Tpr. Arthur Richard Fitzherbert

Arthur Richard Fitzherbert is the oldest New Zealand soldier ever killed in action. Aged 63 when he died, Arthur managed to pass himself off as 40 years old when he joined up in 1914. He was the son of Lt/Col. Richard Henry Fitzherbert and Susan Fitzherbert (nee Castle). Arthur had arrived in New Zealand in around 1872 when he was 19 years old. He bought land in Marton and became a farmer. He married Mary Lucy Marshall in 1881. During World War I he joined the Canterbury Mounted Rifles and in 1916 transferred into the Wellington Mounted Rifles with whom his son Arthur was serving. The Mounted Rifles became part of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force and Arthur was wounded but continued fighting. He was wounded a second time, and on the way to the dressing station stopped to help a comrade, but was hit by shrapnel. He died of his wounds on 27 March 1917.

Sources

1. Cenotaph: https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/...
2. New Zealand and World War One Roll of Honour: http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~sooty/genealogy/nzefrohF.html / Ref 8.4.2021