Open/Close Toolbox
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 New Zealand License
Format: Person
Linked To
Copyright
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 New Zealand LicenseThis licence lets you remix, tweak, and build upon our work noncommercially and although your new works must also acknowledge us and be noncommercial, you do not have to license the derivative works on the same terms.
- People
- Places
- Themes
- Surprise Me!
Menu
- People
- Places
- Themes
- Surprise Me!
Lieutenant Harry Marshall Wright
Description
TitleLieutenant Harry Marshall WrightSummaryA soldier in World War One. DescriptionHarry was born 19 August 1891, the eldest son of Sidney Robert and Jessie Susan Wright, of Hororata, Canterbury. He was 5ft 9¼in tall with a dark complexion, brown eyes and dark brown hair as well as a scar on his chin. When he enlisted he was a clerk in the Treasury Department of the Christchurch City Council. His father was clerk of the Selwyn County Council. Harry was educated at the Christchurch Boys High School where he began his military career, serving three years with the cadets. After three years in the Christchurch City Rifles, he was appointed a Second Lieutenant in the Coast Defence Detachment of the 1st (Canterbury) Regiment being promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 10 August 1913.
When the war broke out Harry took up garrison duty at the Lyttelton forts for some months, and then enlisted for the front on 14 December 1914. He received a commission as Lieutenant in the Canterbury Infantry Regiment, Fourth Reinforcements, C Company. He embarked on the 17 April from Wellington and arrived in Egypt on 25 May 1915 and on to Gallipoli. On 6 August a full scale offensive began aimed at capturing the heights of Chunuk Bair in the Sari Bair Range. On the 7th, at 12.30 p.m., the Canterbury Battalion received orders to take part in a new attack on Chunuk Bair. They at once came under heavy shrapnel fire from the left flank and suffered severe casualties, losing one officer killed and six badly wounded. Harry was reported killed in action on 7 August but his body was not recovered. His name is engraved on the Chunuk Bair Memorial to the Missing, panel 12. He was aged only 24. In New Zealand he is remembered on the Hororata War Memorial.
First NameHarry MarshallLast NameWrightFamilySingleEldest son of Sidney Robert and Jessie Susan Wright, of HororataDate of Birth19 August 1891Place of BirthHororataDate of Death7 August 1915Place of DeathGallipoli, TurkeyCause of DeathKilled in actionAge at Death24
When the war broke out Harry took up garrison duty at the Lyttelton forts for some months, and then enlisted for the front on 14 December 1914. He received a commission as Lieutenant in the Canterbury Infantry Regiment, Fourth Reinforcements, C Company. He embarked on the 17 April from Wellington and arrived in Egypt on 25 May 1915 and on to Gallipoli. On 6 August a full scale offensive began aimed at capturing the heights of Chunuk Bair in the Sari Bair Range. On the 7th, at 12.30 p.m., the Canterbury Battalion received orders to take part in a new attack on Chunuk Bair. They at once came under heavy shrapnel fire from the left flank and suffered severe casualties, losing one officer killed and six badly wounded. Harry was reported killed in action on 7 August but his body was not recovered. His name is engraved on the Chunuk Bair Memorial to the Missing, panel 12. He was aged only 24. In New Zealand he is remembered on the Hororata War Memorial.
First NameHarry MarshallLast NameWrightFamilySingleEldest son of Sidney Robert and Jessie Susan Wright, of HororataDate of Birth19 August 1891Place of BirthHororataDate of Death7 August 1915Place of DeathGallipoli, TurkeyCause of DeathKilled in actionAge at Death24
Connections
CollectionSoldiers of Selwyn World War OneImageHororata War MemorialMore InformationAuckland War Memorial Cenotaph
Military Service
Memorial or CemeteryChunuk Bair Memorial to the MissingHororata War MemorialRegiment or ServiceCanterbury Infantry Regiment Enlistment Details14th December 1914Service Number6/2016Embarkation17th April 1915Place of EmbarkationWellingtonReinforcement4th Reinforcements
Attribution
Researched ByL. M. Seaton Taken FromPhoto taken from Auckland War Memorial Cenotaph. Please refer to this site for the photo’s copyright license
Lieutenant Harry Marshall Wright. Selwyn Stories, accessed 26/05/2026, https://selwynstories.selwynlibraries.co.nz/nodes/view/373