Cecil Herbert Kingston

=== EXTRACT FROM wikipedia - Battle of the Somme ===
Battle of Flers–Courcelette, 15–22 September
Main article: Battle of Flers-Courcelette

The Battle of Flers–Courcelette was the third and final general offensive mounted by the British Army, which attacked an intermediate line and the German third line to take Morval, Lesboeufs and Gueudecourt, which was combined with a French attack on Frégicourt and Rancourt to encircle Combles and a supporting attack on the south bank of the Somme. The strategic objective of a breakthrough was not achieved but the tactical gains were considerable, the front line being advanced by over 2,500–3,500 yards (2,300–3,200 m) and many German casualties being inflicted. The battle was the début of the Canadian Corps, New Zealand Division and tanks of the Heavy Branch of the Machine Gun Corpson the Somme.[29]

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Flers_-_Courcelette


=== EXTRACT FROM wikipedia - New Zealand Division ===
The New Zealand Division was a World War I infantry division formed in Egypt in January 1916 following the evacuation of Gallipoli. At the outbreak of war the New Zealand Expeditionary Force contained a single infantry brigade which was combined with the unattached Australian 4th Infantry Brigade to form the New Zealand and Australian Division which served at Gallipoli. By the end of 1915, New Zealand's contingent had expanded such that they could now field a complete division of their own. A second infantry brigade was formed from reinforcements currently in Egypt. A third infantry brigade, the "Rifle Brigade", had arrived complete from New Zealand. The New Zealand Division was originally attached to I Anzac Corps and departed for France in April 1916. Bright Williams, who would eventually become New Zealand's oldest living veteran of that war, fought with this division.

http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH1-NZRi-t1-body-d6-d2-d2.html#WH1-NZRi-fig-WH1-NZRiP016a

=== EXTRACT FROM wikipedia - New Zealand Rifle Brigade ===
Egypt

Two battalions left Wellington on 8 October 1915 eventually arriving in Cairo on 14 November. They were then attached for duties with the Western Frontier Force. They were joined on 13 and 15 March 1916 by the third and fourth battalions. After a period of reorganisation the full brigade left Alexandria on 7 April for France.

France

After a period of training the brigade entered the line on 13 May east of Armentieres. It participated in the vast majority of the battles of 1916, 1917 and 1918. Notable examples include:

The brigade's first major offensive was during the Battle of the Somme when it attacked on 15 September as part of the Battle of Flers-Courcelette.


=== EXTRACT FROM muse.aucklandmuseum.com ===
Record Detail

Full Name: Cecil Herbert Kingston
Rank Last Held: Rifleman
Forename(s): Cecil Herbert
Surname: Kingston
War: World War I, 1914-1918
Serial No.: 24/1705
Gender: Male
Place of Birth: Australia
First Known Rank: Rifleman
Occupation before Enlistment: Labourer
Next of Kin: C. Kingston (father), Bream Creek, Tasmania
Body on Embarkation: New Zealand Rifle Brigade
Embarkation Unit: 3rd Reinforcements 2nd Battalion, F Company
Embarkation Date: 8 January 1916
Place of Embarkation: Wellington, New Zealand
Transport:

HMNZT 38
HMNZT 39

Vessel: Tahiti or Warrimoo
Destination: Suez, Egypt
Nominal Roll Footnotes: Born in Australia.
Nominal Roll Number: 16
Page on Nominal Roll: 8
Last Unit Served: New Zealand Rifle Brigade, 3rd Battalion, 3rd
Place of Death: Somme, France
Date of Death: 15 September 1916
Year of Death: 1916
Cause of Death: Killed in action
Memorial Name: Caterpillar Valley (New Zealand) Memorial, Caterpillar Valley Cemetery, Longueval, Somme, France
Biographical Notes: Cecil Kingston was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kingston, of Bream Creek, Tasmania, Australia.
Archives NZ source: Military personnel file
Sources Used:

Nominal Rolls of New Zealand Expeditionary Force Volume II. Wellington: Govt. Printer, 1917
Commonwealth War Graves Commission. URL: http://www.cwgc.org

=== EXTRACTED FROM NZ Army WWI Nominal Rolls 1914-1918 ===
2ND BATTALION - (F COMPANY)
24/1705 - Rifleman - Kingston, Cecil Herbert - Labourer - C Kingston (father), Bream Creek, Tasmania

=== EXTRACTED FROM NZ Army WWI Casualty Lists ===
P 568
Killed In Action
Non-commissioned officers and men

No: 24/1705 - Rifleman - Kingston, C. H., - Reported 1/10/16 - Casualty List No 418/33 - Force: 2nd N.Z.R.B.

=== Extracted from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission ===
www.cwgc.org

Casualty Details
Name: KINGSTON, CECIL HERBERT
Initials: C H
Nationality: New Zealand
Rank: Rifleman
Regiment/Service: New Zealand Rifle Brigade
Unit Text: 3rd Bn. 3rd
Date of Death: 15/09/1916
Service No: 24/1705
Additional information: Son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kingston, of Bream Creek, Tasmania.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Memorial: CATERPILLAR VALLEY (NEW ZEALAND) MEMORIAL

Cecil was issued with a "Widow's Penny" as a result of his death. This would also have been issued with a letter from King George but this is not with the penny. The penny was in the posession of Peter Cleeland until his death and passed on to Jason Cleeland when Peter's wife Jan's estate was distributed in July 2011.

Details of Cecil's Burial Place
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Cemetery Details
Cemetery: CATERPILLAR VALLEY (NEW ZEALAND) MEMORIAL
Country: France
Locality: Somme
Location Information: Longueval is a village approximately 13 kilometres east of Albert and 10 kilometres south of Bapaume. The Memorial is situated on a terrace in Caterpillar Valley Cemetery, which lies a short distance west of Longueval, on the south side of the road to Contalmaison.
Historical Information: Caterpillar Valley was the name given by the army to the long valley which rises eastwards, past "Caterpillar Wood", to the high ground at Guillemont. The ground was captured, after very fierce fighting, in the latter part of July 1916. It was lost in the German advance of March 1918 and recovered by the 38th (Welsh) Division on 28 August 1918, when a little cemetery was made (now Plot 1 of this cemetery) containing 25 graves of the 38th Division and the 6th Dragoon Guards. After the Armistice, this cemetery was hugely increased when the graves of more than 5,500 officers and men were brought in from other small cemeteries, and the battlefields of the Somme. The great majority of these soldiers died in the autumn of 1916 and almost all the rest in August or September 1918. CATERPILLAR VALLEY CEMETERY now contains 5,569 Commonwealth burials and commemorations of the First World War. 3,796 of the burials are unidentified but there are special memorials to 32 casualties known or believed to be buried among them, and to three buried in McCormick's Post Cemetery whose graves were destroyed by shell fire. On 6 November 2004, the remains of an unidentified New Zealand soldier were entrusted to New Zealand at a ceremony held at the Longueval Memorial, France. The remains had been exhumed by staff of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission from Caterpillar Valley Cemetery, Longueval, France, Plot 14, Row A, Grave 27 and were later laid to rest within the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, at the National War Memorial, Wellington, New Zealand. On the east side of the cemetery is the CATERPILLAR VALLEY (NEW ZEALAND) MEMORIAL, commemorating more than 1,200 officers and men of the New Zealand Division who died in the Battles of the Somme in 1916, and whose graves are not known. 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. Both cemetery and memorial were designed by Sir Herbert Baker.
No. of Identified Casualties: 1205