Whanganui Chronicle
  • Whanganui Chronicle home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Taranaki
  • National Park
  • Whakapapa
  • Ohakune
  • Raetihi
  • Taihape
  • Marton
  • Feilding
  • Palmerston North

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • New Plymouth
  • Whanganui
  • Palmertson North
  • Levin

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Whanganui Chronicle

Perseverance sorts local soldiers' stories

By Lin Ferguson
Whanganui Chronicle·
24 May, 2016 09:15 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

FOUND: Marton historical researcher Pat Simpson found and corrected information on the town's complement of WWI soldiers. PHOTO/LIN FERGUSON

FOUND: Marton historical researcher Pat Simpson found and corrected information on the town's complement of WWI soldiers. PHOTO/LIN FERGUSON

PAT SIMPSON became a researcher for the Marton and Districts Historical Society by accident.

She had been helping the former owner of the Rangitikei Mail, Paul Melody, with filing.

"After he retired he had continued collecting newspaper articles, researching and had amassed a huge number of documents and they needed sorting out, so I said I'd help," she said.

When Mr Melody died suddenly in 2007, Pat decided she might as well carry on.

"So I kept sorting out files and indexing files to make it easier for people to find what they're looking for."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Pat said she found it easier to write the details in an exercise book first.

"Never, ever write on old pieces of loose paper. You must write very neatly, because when you start to type, then you can't read your own writing. It's very annoying and means you waste time rechecking the details."

Pretty soon Pat had the whole historical filing operation under way and the local people loved her for it.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

She works away at her home on the computer checking sites such as Ancestry.com.

Her work on World War I soldiers in the district took a lot of patience, she said.

First she sorted out and indexed all the names in all the newspaper clippings that were stuffed in the boxes. The old clippings were of ballot lists, farewells to the men going to war, men home on leave, men returning home, wounded, killed etc, she said.

Then she started with the 86 names on the Marton Park Cenotaph and the 186 names on the Marton Primary School Roll of Honour and found to her amazement that only about half of those listed were actually local men.

She also found that many of the names had either been spelled wrongly or had the wrong initials.

"You'd think they would have carved right into concrete in the first place."

She also researched 79 names on the embroidered Returned and Services Association (RSA) flag.

Some were also on the Cenotaph and the primary school rolls of honour.

"These men were at Gallipoli. Now all the names and details are in separate folders and easy to find."

Two weeks ago, a Kapiti Coast woman, Robyn Taylor, wrote to the Chronicle hoping someone would recognise an old photograph of a young WWI soldier she believed came from the Marton area.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Mrs Taylor was hoping someone could name him.

She wrote: "My grandmother, Pearl Nagle, died at a good age in 1976. We found buried deep among her possessions a photograph of a nameless young soldier. At the outbreak of WWI, Pearl was living in Marton, so we assume this soldier was from there also."

Pearl, who moved to Wellington, had treasured the photograph for 50 years. It had a note with it: "Just for old times sake - J.P. (Egypt)".

Pat said as soon as she saw the story in the paper she went to her files.

She found "Jack" John Potter, the young man in the photograph, and his brother, Joseph.

Sadly, Jack was killed on the Western Front but older brother George had returned home after a distinguished career for which he was awarded the Military Medal.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Mrs Taylor was thrilled Pat had traced the family's mystery soldier.

"It was all down to Pat Simpson's huge efforts listing fallen soldiers. We are so very grateful."

Pat said she was very happy for the family. "It didn't take me long at all to track him down, so that was good."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui Chronicle

Seabed mining project sparks alarm over impact on South Taranaki fisheries

07 Jul 03:57 AM
Whanganui Chronicle

Multiple purchase offers for pilot academy

07 Jul 03:39 AM
Whanganui Chronicle

Police seek sightings of car linked to missing person

06 Jul 11:50 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Seabed mining project sparks alarm over impact on South Taranaki fisheries

Seabed mining project sparks alarm over impact on South Taranaki fisheries

07 Jul 03:57 AM

Jamie Newell fears silt pollution will damage precious reef ecosystems.

Multiple purchase offers for pilot academy

Multiple purchase offers for pilot academy

07 Jul 03:39 AM
Police seek sightings of car linked to missing person

Police seek sightings of car linked to missing person

06 Jul 11:50 PM
How a spray painter is mastering conflict resolution with NZ Army

How a spray painter is mastering conflict resolution with NZ Army

06 Jul 05:00 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Whanganui Chronicle e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Whanganui Chronicle
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP