Description
Queen’s South Africa Medal, bar South Africa 1902, 8620 Private J. Mather, 10th New Zealand Contingent.
Dark toning from storage.
James Mather, was a farmhand from Taranaki, the son of William Mather, from Inglewood. He enlisted with the North Island Regiment, A Squadron, part of the 10th New Zealand Contingent, who served posted to South Africa on the Drayton Grange on 14th April 1902.
James Mather was born on 8th January 1883 in Huirangai, New Plymouth District, Taranaki, New Zealand.
He was the son of William Mather and Mary Graham, who had both emigrated to New Zealand from Scotland many years ago.
He had 7 Brothers and 2 Sisters.
He married Ada May Kendrick Silby during 1907 in Tariki, and had 5 children.
He died aged only 35 on 27th November 1918, in Inglewood, New Plymouth, Taranaki, this was during the Spanish Flu epidemic so it seems he to be the culprit.
There is a good photo included of him and his wife from online at his wedding.
A funeral notice was placed in the Taranaki Herald which reads;
“The funeral of the late James Mather will leave the Druids’ Hall, Inglewood, tomorrow (29th November 1918) at 1:45pm, arriving at Inglewood Cemetery about 2pm. Friends will kindly accept this invitation.
SPURDLE BROS AND ALLEN, Funeral Furnishers.”
