William Spottiswoode HOPKIRK


William Spottiswoode HOPKIRK was the third child of William HOPKIRK & Mary DANIEL

William was born 17 May 1893 in Wellington, New Zealand.

William lived with his parents at 104 Marjoribank Street in Wellington.

In 1912 William S.  Hopkirk received a postcard from his grandfather, Sea Captain John Daniel. The card is addressed to: Wm Hopkir Esq (Jnr), Care W. Hopkir, Marjori Bank Street, Wellington. The message reads:  "A Heavy Sea taking charge of the foreward deck th??? very lively J Daniel granddad" (Captain Daniel is probably describing the photo on the postcard.) Go here to view the postcard

William probably joined the New Zealand Military in 1914, as the ribbons he was awarded appear to be from the First Samoan Advanced Force which captured German Samoa in August of 1914. William also served in Gallipoli, Egypt and France. William was a Seargeant in the Wellington Infantry Battalion and on 19 August 1915 he sent this card to his parents.. In the spring of 1916 he was in France. Here are links to William's diary for the last few weeks of his life. He had lost his previous diary in December 1915. He probably lost his diary during the massive evacuation from Gallipoli in late December 1915. He was in Egypt from January 1916 to April 1916. He landed in France on 11 April 1916. His diary begins after 3 weeks in the north of France where he was in charge of #2 Platoon. View William's last diary pages   #1   #2    #3    #4    #5    #6    #7.  
William was killed in action in France on 1 June 1916.
View William's Military awards. The ribbons appear to be for service in August 1914 in the First Samoan Advance Force which captured German Samoa Also a closer look at the medallion created in honor of his giving his life for his country.  




(Our thanks goes to Mary Hopkirk Atkinson and William Hopkirk for supplying most of the information about W. S. Hopkirk.)

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This page was last updated on 26 March 2015