small church at Catworth, Huntingdon.
Brookwood Military cemetery is owned by the Commission and is the largest Commonwealth war cemetery in the United Kingdom, covering approximately 37 acres.
In 1917, an area of land in Brookwood Cemetery (The London Necropolis) was set aside for the burial of men and women of the forces of the Commonwealth and Americans, who had died, many of battle wounds, in the London district. This site was further extended to accommodate the Commonwealth casualties of the Second World War. There is a large Royal Air Forces section in the south-east corner of the cemetery (which also contains the graves of Czech and American airmen who served with the Royal Air Force) and the Air Forces shelter building nearby houses the register of the names of those buried in the section. A plot in the west corner of the cemetery contains approximately 2,400 Canadian graves of the Second World War including those of 43 men who died of wounds following the Dieppe Raid in August 1942.
The Canadian Records building, which was a gift of the Canadian government, houses a reception room for visitors and other offices. In addition to the Commonwealth plots, the cemetery also contains French, Polish, Czech, Belgian and Italian sections, and a number of war graves of other nationalities all cared for by the Commission. The American Military Cemetery is the responsibility of the American Battle Monuments Commission. Brookwood Military Cemetery now contains 1,601 Commonwealth burials of the First World War and 3,476 from the Second World War. Of the Second World War burials 5 are unidentified, 3 being members of the R.A.F. and 2 being members of the R.C.A.F. The war graves of other nationalities in the Commission's care number 786 including 28 unidentified French.
First NameRalph ReaderLast NameCoeFamilySingleSon of John and Elizabeth CoeDate of Birth26 March 1878Place of BirthIrwell, CanterburyDate of Death20 June 1917Place of DeathEnglandCause of DeathDied of sicknessAge at Death39
Ralph enlisted on 19 April 1915 and was assigned to the Canterbury Mounted Rifles, Sixth Reinforcements. He embarked 14 August 1915 on board the Tofua bound for Suez. He survived service at Gallipoli and during the reorganisation of troops for the Western Front was re-assigned to the Field Artilliery. He was transferred to a French Mortar Battery on 12 May and then back to the 11th Battery, 3rd N Z Brigade on 20 June. He was sent to hospital 15 November 1916 having been unwell almost since leaving New Zealand. He was initially diagnosed with gastritis and was evacuated by hospital ship Princess Elizabeth to England on New Year’s Day 1917. After a couple of months in hospital at Brockenhurst he returned to France in late March. However barely two months later on 14 May he was again admitted to hospital and evacuated to England, this time on board the Pieter de Coninck. He was treated at the No 2 New Zealand general Hospital at Brockenhurst, for cancer of the stomach. Later he was moved to the Walton-on-Thames Hospital where he died on 20 June 1917, aged 39. One of his nurses was a cousin, Mary Ellen Coe, to whom he was engaged to be married. He was accorded a Military Funeral at Brookwood Military Cemetery attended by his fiancé Mary and other relatives. He was buried beside another New Zealand soldier with Colonel J. A. Luxford, Military Chaplin, officiating, a salute was fired and the Last Post sounded. Ralph is remembered on the Ellesmere County & Springston War Memorials. There is also a memorial to him and his fiancé’s brother in the small church at Catworth, Huntingdon.
Brookwood Military cemetery is owned by the Commission and is the largest Commonwealth war cemetery in the United Kingdom, covering approximately 37 acres.
In 1917, an area of land in Brookwood Cemetery (The London Necropolis) was set aside for the burial of men and women of the forces of the Commonwealth and Americans, who had died, many of battle wounds, in the London district. This site was further extended to accommodate the Commonwealth casualties of the Second World War. There is a large Royal Air Forces section in the south-east corner of the cemetery (which also contains the graves of Czech and American airmen who served with the Royal Air Force) and the Air Forces shelter building nearby houses the register of the names of those buried in the section. A plot in the west corner of the cemetery contains approximately 2,400 Canadian graves of the Second World War including those of 43 men who died of wounds following the Dieppe Raid in August 1942.
The Canadian Records building, which was a gift of the Canadian government, houses a reception room for visitors and other offices. In addition to the Commonwealth plots, the cemetery also contains French, Polish, Czech, Belgian and Italian sections, and a number of war graves of other nationalities all cared for by the Commission. The American Military Cemetery is the responsibility of the American Battle Monuments Commission. Brookwood Military Cemetery now contains 1,601 Commonwealth burials of the First World War and 3,476 from the Second World War. Of the Second World War burials 5 are unidentified, 3 being members of the R.A.F. and 2 being members of the R.C.A.F. The war graves of other nationalities in the Commission's care number 786 including 28 unidentified French.
First NameRalph ReaderLast NameCoeFamilySingleSon of John and Elizabeth CoeDate of Birth26 March 1878Place of BirthIrwell, CanterburyDate of Death20 June 1917Place of DeathEnglandCause of DeathDied of sicknessAge at Death39
Connections
Military Service
Memorial or CemeteryBrookwood Military CemeteryEllesmere County War MemorialSpringston War Memorial Occupation before EnlistingFarmer Regiment or ServiceCanterbury Mounted RiflesEnlistment Details19th April 1915Service Number7/1210Embarkation14th August 1915TransportTofua
Attribution
Researched ByL. M. SeatonTaken FromPhoto: Weekly Press 15 August 1917
Gunner Ralph Reader Coe. Selwyn Stories, accessed 13/01/2026, https://selwynstories.selwynlibraries.co.nz/nodes/view/346
