Descendents of Taranaki-born WWI soldiers sought

The descendants of five Taranaki First World War soldiers are being sought by Stratford District Council.

Neil Cooper, parks and property assets manager at Stratford District Council, says he would like to return some documents to the soldiers' families.

He says when the Stratford RSA building was sold, following the closure of the Stratford RSA, council agreed to find a new home for some of the memorabilia the RSA had collected over the years.

"We are now in the process of going through all the items and making decisions on what is to be done with each one."

Neil says some items have been easy to relocate to suitable new locations. One example is the honours boards memorialising First World War soldiers from the Strathmore, Makahu and Te Wera areas.

"When Strathmore Hall closed, the boards were given to the Stratford RSA for safekeeping. We have now relocated these to Makahu Hall, which is within the area those men came from originally and thus appropriate."

Neil says the five personal documents he has are Certificates of Service or Addresses of Welcome and he urges anyone related to the men to contact him at the council.

"We are looking for descendants or other family members of Cpl S H Sherson, Private Daniel Quayle, Rifleman Edmund A Bonner, Private George Stanley James and Rifleman R F Rogers."

Neil can be contacted at Stratford District Council: 06 765 6099.