46592 ~ SIDNEY ANTHONY HILL
One thing I have learned since starting Medals Reunited NZ is that when it comes to accepting military medal donations, expect the unexpected. Not only are some of the background histories of the medal recipients fascinating and absorbing, but the source of the medals we are asked to reunite with families is equally diverse. One source that comes to my attention more often than any other is Op Shops. Also quite unexpectedly I discovered this medal recipient was loosely linked by association to my maternal grandfather.
Mary S. is the manager of the Salvation Army Family Store in Albany Bays, Auckland. Mary contacted me to ask for help to find an owner of a pair of First World War medals and a Certificate of Services that had been collected in a consignment of donated goods. What was unusual about this was the fact that the medals had not been found by a member of the public or recovered as a result of a Police operation, but rather had been well cared and were given away!
Mary’s husband was doing the rounds of Albany picking up donated goods on behalf of the Family Store from customers who had phoned in wanting to donate goods. After collecting the items that one particular unidentified donor had no longer any use for, the donor asked Mary’s husband if he could take some medals! He produced a frame containing two First World War medals that flanked a Certificate of Services in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, all professionally mounted under glass. The Certificate itself was in pristine condition, a high quality reproduction that had obviously had the soldier’s name, the medal details and years of service applied in a font I recognised as being computer generated. For all intents and purposes it looked authentic to the untrained observer. The frame was of a contemporary wood finish and the medals and certificate slotted into recessed cut-outs in an attractive crimson matt board. The layout was surmounted with a reproduction of an original style of Returned Soldier’s Badge (the large type used before WW2). Clearly the whole frame and mounting was recent and in excellent condition. Even the brown paper dust cover used to seal the back of the frame was unblemished and looked new.
The donor was adamant that the medals were to go and asked Mary’s husband if he could give them to someone who would know what to do with them? Yes he would and without any further explanation the donation of goods was completed and Mary’s husband returned to the Albany Bays Family Store with the donated items.
Mary told me Family Store policy generally precludes the acceptance of official medals as they can not guarantee they were owned legitimately by a donor. Such items could result in unwarranted threats or even attention by the Police. Mary had called upon her ‘voluntary helper’ at short notice and may not have been aware of the implications when offered the medals. Having read of MRNZ’s work in a recent North & South magazine, Mary phoned me and told me the story. I willingly accepted the challenge of finding a descendant to return the medals to and several days later the framed medals arrived which started another unexpected journey of discovery.
Without pulling the frame apart I could confirm the medals had the same details as were printed on the certificate. The British War Medal, 1914-18 and Victory Medal were indeed officially impressed to: 46592 PTE. S. A. HILL. N.Z.E.F.
Sidney Hill and coincidence …
After taking a look at “Sydney” Anthony Hill’s military service file I was amazed to find that the address he recorded as home was barely 200 yards from that of my late grandfather, Arthur Charles Leonard “Len” Brown’s home at 19 Austin Street in the Sydenham suburb of Waltham, Christchurch. It was the first and only house Len Brown every owned and occupied from 1926 to 1981. The public records showed that Sidney Hill, known as “Sid” (I will explain the spelling variation later in the story) had spent a good 50 plus years of his adult life living in Sydenham, 35 of which had been spent living at No. 123 Waltham Road. Waltham Road and Austin Street intersected 100 meters from the Hill’s house. Sid’s house was situated beside a barber shop and what had been an adjoining Four Square grocery store in its earlier life that occupied the corner of Waltham Road and Hastings Street West. Ever since I could recall visiting my grandparents in Austin Street, Gordon Kinzett’s barber shop had been owned run by Gordon and his wife Isobel. Gordon had started cutting hair in his twenties and was a life-long Sydenham Rugby Club member and Canterbury supporter.
Once a fortnight on a Saturday morning rain, hail or shine, Len Brown would walk the 200 meters past Sid’s cottage to the Kinzett’s for the obligatory ‘short back and no sides’ whether he needed it or not – Len, a tram driver, was old school. Everything had to be regular and programmed – routine was essential to good organisation he reckoned, whether needed or not. The same haircut regime was applied to Len Brown’s only son, my uncle Leonard Sydney Brown, the nephews and grandchildren – one of whom was me – from my earliest recollections from about 1958.
Undoubtedly my grandfather would have known Sid Hill well, likely meeting him on a regular basis when Sid was either gardening around the front of his cottage, or when all three men were together in the barber shop nattering away about the only two subjects in life that seemed to matter, rugby and horse racing. The Sydenham and Canterbury teams, or the races (trots and gallops) at Addington, Riccarton, Motukarara, Rangiora etc … these were legendary discussions, always animated that required an in-depth post mortem, particularly where a game or a race (and the betting money) was lost. General subject matter wasn’t short changed either and usually involved, “what are ya planting this season” and “how are your spuds doing at the moment – got a bit of blight on mine … should be ok by Christmas” and so on. And of course if a game or race meeting had been cancelled, there was always the inevitable default subject – the rights and wrongs of the incumbent government, and woe betide the ears of any casual listener if a Labour government was not running the country (how times have changed). What should have been a 20 minute haircut appointment frequently became a two hour chat-fest which continued unabated as customers came, had their haircut, bought cigarettes or tobacco and an Art Union / Golden Kiwi (lottery) ticket and went.
On a winter’s day Gordon would have his two bar heater cranked up to high heat, valve radio on the local 3YA National programme going in the background, with the windows completely steamed up (and running wet). ‘Roll your own’ cigarette smoke filled the air as the banter and chatter of male customer’s gave way to the odd howl of laughter in the Saloon of this tiny shop. Gordon and Isobel being gregarious types and staunchly loyal Sydenhamites would chat to anyone and everyone who came through the door, even the odd robber. Isobel at the front counter welcomed everyone in and out, always taking the time to chat. It was like a local drop-in centre the couple had been there so long. Gordon positioned through a door in the Saloon also welcomed everyone who came and went, while never missing a beat as he sheared whomever happened to be in the chair, man or boy. This I know from personal experience between the ages of seven and ten in the late 50s and early 1960s.
In 1999 at the age of 47, I returned to Christchurch to live in Waltham having had the opportunity to buy my late grandfather Len Brown’s house in Austin Street, after years away from the city. One of my first stops was for a haircut at Gordon’s, still in business after more than 50 years in the shop. His timeless routine and the shop’s time-warped interior had barely changed. As I sat and listened to the old familiar topics of conversation with waiting customers, it was as if I had never been away. After re-introducing myself to Gordon he once again regaled me with tales of my grandfather and of (we) kids sitting on the plank of wood he kept for a a child’s seat on the barber’s chair arm rests to elevate the a child’s head to his eye level. Gordon covered the changes in clientele, the street, what the Council was up to and where they were falling short, who had died, and who had moved in and out – Gordon was a living history book! I would bet dollars to donuts had Sid Hill still been his next door neighbour, he too would have been equally abreast of everything Gordon was aware of having spent countless hours in the shop whether for a haircut or not. … apologies Readers, a wave of nostalgia came over me as I write this and momentarily diverted my attention from Sid’s story. So, my research was off to a flying start but now with the added incentive of a personal historical connection.
Even greater interest resulted when I uncovered two other instances that I could personally relate to. One was to do with Sidney Hill’s name, and the other with No. 123 Waltham Road which Sid and his wife had lived in for so many years.
What’s in a name ?
Throughout Sid’s public record’s I found instances of his first name being spelled in two different ways fluctuating between “Sidney” and “Sydney.” His military file predominantly specified “Sydney” however it too contained references to “Sidney” Hill, including the enclosed Notification of Death. What I found more compelling was Sid’s own signature on his Attestation (contract) to serve in the NZ Military Forces for the duration of the war – he signed his full name as “Sidney Anthony Hill.” One should also remember that soldiers’ personal files were maintained by administrators and those in positions of command. Information, including name spelling, was generally taken from one of the first documents found on a soldier’s file, his Attestation for Service in the NZ Military Forces. Any errors on this document were highly likely to be perpetuated ad infinitum during a soldier’s service unless detected.
I have no idea if there was any particular family based reason why Sidney Hill had been so named but drawing on the example of my own uncle Leonard’s middle which was “Sydney”, I knew from this that his had been inspired by the suburb in which he was born in 1926 – Sydenham (which encompasses Waltham). The social protocol in respect to a name that could be spelt two different ways was to assign one to each gender to avoid confusion. When it became fashionable to use this particular name for a female, “Sydney” became the accepted spelling while “Sidney” inferred a male. Exceptions did exist but were generally related to entrenched historical and ancestral family names that could not be varied.
Application of a male and female style of spelling “Sidney” of course prompted men who had hitherto been named Sydney at birth, to alter their own spelling to Sidney. Whether Sidney Hill had originally been named “Sydney” after the suburb or for some other specific reason, was later changed by himself to Sidney, I have no idea. One can also not overlook the influence of “Sydney, Australia.” Being common knowledge to most it is an easily relatable default for some to spell male or female this way. Errors of spelling such names, as has been proven on numerous occasions, have also been attributed to the ability (or lack thereof) of people responsible for record taking and/or transcription.
As I also found with this name, Sid’s son Charles Sydney Hill also had his name often confused, including by those in the present who had posted family trees on Ancestry, or were of the belief that their understanding of the correct spelling was in fact incorrect. Charles Hill’s middle name was invariable spelled “Sydney” however all the electoral rolls for instance recorded him as “Charles Sidney Hill.” How many times would he have had to write his own full name and point out any errors, or spell out his full name to a record taker? Without viewing birth or death certificates (which can on occasions also contain spelling errors), I concluded the earlier record patterns to be regular and the most reliable when it came to establishing the correct spelling of a name such as Sidney/Sydney.
The naming coincidence was followed by yet another observation which linked me personally to this case; in 2008 I had been looking for a new business premises for a colleague whom I worked for as an importer and repairer of ceremonial regalia. With little suitable options in the area the existing workshop was in, one day while passing the cottage at 123 Waltham Road I spotted a For Sale sign on it. An open home viewing revealed the house built c1910 had only two bedrooms, a living/dining area at the back of the house which also contained a working coal range (“KAPAI” brand) and a shower room off one end. The kitchen and WC occupied a lean-to along the back wall of the house. An outdoor wash-house and WC was in a separate brick building (in a state of collapse when I viewed it) in the backyard but would need either demolition or a complete rebuild – all do-able I thought. The house was a great alternative to a commercial shop premises and the exorbitant rent. It was the right size, location, price and a land investment that would appreciate – and only 200 meters from home! Unfortunately as things turned out we did not buy the cottage. In my wildest imagining I would not have believed I would be in some way linked again to this cottage and its former owners.
Sidney Hill’s family
My research of the Hill family started in the usual way with lots of family trees to peruse and the public records pertaining to Christchurch.
Francis William “Frank” HILL (1864-1938) was a Silk Worker from Sutton in Cheshire, the youngest of four children born to Mary Hill, nee CLARKE (1828-1856) from Derbyshire, and husband Anthony HILL (1828-1915) from Ardwick, Lancashire in the north west of England Anthony was a Machine Jorman (one who has served his apprenticeship and mastered his craft; properly, one who no longer was bound to serve for years, but hired day by day). Anthony Hill’s wife (the first of three) Mary died in Manchester after only eight years of marriage. Anthony re-married Eliza CRONE (1836-1901) also from Derbyshire, migrated to New Zealand with four children; James, Rosina, Lilian and Francis William Hill, aboard the iron barque Southesk that arrived at Lyttelton on 28 December, 1879.
The Hill family put down roots in the Sydenham-Spreydon area of Christchurch with their young family growing up largely in Strickland Street, Somerfield. The youngest lad, Francis W. Hill, known as “Frank”, had been about 15 years of age when he arrived in Christchurch with the family and within a couple of years, Frank struck out on his own and made his way to Central Otago no doubt attracted by the promise of riches from the Otago goldfields. Whilst the gold rush that had started at Gabriel’s Gully in 1861 (or just “Gabriel’s” as it was then known after Gabriel Reed who first discovered gold there) were well and true over by the time Frank arrived on the scene, new found wealth was to be had in the 1880s from the alluvial gold that was being found in the river gravels. With an abundance of single women in Central Otago at this time (many being widows whose husbands had died whilst chasing their pot of gold), it was not long before he met and married Elizabeth “Eliza” STIMSON (1866-1944), an English woman from Bedfordshire in the east of England, about 66 kilometres north of London. The couple were living at Gabriel’s, a settlement in the famous gold mining Gully at Lawrence, when they began their family of six – five sons and a daughter. The first born was Francis James “Friday” HILL (1889-1977) followed by Sidney Anthony “Sid” HILL (1891-1970), Harold William “Harry” HILL (1893-1985), Olive Mary HILL (1895-1964), Percival Charles “Percy” HILL (1898-1959) and finally Albert Frederick “Bert” HILL (1902-1981).
By 1896, Frank and his family had returned to Christchurch and took up residence in Wordsworth Street, Sydenham where he started work for the Railways as a Fireman on steam locomotives. Wordsworth Street was a stone’s throw from the rail yards and Christchurch Station. It also bisects Waltham Road, about 120 meters from the cottage that Sid and Elsie Hill would eventually live in.
H. Hepburn & Sons Ltd
Following his primary schooling, second son Sidney “Sid” Hill’s first permanent job was with an iron foundry. Hugh Hepburn was an Ayreshire Scotsman who arrived in New Zealand in 1862 at the age of 19. He began work at an iron foundry owned by one John Anderson, a Scottish blacksmith who became a successful businessman in Christchurch and the city’s 2nd Mayor. When Anderson died in 1897, Hugh Hepburn and his two sons took over Anderson’s foundry at 94 Tuam Street, re-naming it H. Hepburn and Sons, Ironfounders (now the site of a public car park).
One of the items Hepburn’s manufactured was coal ranges/stoves and water heaters, all made from caste iron and copper, for both domestic and commercial purposes. When Sid Hill started working at Hepburns, his job title was that of “Range Maker.” Here he developed his skills around producing iron, cutting, fitting and turning iron, brass and steel, dressing metal products (smoothing, burnishing etc), skills he perfected over the greater part of his working life spent at Hepburns.** My research into these products revealed the coal ranges Hepburn’s made were called “KAPAI” ranges which explained the “Kapai” coal range I spotted in the cottage at 123 Waltham Road – Sid had probably made it himself!
Note: ** Sid Hill’s fitting and turning ability extended to the artistic side of his nature. He spent many hours creating the most delicate components and tools for his hobbies, one of which was building grandfather clocks. Not only did he make the wooden cabinetry of the clocks but he also made the clock’s entire mechanism! Sid hand-made every cog, screw and spring for the clock’s inner workings which included the pendulums and chimes. Once completed, he very generously gave his clocks away as presents. Today one of Sid’s grandfather clocks still resides in descendant family ownership with Syd’s youngest son Peter Hill who lives in Tasmania.
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For ‘King & Country’
46592 Private Sidney Anthony HILL was almost 26 years of age when he was balloted for serve overseas with the NZEF in 1917. While at Hepburns a National Manpower Register of all available single males between 16 and 60 had been compiled and since that time, numerous territorial training battalions had been started to begin the training of civil company and Government department men eligible for war service. Sid had been attending regular territorial army sessions as a member of ‘D’ Company, the 1st Battalion, Canterbury (Infantry) Regiment. Following his enlistment at Christchurch in 1914, Sid gained valuable experience of the essential military basics that helped to equip him for full-time service which he commenced at Trentham Camp on 23 January 1917. Aside from completing the administrative preliminaries for service in the Army such as Attestation, medical and dental checks at Trentham, the majority of Pte. Hill’s training was conducted at the purpose built Featherston Training Camp in the Wairarapa which was established primarily to train mounted unit and infantry reinforcement personnel. Sid was initially assigned to ‘C’ Company of the 25th Reinforcements for the training however once they got to France, the men could find themselves in with any company in any battalion (and not necessarily Canterbury) within the NZ Infantry Brigade, wherever the need was greatest.
At just five feet two inches (157.5cms) Pte. Hill made a fairly small target which may have worked in his favour. After the 25th Reinforcements completed their training, Pte. Hill was placed with the 4th Battalion, Canterbury Regiment prior to departure. On 26 April 1917 Sid embarked on HMNZT 84 Turakina with the remainder of the 25th and sailed for Devonport, England. Turakina arrived on 20 July and after disembarking, the troops were entrained to Bulford which entailed a march from the train station to the New Zealand Base Depot at Sling Camp on the Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire. More training, equipment issues and rehearsals for their role in the field in France consumed the next six weeks of their lives before it was time for Pte. Hill and his fellow Reinforcements to embarked for France. On 8 Sep 1917 they arrived at the NZ Infantry & General Base Depot situated within the boundary of a much larger multinational camp complex, the Etaples Depot Camp. With no time to enjoy whatever the camp may have had to offer, Pte. Hill and his fellows were whisked away from the camp after just seven days and transported to the Canterbury Infantry Regiment’s (CIR) position near the Front Line.
On arrival at his battalion’s position Pte. Hill was immediately placed in No.1 Company of the 4th Battalion, CIR. He had arrived just two weeks before 4 Battalion would be embroiled in serious fighting through the battles of Polygon Wood and Broodseinde. This period of the Somme offensive culminated in the disastrous Battle of Passchendaele on October 12, 1917. Passchendaele became infamous as a failed attack by the Allies on the heavily defended Bellevue Spur, a feature that led to the town of Passchendaele. The battle resulted in the deaths of over 3,700 Allied soldiers and in terms of New Zealanders, Passchendaele became the costliest day for the NZ Division in the First World War. In excess of 840 NZ soldiers were killed or mortally wounded, dying during the days and weeks following the battle.
Pte. Sid Hill remarkably survived these four horrendous weeks without any appreciable physical injury. But all that changed in a split second on 12 July 1918. A piece of cast iron shrapnel from an exploding artillery shell embedded itself in Sid’s back whilst another smashed into his left arm. It would indeed be ironic if the man whose pre-war profession working with cast iron, were to die by the very material he made his living from. Fortunately that was not to be. Whilst his wounds were assessed as severe, they were also survivable. Prompt action to evacuate Pte. Hill to the 1st Australian General Hospital at Rouen proved to be his life saver. In the following weeks he was evacuated to the 1st NZ General Hospital at Brockenhurst, Hampshire for surgery and aftercare while his wounds healed. After two months at Brockenhurst, Pte. Hill had improved sufficiently to enable his transfer to “Grey Towers”, the NZ Convalescent Hospital at Hornchurch in Essex. Following his release from Grey Towers in Sep 1918, a period of leave was granted which coincided with the Armistice, the declaration that ended the First World War on 11 November 1918. This of course meant Sid Hill did would not be returning to the field but rather following his leave, he would be retained in England at the NZ Depot demobilization and subsequent repatriation to New Zealand.
Sid ties the knot
Whilst at Brockenhurst, Sid Hill had the good fortune to meet a local girl named Elsie Sarah ROLLS (1895-1978) who came from Meadowview in Burley, Hampshire. Things can happen fast in war-time and so little time was wasted by Sid and Elsie on courtship, there simply wasn’t the time. Sid and Elsie were married at Burley on 9 August 1919, five weeks before Sid was scheduled to return to NZ on HMNZT 290 Paparoa. The reason for their haste was also to take advantage of a concession which had been made for married men (and women) of the NZEF whose wives/husbands were in England, to have their spouse return to NZ on a troopship but not necessarily together (this also included the children of married couples).
The first batch of ‘war brides’ and soldiers wives was due to depart on 21 February. Pte. Hill embarked onto the Paparoa without Elsie and departed from Avonmouth on 13 September 1919. The voyage of six weeks had Paparoa arriving in Wellington on 13 Nov 1919. The following day Paparoa sailed to Lyttleton and then Port Chalmers disembarking returning soldiers (and spouses) at their home ports before returning to Wellington.
Two weeks leave at home in Waltham followed including some mandatory military medical treatment and medical board assessments of the impact of his back and arm wounds. Only when satisfied no further treatment was required was Sid free to shed his uniform for good. Private Sidney Hill was discharged from the NZEF on the 6th December 1919.
Awards: British War Medal, 1914-18 and Victory Medal;
Silver War Badge
Service Overseas: 2 years 197 days
Total NZEF Service: 2 years 303 days
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Life after the war and ‘Hepburns’
Sid and Elsie Hill returned to the Hill family home at 147 Strickland Street, Somerfield where they lived with Sid’s parents until separate housing could be arranged.
The birth of Sid and Elsie’s one and only child in 1920, Charles Sydney “Syd” HILL,** heralded their move from Sid’s parent’s house into a rented place at 10 Scott Street in Sydenham. By 1935 Sid and Elsie had returned again to 147 Strickland Street to live with Sid’s parents, Frank and Eliza Hill. This was quite possibly for economic reasons as the Great Depression that followed the Wall Street Crash of 1929 caused massive shortages of EVERYTHING, food items in particular were in either short supply or just not available at all. As a result, rationing had been introduced in the 1930s. Food, clothing and even fuel such as oil and coal for lighting (oil lamps), cooking (coal ranges) and heating (open fire fuel) was issued via stamps from a Ration Book. Economy and sparing use of the stamps was essential to save up for something that was desperately needed, or one went without. Many cheap substitutes necessitated an acquired taste when it came to food items, such as “dripping” – a rendered down beef fat produced in 1.kg slabs (slightly larger than a spaghetti can) was normally used for cooking but became the number one substitute for butter. When butter was available, it was astronomically priced so that only the well heeled could afford it. Everything that in the past had been disposed of as household rubbish was religiously saved – string, brown paper, stockings, corks, milk bottle tops, cardboard, newspaper….., you name it, and it was saved and recycled, decades before the advent of the word!
Around 1937 Sid, Elsie and 16 year old Charles Sydney moved into the cottage at 123 Waltham Road. Schooling at Waltham Primary School opposite the house was very convenient. When young Syd started work, he had a job as a Metal Polisher in the Sydenham industrial area until World War 2 intervened. Before the war Syd became engaged to Christchurch born Jennie Christine RAINE (1915-2009) but the couple decided to defer their marriage until after Syd returned home. Given the potential for not coming home in the back of every soldier’s mind, this was possibly the reason Syd and Jennie decided to have their first child before Syd went overseas. William Stanley Hill was born in 1942 just prior to Syd’s departure in 1943. Fortunately Syd did come home safely, was married to Jennie and in 1951, their second son Michael Sidney Hill was born. A third son, Peter David Hill arrived much later in their married life in 1978. The census records for this year also confirmed that C. Sydney and Jennie were living with plus Syd’s mother Elsie were still living at 123 Waltham Road at this time, not long before Elsie Hill moved into the Archer Retirement Home.
Notes:
** WW1 – 2/1434 Gunner Harold William “Harry” HILL – NZ Field Artillery. Sidney Hill’s younger brother Harry was an indenture apprenticed Carpenter when he embarked for Egypt in April 1915 with the 4th Artillery Reinforcements. Also a veteran of Gallipoli (attached to the NZ Engineers in Jul 1915 for Gallipoli construction tasks), France and Belgium, Harry was wounded with gun-shots to his left arm and right hand in Sep 1916. Promoted to Bombardier (Corporal) in June 1917, he served overseas for a total period of 3 years 333 days before being discharged from the NZEF in April 1919. He was awarded the WW1 medal Trio and the ANZAC (Gallipoli) Commemorative Medallion (1967) with Lapel Badge. Harry Hill died in Christchurch on 22 August 1985.
** WW2 – 409400 Private Charles Sydney “Syd” HILL – NZ Infantry Reinforcements. Sidney and Elsie Hill’s only son was called up to serve in the 2nd NZEF during for WW2. He joined the Territorial Force as an Infantryman with the 6th Battalion, Canterbury Regiment, 2nd New Zealand Division. Syd was first balloted for service in 1940 however due to the birth of his son in 1942, his service was deferred until late 1942. Pte Hill was 23 years old when he went into camp at Burnham to start infantry training for service overseas. In January 1943 he embarked as an Infantry Reinforcement and would see his unit fighting in Egypt, North Africa and Italy before he returned home safely in 1946.
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When Sidney A. Hill returned from the First World War it took quite some time after his wounds were fully healed to develop full mobility and able to work again. Sid returned to Hepburns in due course, his position there given a new title – “Range Fitter” (as in a metal working ‘Fitter & Turner’) which was in essence building coal range stoves and water heaters. Sid stayed on with Hepburns for the next 40-odd years until around 1960 when he finally retired from foundry work. His tenure at Hepburn and Sons had totalled almost 48 years of loyal service making him the longest serving employee of the company at that time. (I wonder if he got a gold watch when he left?). The following year was 1961 and at 71 years of age, Sid started a new job assisting his son Syd, a self-employed Painter and Wallpaper Hanger, with his contract work. Sid did most of the interior painting jobs while his son painted the building exteriors, both worked together hanging any wallpaper.
In his spare time Sidney Hill had always kept himself active in a well equipped shed behind the cottage. He was also a fair shot with a rifle and according to son Peter, never came home from a hunting trip empty handed. Sid was also renowned for his fitting and turning skills that he had spent the best part of 50 years honing at Hepburn and Co. There was nothing that Sid could not produce on a metal lathe, from a pin to a tow-truck shackle, and he was equally at home on a wood turning lather. His real passion (and skill) was for making full-size grandfather clocks which when completed he gave away as gifts.
By 1969 Sid at 78 was feeling his age. He had fully retired from painting and decorating and had ceased most of his workshop pastimes. On 23 November 1970, 46592 Private Sidney Anthony Hill passed away in his 80th year. He was cremated and his ashes interred at the Woodland Memorial Gardens in Linwood, Christchurch.
End of an era
Elsie Hill remained on her own in their Waltham Road cottage until around 1972 by which time age and infirmity necessitated that she move into the residential care of Archer Village Retirement Home at 166 Colombo Street, just a few hundred yards from where Sid and Elsie had begun their married life together, with Sid’s parents at 147 Strickland Street. When Elsie Hill finally went to Archer Village, Syd and Jennie Hill returned to occupy the Hill family home at 123 Waltham Road. After Elsie Hill died in 1978, Syd and Jennie Hill remained in the family cottage in Waltham until relocating to Picton thereby ending Hill family ownership of 123 Waltham Road for ever.
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Finding a Hill among the mountains …
As I went through a myriad of Ancestry family trees that contained references to this particular Hill family, I was able to piece together only those members who appeared up to 1981 (the record limit) however I found that family names became few and far between from as early as 1970. Early deaths, female marriages and critically for my research Charles Sydney Hill being an only child, the visibility of any traceable family was considerably diminished for finding a descendant to pass the medals to. Sid and Elsie’s only son was of limited help since he married after WW2 and so Syd and Jennie’s three boys would not appear in any Electoral Roll until they had turned 21 which meant 1966/67 at the earliest. Birth, Death & Marriage records were also of no use to determine family members as birth records are not publicly accessible until 100 years have elapsed from a birth date, or 80 years in the case of marriage records, so I struggled to find a link.
I started at the limit of the Electoral Rolls (1981) and worked backwards looking for name clues to link with Syd and Jennie Hill. Given names are only published from the age of 21, that left 1967 and 1981 (five Electoral Roll cycles) where any children Syd and Jennie had would appear (if they indeed had any?). Of the five records the most numerous year for Hills was 1978 (104 Hills). As a start point, if you arbitrarily deduct say 50% of these as being women, this still leaves over 69 males to check – not practical. None of the names showed any clue (such as an address) that linked to Syd and Jennie Hill at 123 Waltham Rd. The one small hint I thought might show a connection was one Hill named Michael S. Hill (not the jeweller!). This person’s middle name was “Sidney” and coincidentally spelled the same way as ‘Sidney Hill’. Could this be a grandson or some other relation of Sid’s? I checked all rolls that listed Michael Sidney Hill and found three others that contained his name.
Michael was listed from 1972, 1975, 1978 and 1981, a married Plumber living at 19 Young Street, Spreydon. By 1981 Michael had changed his address to Fisher Avenue in Beckenham … but even this record was still 40 years out of date so really did not help to place him in 2020 unless of course he was still at the same address – he wasn’t. Another small hint which helped to form the overall of a possible link was provided by Michael’s addresses in these records. Beckenham adjoins the suburbs of Sydenham, Waltham, Somerfield and Spreydon, all areas Hill family members had lived in for most of their lives. But that was not enough to prove any sort of connection to Syd and Jennie Hill. As it turned out they had three sons:
- First son William Stanley Hill (1920–2005) known as “Bill” was listed, a married Electrician, however there was no way I could have known he was linked to Syd & Jennie Hill. His birth was not visible on BDM (less than 100 years since birth), same for marriage and, Bill was also deceased. Bill and his wife Muriel lived in Barrington. One particular day in June 2007 whilst doing some DIY at home, Muriel went on an errand to the local shops. When she returned, 65 year old Bill who had been working up a step ladder when she left, lay on the ground at the foot of the ladder, lifeless. The inquest indicated a medical event had most likely befallen Bill while he was up the ladder. He had fallen, and died however his death was not necessarily attributed to the fall (although it contributed). The finding ruled the fall was possibly initiated by a medical event (possibly heart attack) or perhaps he had slipped? This information was provided by Michael after we met.
- Second son Michael Sidney Hill (1951–). The listings for Michael made no link between him and the Hill’s at 123 Waltham Road so I was no further ahead here.
- Third son Peter David Hill (1978–) being a contemporary birth meant he did not feature in any records. Peter in fact was/is a resident of Australia. This information was provided by Michael after we had met.
I felt sure that the answer lay somewhere in Syd or Jennie Hill’s public records. Whilst looking through the Christchurch Death Index and cemeteries database for either of their graves, I wondered why neither were listed for either of them? – perhaps they had been cremated? There are no on-line records of cremations available to the public for any Christchurch crematoria. Before I made any approach to the crematoria for this information, and assuming the Hills had remained in NZ and not emigrated, I decided to cast my net a little wider through the South Island should Syd and Jennie have been interred beyond the Christchurch metropolitan area. Searches of cemeteries in rural Canterbury, North Canterbury, South Canterbury, West Coast netted no results. A global name search for NZ finally produced a result – Charles Sydney HILL had died at Picton on 16 May 2005 and his wife Jennie Christine HILL on the 1st of November, 2009. Both were buried in the Picton Cemetery.
This was clearly a case of a family who had lived in one place most of their lives and regularly listed in the electoral records, until moving or retiring somewhere completely different. It follows that no references to this would be found if an electoral year and therefore a roll that recorded their names was not produced, or if the move occurred after 1981 (limit of Ancestry), or they had deceased before an electoral or census record was produced. Short of something in their lives that occurred to bring their name to national attention, it is difficult to trace someone who is living elsewhere and who leaves no trace of movement.
I felt there must have been a logical reason Syd and Jennie had left Christchurch for Picton later in life, miles away from their not inconsiderable extended family connections in Christchurch. Perhaps they had a holiday home in the Marlborough-Tasman region and had retired to this? One of the most common reasons elderly persons/parents often move late in life is to be nearer family (or vice versa), particularly if they have grandchildren. With no idea at this point that Syd and Jennie had two other sons William Stanley Hill or Peter David Hill, my awareness extended to only to Michael Sidney Hill as a potential connection and that was based solely on the fact he is middle name was the same, and spelled the same way, as Sidney Hill. If Michael was connected, could he be the reason Syd and Jennie moved to Picton? A looooooong bow I grant you but I had to start somewhere. In reviewing Michael Hill’s history I found a detail that I had missed the first time around when going through electoral rolls. The address Michael had once lived at in Spreydon, 19 Young Street, was also the address attributed to Syd and Jennie Hill pre-1963 before they eventually returned to live in the Hill family cottage at 123 Waltham Road in the 1970s …. I was onto something! The reason I missed the connection to Michael was for one obvious reason – he would have been under 21 and therefore not listed in the electoral roll until 1972 and beyond, about the same time as Syd and Jennie returned to Waltham!
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Taking a punt I sent ‘Mr Google’ a request with the following: Plumbers / Picton / Hill. The results: “Michael Hill, a veteran tennis player who had survived a heart attack on the tennis court in Blenheim two years ago” article, plus contact references to every Michael Hill Jeweller store under the sun. I made a subtle change to my input: “Mike Hill, Plumber in Picton.” Up came a business website page entitled “Neighbourly.co.nz” showing: MIKE HILL BUILDER / Home & Garden /… Picton, Waikawa … This definitely looked promising, a telephone number and a map was included.
I telephoned the number shown and spoke with a Mrs Kathie Hill, Mike Hill’s wife who was most helpful as Mike was absence. Kathie confirmed I had the correct “Michael, Plumber ex-Fisher Ave of Christchurch.” Kathie also confirmed Mike’s parents were the late Charles Sydney and Jennie Hill who had been residents of 123 Waltham Road. I arranged to catch up with Mike and Kathie the following day once I drove to Waikawa from Nelson. This was to be one of the few cherished occasions when I get to meet descendant families and personally hand over medals of an ancestor – always a special occasion which validates MRNZ’s raison d’etre.
Denouement …
After relating to Mike the story of the medals and how they had come to MRNZ, Mike was astounded at this turn of events and delighted when I explained why he was the recipient of his grandfather’s medals. In fact Mike had known very little about his grandfather’s service much less that he had WW1 medals, and so we spent some time talking about grandfather Sid Hill’s service. Mike apprised me of some of the unknowns from my research of the Hill family, such as the details (above) of his two brothers William and Peter, details that I had no way of knowing about and without could not have completed this story. Photographs of his father Syd Hill in uniform were a bonus, some of which are in this post thanks to Mike’s kind consent to include them. Importantly for this post, Mike had a couple of photographs of his grandfather and grandmother which is often the hardest thing to find for the cases we research. I had no idea that his grandfather Sid was such a tall and striking gentleman as his photographs suggest. I had only seen him occasionally in old age, and usually in the barber’s chair, from the time I was a child.
Having spent a thoroughly delightful afternoon with Mike and Kathie, nothing else was left to do but to hand over Sid’s medals and to capture the occasion with a couple of photographs.
A bonus for Mike …
One of the unforeseen bonuses that sometimes occurs with researching a soldier’s file is the discovery of a medal entitlement that has remained unclaimed. Pte. Sidney A. Hill was a Gallipoli veteran who survived and returned to NZ. In 1967, the year of the 50th Anniversary of the Gallipoli Landings by the ANZACs, the Australian and New Zealand governments jointly produced the Anzac (Gallipoli) Commemorative Medallion, engraved with the soldier’s initials and name only, as a memento for all living veterans of the campaign who were still alive. In addition to the medallion, living veteran’s were also entitled to receive a miniature representation of the medallion in the form of a Lapel Badge, impressed with the soldier’s service number on the rear. Next of Kin were not able to claim the Lapel Badge for a deceased Gallipoli veteran as it was a reserved prerogative accorded to the living veterans only.
Eligibility to claim the Anzac Medallion on behalf of a Gallipoli veteran who was later killed or died at any time after the Campaign, was extended to the next of kin and remains an extant offer to this day. Sid Hill died just three years after the medallion was produced however no claim was ever made by him, or anyone since. We have furnished Mike with an application to claim his grandfather’s Anzac (Gallipoli) Medallion entitlement.
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My sincere thanks to manager Mary S. of the Salvation Army Family Store Albany Bays, for her foresight in contacting MRNZ. Her action in contacting MRNZ has ensured that these medals had an opportunity to be returned to family ownership – we are pleased to have produced the result Mary had hoped for. With renewed interest in his Hill ancestry, Michael Sidney Hill is now the proud owner of his grandfather Sidney Anthony Hill’s war medals including a commemorative certificate of his services, and an Anzac Medallion to come.
The reunited medal tally is now 388.