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Private Charles Andrew
Description
TitlePrivate Charles AndrewSummaryA soldier in World War One. DescriptionAndrew was born at Greenpark on 17 December 1882, son of William Bale and Mary Ann Andrew. He attended Greenpark School and won a prize in Standard V. He was described as a fine stamp of manhood and a successful farmer at Greenpark. He was one of the married soldiers as he had married Alice nee Guy in Rangiora on 25 November 1915. He was 5ft 10½in tall with a fair complexion, grey eyes and light brown hair. Interestingly he stated that his religious affiliation was Non Sectarian.
Andrew enlisted at Christchurch on 10th February 1917 and was assigned to B Company, 28th Reinforcements, Wellington Infantry Regiment. He embarked on 24 July 1917 on board the Waitemata for England. He arrived in Plymouth and onto to Sling Camp on 25 September. It just a month later that he left for France on 26 October, reaching Base Depot at Etaples on 29th. He joined the battalion in the field on 8 November and was killed in action on 26 November 1917, aged 35. This was only 5 short weeks after his arrival in France. His body was not recovered or identified and his name is inscribed on the Buttes Memorial to the Missing, Polygon Wood, Ypres. In New Zealand he is remembered on the Greenpark War Memorial.
CWGC Cemetery locale history: Polygon Wood (the "Polygone de Zonnebeke", or Polygoneveld)is a large wood south of the village of Zonnebeke which was completely devastated in the First World War. The wood was cleared by Commonwealth troops at the end of October 1914, given up on 3 May 1915, taken again at the end of September 1917 by Australian troops, evacuated in the Battles of the Lys, and finally retaken by the 9th (Scottish) Division on 28 September 1918. On the Butte itself is the Battle Memorial of the 5th Australian Division, who captured it on 26 September 1917. Polygon Wood Cemetery is an irregular front-line cemetery made between August 1917 and April 1918, and used again in September 1918. A walled avenue leads from Polygon Wood Cemetery, past the Cross of Sacrifice, to the Buttes New British Cemetery. This burial ground was made after the Armistice when a large number of graves (almost all of 1917, but in a few instances of 1914, 1916 and 1918) were brought in from the battlefields of Zonnebeke.
The Buttes New British Cemetery (New Zealand) Memorial, which stands in Buttes New British Cemetery, commemorates 378 officers and men of the New Zealand Division who died in the Polygon Wood sector between September 1917 and May 1918, and who have no known grave. The majority died in the trenches, or in working and carrying, and the conditions in the Salient during the winter of 1917-18 must explain the comparatively large number of names on this memorial, which deals with only one set attack on a German position. This is one of seven memorials in France and Belgium to those New Zealand soldiers who died on the Western Front and whose graves are not known. The memorials are all in cemeteries chosen as appropriate to the fighting in which the men died. The cemeteries and memorial were designed by Charles Holden.First NameCharlesLast NameAndrewFamilySon of William Bale Andrew and Mary Ann Andrew, of Greenpark, CanterburyHusband of Alice Campbell Andrew, of Tankerville St. Spreydon, ChristchurchDate of Birth17 December 1882Place of BirthGreenparkDate of Death26 November 1917Place of DeathYpres, BelgiumCause of DeathKilled in actionAge at Death35
Andrew enlisted at Christchurch on 10th February 1917 and was assigned to B Company, 28th Reinforcements, Wellington Infantry Regiment. He embarked on 24 July 1917 on board the Waitemata for England. He arrived in Plymouth and onto to Sling Camp on 25 September. It just a month later that he left for France on 26 October, reaching Base Depot at Etaples on 29th. He joined the battalion in the field on 8 November and was killed in action on 26 November 1917, aged 35. This was only 5 short weeks after his arrival in France. His body was not recovered or identified and his name is inscribed on the Buttes Memorial to the Missing, Polygon Wood, Ypres. In New Zealand he is remembered on the Greenpark War Memorial.
CWGC Cemetery locale history: Polygon Wood (the "Polygone de Zonnebeke", or Polygoneveld)is a large wood south of the village of Zonnebeke which was completely devastated in the First World War. The wood was cleared by Commonwealth troops at the end of October 1914, given up on 3 May 1915, taken again at the end of September 1917 by Australian troops, evacuated in the Battles of the Lys, and finally retaken by the 9th (Scottish) Division on 28 September 1918. On the Butte itself is the Battle Memorial of the 5th Australian Division, who captured it on 26 September 1917. Polygon Wood Cemetery is an irregular front-line cemetery made between August 1917 and April 1918, and used again in September 1918. A walled avenue leads from Polygon Wood Cemetery, past the Cross of Sacrifice, to the Buttes New British Cemetery. This burial ground was made after the Armistice when a large number of graves (almost all of 1917, but in a few instances of 1914, 1916 and 1918) were brought in from the battlefields of Zonnebeke.
The Buttes New British Cemetery (New Zealand) Memorial, which stands in Buttes New British Cemetery, commemorates 378 officers and men of the New Zealand Division who died in the Polygon Wood sector between September 1917 and May 1918, and who have no known grave. The majority died in the trenches, or in working and carrying, and the conditions in the Salient during the winter of 1917-18 must explain the comparatively large number of names on this memorial, which deals with only one set attack on a German position. This is one of seven memorials in France and Belgium to those New Zealand soldiers who died on the Western Front and whose graves are not known. The memorials are all in cemeteries chosen as appropriate to the fighting in which the men died. The cemeteries and memorial were designed by Charles Holden.First NameCharlesLast NameAndrewFamilySon of William Bale Andrew and Mary Ann Andrew, of Greenpark, CanterburyHusband of Alice Campbell Andrew, of Tankerville St. Spreydon, ChristchurchDate of Birth17 December 1882Place of BirthGreenparkDate of Death26 November 1917Place of DeathYpres, BelgiumCause of DeathKilled in actionAge at Death35
Connections
CollectionSoldiers of Selwyn World War OneImageGreenpark War MemorialMore InformationAuckland War Memorial Cenotaph
Military Service
Memorial or CemeteryButtes New British Cemetery (NZ) Memorial, Polygon WoodGreenpark War MemorialOccupation before EnlistingFarmerRegiment or ServiceWellington Infantry RegimentEnlistment Details10th February 1917Service Number52057Embarkation24th July 1917Place of EmbarkationWellingtonTransportWaitemataTheatre of WarWestern FrontReinforcement27th ReinforcementsNominal Roll69/6CountryNew Zealand
Attribution
Researched ByL. M. SeatonTaken FromPhoto taken from Auckland War Memorial Cenotaph. Please refer to this site for the photo’s copyright license.
Private Charles Andrew. Selwyn Stories, accessed 16/01/2026, https://selwynstories.selwynlibraries.co.nz/nodes/view/490
