Trevor's Family
Trevor was the second oldest child in his family with one older brother, one younger brother and four sisters. He was born on 24 April 1890 in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand[1] to immigrant parents. Both his parents, Josiah and Ellen had emigrated to New Zealand as young children with their parents. They grew up in New Zealand.
Paternal Grandparents
Trevor’s paternal grandparents William and Fanny (Greek) Lane, along with his father Josiah (2 years 3 months old on leaving England), uncle William (6 months old on leaving) and grand-aunt Lucy Greek (his grandmother’s sister) travelled to New Zealand from London aboard the ship ‘Crimea’ arriving at Port Chalmers, Dunedin in September 1863[2]. They came from Devon in England.
After arriving in New Zealand Trevor’s Grandfather, William, built a successful business. He started his company in 1861, initially in partnership with others. After his partnership with Richard Kingston was dissolved in 1887, the company continued as William Lane & Co[3]. The Company manufactured aerated water and cordial and operated in Dunedin, Oamaru and Timaru[4].
Maternal Grandparents
Trevor’s maternal grandparents George and Nancy (Barnes) Hindle married in Victoria, Australia in 1855[5]; each having immigrated there from England[6]. Both were from Lancashire. Trevor’s mother, Ellen, was born in Australia in 1862[7]. At the time of her birth, the family was living at Sandhurst, subsequently renamed Bendigo, in Victoria. Her father, George, was mining for gold at Golden Gully in Sandhurst[8]. Life was hard on the Victorian goldfields. Most people working the diggings would have been living in tents and only the lucky few struck it rich. However, George and Nancy must have managed to raise enough money to travel to New Zealand and start afresh in Dunedin. At this time, Trevor’s Mother, Ellen, was George and Nancy’s only child. Ellen’s three older siblings had died at Sandhurst in their infancy aged 10 months, 7 weeks and 8 months old[9].
We can’t know for sure what drew them to New Zealand. It may have been the discovery of gold here in 1861 or simply the thought of new beginnings and the hope of a better life[10]. Whatever the case, the family was established in Dunedin, Otago by 1864 by the time George and Nancy’s next child, Benjamin was born[11]. Rather than continue to pursue a living via goldmining, George turned his attention to business. He built a successful Chinaware business and appears to have become a respected member of Dunedin society[12].
Entering the Service[13]
The First World War began in 1914 and, in the early years of it, there was no conscription in New Zealand. When it was found that too few men were volunteering to fill the necessary reinforcement drafts for the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, the Government introduced conscription. The Military Service Act was passed on 1 August 1916 rendering healthy New Zealand men of military age (20 to 45) liable for active service overseas[15]. Men were selected by ballot. Initially, married men and men of Māori descent were excluded. Married men were later included in the ballot as were some Māori men[16].
Trevor started the process for enlistment in Dunedin on 2 April 1916. This is when he underwent the required medical examination for enlistment into the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. The information provided at that time tells us that he was 26 years old with fair complexion, brown hair and hazel eyes. He was 5ft 10 ½ inches tall and weighed 178lbs. His religion was Wesleyan and he worked as a commercial traveller. He had good hearing and 6/6 vision in both eyes with good colour vision[17].
Trevor’s first official day of service was 7 June 1916 with the 11th Battery. Like other enlistees, he was sent to Featherston in the Wairarapa for training. Between 1916 and 1918, around 60,000 New Zealand men trained in preparation for military service on European battlefields. Featherston Military Camp was New Zealand’s largest training camp at that time. It was established in 1916 specifically for the purpose of training soldiers heading to the battlefields of the First World War. It could accommodate 8,000 men at one time. The camp was larger than the town of Featherston and included 16 dining halls, six cookhouses, 17 shops, a picture theatre, hospital, and post office. After their training, the men marched from Featherston, over the Remutaka Range, to Wellington for embarkation overseas[18][19].
Trevor completed his Attestation for service at Featherston on 9 June 1916. Information included in his attestation papers is that he is not married and has had some previous experience at signalling. He named his father, Josiah - Mr JP Lane, Lanes Ltd., 5 Hill Street, Dunedin, as his next of kin and lists that address as his own address prior to enlisting.
Training for War
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| Trevor Greek Lane - probably at Featherston 2016[20] |
Trevor was in training at Featherston for a little over 6 months during which time he moved between the 17th, 19th and 20th Regiments and was promoted from Gunner to Bombadier:
- 11 June 1916 - posted to the 17th Regiment, New Zealand Field Artillery with the rank of Gunner
- 20 July 1916 - promoted to rank of Bombardier, 17th Regiment, New Zealand Field Artillery
- 11 Sep 1916 - transferred to Howitzer Battery of 19th Regiment, New Zealand Field Artillery - Bombardier
- 23 Aug 1916 - transferred to 19th Regiment, New Zealand Field Artillery - Bombardier
- 22 Sep 1916 - Transferred to 20th Regiment, New Zealand Field Artillery - Bombadier
The following photograph is thought to be a farewell gathering in Wellington for Trevor[21]:
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Photo from Family Collection - From Left to Right: Ivy Doris Lane (sister); Josiah Pearce Lane (father); Mabel 'May' Edna Lane (sister); Ruby Gladys Lane (sister); George Parsons Chapman (brother-in-law); unknown?; unknown?; Ellen Lane, nee Hindle (mother); Trevor Greek Lane; unknown?; unknown?; Ellen 'Gwynn' Lane (sister); William 'Bill' George Lane (brother)Transitioning to War |
The Regiment disembarked at Devonport in England on 27 March 1917 and marched into the New Zealand Field Artillery Depot at Aldershot. It isn’t clear why, but at this point, Trevor reverted to rank of Gunner.
It appears that the 20th Reinforcements remained in Chadderton for a couple of months. Perhaps there was more training to be done. It wasn’t until the 30 May 1917, that Trevor left England, from Chadderton, for France. On 2 June 1917, the 20th Regiment marched into the camp at Étaples and then, on 10 June 1917, they marched out to the Division.
On the Western Front
On 11 June 1917, Trevor was posted into the field of action - 11th battery, 3rd brigade of the New Zealand Field Artillery. This was immediately after the Battle of Messines. The New Zealand Division had taken part in the capture of the Messines Ridge on 7-9 June 1917.
The Third Battle of Ypres opened on the last day of July, two months before the New Zealand Division was moved into the fighting. While not involved in the initial stages, the New Zealand Division had become involved by late September. Considerable progress had been made by the end of September, when the New Zealanders arrived, but this had been costly and the enemy was still in possession of the main line of the Passchendaele ridge at many points. When the New Zealand Division relieved the 59th Division in the St. Jean sector east of Ypres, preparations for an attack against a front of about seven miles, extending from the Menin road to the Ypres-Staden railway, were being completed[22].
Two major attacks the New Zealand Division took part in during the latter part of 1917 were on the Passchendaele ridge. The first was at Gravenstafel on 4 October. This was considered a relative success. 340 New Zealanders lost their lives. The second, on 12 October, was a complete failure with 843 New Zealanders killed in just a few hours; the highest one-day death toll suffered by New Zealand forces overseas[23].
The 4 October attack took the form of a creeping barrage; five barrages to take the infantry forward, break up counter-attacks, and afford protection after the objectives of the attack had been captured, and while they were being consolidated. Trevor’s Brigade, the 3rd Brigade New Zealand Field Artillery, along with the 1st Brigade, formed the ‘E’ sub-group and were under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Falla[24].
On 12 October, the New Zealand Division was involved in an attack between the Ypres-Roulers Railway and Houthulst Forest. The objectives included Passchendaele Ridge and the village of Passchendaele. Neither objective was achieved, largely due to lack of preparation and, amongst other things, muddy conditions had made it difficult for the Batteries to get their guns into position. Those that had reached the forward positions had soft and waterlogged ground to contend with – “the guns simply sank up to the axles after the first few shots had been fired, and in some cases before a shot had been fired” . This meant that the artillery barrage was “weak and patchy” [25]. What kept the New Zealand guns firing largely came down to the ingenuity of the men firing them:
"The provision of stable platforms is an essential to good shooting at any time; but on the 12th it was only by desperate expedients that guns were kept in action at all. All the New Zealand batteries fired in the barrage; the gunners secured logs, odd bits of timber, anything, in fact, that would provide a foundation, and so contrived to keep their guns in action"[26]
In the first week of December, the New Zealand Field Artillery moved into the line in support of their own troops. The gunners were taken up from Boeschepe in motor lorries to take over the guns of the artillery then covering the Division. The 11th battery of the 3rd brigade, along with the 13th and 14th batteries were close together near the Westhoek Cross Roads[27].
During December 2017, with Germany returning troops to Europe from the Russian Front, the British adopted a defensive policy and the New Zealand Division followed suit. Preparations were made in order to be ready for a predicted large-scale attack from the enemy. This was not straightforward as the positions were being constructed on land that was “but a wilderness of shell holes, half filled with water”, most of the material needed for construction had to be salved and the work had to be done under camouflage to conceal positions from observations –
"It was heavy, tedious work, and often as the men dug they found grim reminders of the fighting that had ebbed and flowed on these slopes, in the unburied dead who had gradually sunk into the soft ground or had been half buried by the bursting shells … the greatest caution had to be exercised to screen the work from the prying eyes of the German airmen who came over the line on clear days spotting for their batteries or taking photographs"[28].
Throughout the greater part of December, enemy artillery was continually active with enemy shelling of the roads and battery positions at intervals. There was also an increased use of mustard gas against the New Zealand Field Artillery. In terms of lives lost, 1917 was the costliest year of the New Zealand Expeditionary Forces three years on the Western Front[29].
In early January the New Zealanders increased harassing fire on enemy communications with shooting of occupied areas carried out in conjunction with the heavy artillery and machine gunners. This continued for the whole of January[30].
Killed in Action
Trevor Greek Lane was killed in action in the field in Belgium on Monday 4 February 1918[31].
By February, it was considered that the German offensive was imminent and even more precautions were being taken to detect signs of unusual activity behind enemy lines. When it became clear that the trenches opposite the Divisional sector were held by a German division newly transferred from the Eastern Front, it was decided to take action. This took the form of a creeping barrage, fired by the Divisional Artillery in co-operation with the heavy artillery and the guns of the 66th Division. Fire was maintained for forty minutes. It was during this shoot, that the enemy effectively engaged some of the battery positions. A direct hit struck one of the guns of the 11th Battery just as the battery was firing its last round. This appears to have been the incident in which Trevor lost his life. All of the gun crew was killed and the gun was completely destroyed[32].
Trevor is buried at the Divisional Cemetery in Dickebusch Road, Vlamertinghe, Ieper, West Flanders (West-Vlaanderen), Belgium; Row M, Grave 1[33][34]. |
| T.G. Lane Row M, Grave 1 |
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| Row M, Graves 1-4 - Back row, far left in this photo - Divisional Cemetery in Dickebusch Road, Vlamertinghe, Ieper, West Flanders (West-Vlaanderen), Belgium |
There is also a memorial to Trevor at the gravesite of his parents and brother, Vernon, at the Southern Cemetery in Dunedin (Block 27 22/23)[36].
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| Southern Cemetery Dunedin (Block 27, 22/23) - Memorial to Trevor Greek Lane at the burial place of his parents, Josiah Pearce Lane and Ellen [Hindle] Lane and of his brother, Josiah Vernon Lane who died age 17. Photo: Jane Chapman 2022 |
Trevor had made a Will on 6 June 1916, the day before his first official day of service. He named his father, Josiah Pearce Lane, his sole beneficiary. His Will was probated on 29 April 1918[37].
On 6 September 1922, Trevor was posthumously awarded the British Army Medal and the Victory Medal.
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| British War medal (left) Victory medal (right) |
Trevor's medals were sent to his father, Josiah. At some point these medals were passed on to Trevor’s sister, Gladys. Gladys had named her son, Trevor George (born 1919), for Trevor. He in turn passed the medals to his son whose middle name is Trevor.
Note: I have now moved my blogging efforts from this platform to WeAre.xyz so that I can integrate building my family history archive with blogging. This post, or an updated version of it, can be found at: https://app.weare.xyz/blog/the-dual-genealogist/blogposts/remembering-trevor-greek-lane
[1] Registration Number: 1890/8478 Births, Deaths & Marriages Online, [digital index], New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs [Website] Accessed 1 July 2021
[2] Ship Crimea to Otago 1863 Rootsweb NZ Bound [Website]. Accessed 1 July 2021
[3] Business Notices Otago Daily Times, Issue 7853, 22 April 1887, Page 1 via PapersPast [Website]. Accessed 5 July 2021
[4] Not to be confused with Lane’s Emulsion from Oamaru – different product, different family (although they may have been distantly related - I have yet to find a connection).
[5] Registration 2756/1855 - Family History Search [Digital Index Search] via Births, Death and Marriages Victoria [Website][6] George may have travelled aboard the Hibernia from Liverpool to Melbourne with his brother Henry arriving at Port Phillip in October 1852 but the record is not accurate with regard to age and occupation so this may be incorrect - 1852 - Australia, Inward, Outward & Coastal Passenger Lists 1826-1972 via FindMyPast [Website]. Accessed 1 July 2021. I have yet to find a shipping record for Nancy.
[7] Pioneer Index, Victoria 1836-1888 Transcript via Ancestry.com. Australia, Birth Index, 1788-1922 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Accessed 21 April 2022.
[8] The 1856 Electoral Roll indicates that George had a Miners Right at Golden Gully in 1856 - Australian Electoral Commission, Canberra; Electoral rolls Image via Ancestry.com. Australia, Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Accessed 1 July 2021.
[9] Illingsworth Hindle born at Sandhurst 1857 and died at 10 months old in 1858; Louisa Ellen Hindle, born 1859 in Sandhurst and died at 7 weeks old; Henry Hindle born in 1820 at Sandhurst and died at 8 months old.
[10] When Gabriel Read discovered gold on 23 May 1861 in what is now known as Gabriel's Gully in the Tuapeka Valley, the potential of gold in Otago was revealed and initiated a series of discoveries and rushes in the area - See: First Major Gold Rush in Otago via New Zealand History [Website]. Accessed 21 April 2022; Read, Thomas Gabriel via Te Ara The Encyclopedia of New Zealand [Website]. Accessed 21 April 2022.
[11] Benjamin Hindle, born in Dunedin on 25 June 1864 - Registration Number: 1864/ 17805 Births, Deaths & Marriages Online, [digital index], New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs [Website]. Accessed 1 July 2021
[12] There are a number of entries listing George and his Chinaware business in the New Zealand City and Area Directories accessible via Ancestry.com. New Zealand, City & Area Directories, 1866-1954 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. There are also a large number of newspaper clippings (Otago Daily Times, Otago Witness, Evening Star ) about George’s business interests and philanthropy accessible via PapersPast [Website]. Accessed 5 July 2021.
[13] Where otherwise not stated, any information here about Trevor’s enlistment or military service has been taken from his Military records - Collections Item ID:R18058693, Series Number:18805 via Collections Archives New Zealand [Website]. Accessed 18 February 2022.
[14] 1914 New Zealand Electoral Roll via Ancestry.com. New Zealand, Electoral Rolls, 1853-1981 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Accessed 5 July 2021[15] First Conscription Ballot via New Zealand History [Website] Accessed 1 July 2021.
[16] Conscription, Conscientious Objection and pacifism via Te Ara The Encyclopedia of New Zealand [Website]. Accessed 1 July 2021
[17] Military records – Collections Item ID:R18058693, Series Number:18805 via Collections Archives New Zealand [Website]. Accessed 18 February 2022.
[18] Featherston Camp via New Zealand History [Website]. Accessed 1 July 2021
[19] Featherston Military Camp via Te Ara The Encyclopedia of New Zealand [Website]. Accessed 1 July 2021
[20] Photo from Auckland War Memorial Museum - Tāmaki Paenga Hira, A. G. Macdonald Album 2 PH-ALB-546-p20-7 – Trevor Greek Lane via Online Cenotaph - Auckland Museum [Website]. Accessed 1 July 2021
[21] Photo from Author's family's collection. The only other soldier in the photo is Trevor’s brother-in-law George Parsons Chapman. George did not leave New Zealand until April 1917. This photo is, therefore, likely to be the gathering at Wellington to farewell Trevor
[22] Chapter V. Passchendaele (pp.184-185) via New Zealand Electronic Text Collection, Victoria University of Wellington [Website] [From: Lieutenent J.R. Byrne New Zealand Artillery in the Field, 1914-18 Whitcombe and Tombs Limited, 1922, Auckland. Part of: New Zealand in the First World War 191 /n 4-1918]. Accessed 2 July 2021
[23] 1917: Arras, Messines and Passchendaele New Zealand History [Website]. Accessed 1 July 2021
[24] Chapter V. Passchendaele (pp.184-188) via New Zealand Electronic Text Collection, Victoria University of Wellington [Website] [From: Lieutenent J.R. Byrne New Zealand Artillery in the Field, 1914-18 Whitcombe and Tombs Limited, 1922, Auckland. Part of: New Zealand in the First World War 191 /n 4-1918]. Accessed 2 July 2021
[25] Chapter V. Passchendaele (pp.194-195) - See Note 24.
[26] Chapter V. Passchendaele (p.195) - See Note 24.
[27] Chapter VI. Wintering in the Salient (pp.205-206) via New Zealand Electronic Text Collection, Victoria University of Wellington [Website] [From: Lieutenent J.R. Byrne New Zealand Artillery in the Field, 1914-18 Whitcombe and Tombs Limited, 1922, Auckland. Part of: New Zealand in the First World War 1914-1918]. Accessed 2 July 2021.
[28] Chapter VI. Wintering in the Salient (pp.210-211) - See Note 27.
[29] 1917: Arras, Messines and Passchendaele New Zealand History [Website]. Accessed 1 July 2021
[30] Chapter VI. Wintering in the Salient (p. 213) via New Zealand Electronic Text Collection, Victoria University of Wellington [Website] [From: Lieutenent J.R. Byrne New Zealand Artillery in the Field, 1914-18 Whitcombe and Tombs Limited, 1922, Auckland. Part of: New Zealand in the First World War 1914-1918]. Accessed 2 July 2021.
[31] Most records show that Trevor died on 4 February 1918, including Index No. B35 Divisional Cemetery, Dickerbusche Road, Vlamertinghe (Casualty Details 93308) via Commonwealth War Graves Commission [Website]. However, the Graves Registration Report Form via Commonwealth War Graves Commission [Website] says 1 February 1918. Accessed 1 July 2021.
[32] Chapter VI. Wintering in the Salient (pp. 213-214) via New Zealand Electronic Text Collection, Victoria University of Wellington [Website] [From: Lieutenent J.R. Byrne New Zealand Artillery in the Field, 1914-18 Whitcombe and Tombs Limited, 1922, Auckland. Part of: New Zealand in the First World War 1914-1918]. Accessed 2 July 2021.
[33] Trevor Greek Lane New Zealand War Graves Project [Website]. Accessed 1 July 2021
[34] Trevor Greek Lane Commonwealth War Graves Commission [Website]. Accessed 1 July 2021
[35] The Graves Registration Report Form [See: Graves Registration Report Form via Commonwealth War Graves Commission [Website]. Accessed 1 July 2021] indicates that the following, all from the 11th Battery, E Group and died on the same day as Trevor, are buried in Row M, graves 2-4, alongside Trevor:
[37] Collections Item ID:R23029727, Series Number:6029 via Collections Archives New Zealand [Website]. Accessed 18 Feb 2022.
Have just been researching my family tree (Linked to Josiah Lane...and the Lane family in Devon, in the 1600's. An amazing record of an individual in recent history that has enabled me - now based in South Wales - to reflect. Thankyou so much for your hard work, research and due diligence. Its been a joy to read.
ReplyDeleteThank you for you lovely comment. I am pleased that you found the post useful.
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