Trooper Alan Hirst de Castro, Service no. 7/187
Alan's paternal grandfather, the Rev Charles Daniel de Castro, was born at Knightsbridge, near London, in 1832. A gentleman of means, he was educated at private schools in England and France, and then at the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester. When he came out to New Zealand on the Cornwall in 1853, family legend has it that he brought with him a pre-fabricated house, servants and horse and carriage. [1]
Alan's paternal grandfather, the Rev Charles Daniel de Castro, was born at Knightsbridge, near London, in 1832. A gentleman of means, he was educated at private schools in England and France, and then at the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester. When he came out to New Zealand on the Cornwall in 1853, family legend has it that he brought with him a pre-fabricated house, servants and horse and carriage. [1]
Also on
board the Cornwall were the Salisbury
family - siblings Constantia and Edward Salisbury and their older sister, Mary Ellen (Ella), with
her husband Thomas Henry Vyvyan and their children - with whom he developed a close friendship during
the voyage. On board as well was Thomas Vyvyan’s good friend James George Deck, later well known as founder of the Plymouth Brethren movement in New Zealand.[2] The Salisburys came from a background of wealth and privilege, raised in comfort and educated by private tutors, however a dramatic downturn in their father's fortunes had left the family in disarray. Their mother had died some years earlier and following the collapse of his finances, their father fled England. The Salisbury siblings decided to travel to New Zealand and join up with their brother,
John Park Salisbury, already resident in New Zealand.
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| Alan de Castro (lt) with Ngatimoti friend Hector Guy, taken at Zeitoun Camp, Cairo. before the campaign on Gallipoli |
Charles de Castro was very taken with Constantia (known as Constance) Salisbury, by all accounts a pretty and sweet-natured young lady, and a shipboard romance ensued. Constance and Charles married at St Pauls Cathedral on arrival in Wellington,
and Charles de Castro set up a school known as Apsley Academy at their
Wellington home. Sadly, Constance died in childbirth the following year,
however the warm relationship between Charles de Castro and his erstwhile
in-laws, the Salisburys, remained undiminished by her death. [3]
When Charles
remarried in 1855, to Isabella, the third daughter of Dr Frederick Knox of Wellington, their
family was seen as kin by the Salisburys and Vyvyans, now settled in the areas around Motueka and Pokororo.` Charles and Isabella de Castro had fourteen children;
eight sons and six daughters.
William Waring Knox de Castro was their second
son, and Alan Hirst de Castro’s father. William de Castro, born 1861 at
Porirua, where his father was then farming, became a civil servant of some
significance. He served in Lands and Deeds Offices in Wellington,
Christchurch, Hokitika and Blenheim. In 1892 he moved to the Land Transfer and
Deeds Registry Office in Nelson, where for the next 20 years he held the position of Deputy Commissioner of
Stamps and Deputy Registrar of the Supreme Court in Nelson. [4]
He had
married Helen (Nellie) Ratcliffe Dixon in Hokitika on February 8,1886.[5] Nellie was born in Upper Takaka. Her parents Ezra Brook and Laura (nee Yeo) Dixon, both schoolteachers, were pioneers of settlement in the Takaka Valley. In 1876 Ezra Dixon had taken a position as head teacher at the Hokitika State School. [6]
Wiiliam and Nellie de Castro had four children. Alan Hirst de Castro, born in Blenheim on the 14th of June, 1889, was the second in the family and the oldest son. He had an older sister, Muriel Knox, and two younger siblings, Margaret Helen and Keith Yeo. The family made their home at Stoke for about 16 years. Alan went to the Stoke Public School, at that time in the charge of headmaster John Naylor, and attended Nelson Boys' College from 1904 to 1906. [7] William de Castro and his family often visited Motueka and revived contact with their old family friends the Salisburys, now a generation on and scattered around the Motueka and Graham Valleys. John Edward Salisbury, [8] had a farm known as "Middle Bank" up Lloyds Valley, off the Thorpe-Orinoco Road. Through him, the de Castros soon found other friends at Orinoco, like the Guys and the Guys' relatives just down the road the Strachans at "Manawatane", whose only son Frank Strachan and Alan’s sister Margaret (Margie) became sweethearts, and then engaged to each other. [9] Many visits were exchanged back and forth between Stoke and Ngatimoti over the years. In the relatively isolated Ngatimoti community, hospitality was offered freely and visitors were always welcome. Visits between friends and relatives were an important part of social life and often lasted for days, or in some cases weeks.
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| Two Margarets during a visit to Ngatimoti. Alan's sister Margie de Castro (lt) and Daisy Guy (rt) at the Guy family home "Sunny Brae" |
Wiiliam and Nellie de Castro had four children. Alan Hirst de Castro, born in Blenheim on the 14th of June, 1889, was the second in the family and the oldest son. He had an older sister, Muriel Knox, and two younger siblings, Margaret Helen and Keith Yeo. The family made their home at Stoke for about 16 years. Alan went to the Stoke Public School, at that time in the charge of headmaster John Naylor, and attended Nelson Boys' College from 1904 to 1906. [7] William de Castro and his family often visited Motueka and revived contact with their old family friends the Salisburys, now a generation on and scattered around the Motueka and Graham Valleys. John Edward Salisbury, [8] had a farm known as "Middle Bank" up Lloyds Valley, off the Thorpe-Orinoco Road. Through him, the de Castros soon found other friends at Orinoco, like the Guys and the Guys' relatives just down the road the Strachans at "Manawatane", whose only son Frank Strachan and Alan’s sister Margaret (Margie) became sweethearts, and then engaged to each other. [9] Many visits were exchanged back and forth between Stoke and Ngatimoti over the years. In the relatively isolated Ngatimoti community, hospitality was offered freely and visitors were always welcome. Visits between friends and relatives were an important part of social life and often lasted for days, or in some cases weeks.
William de
Castro was a Freemason of note. He was Master of Lodge Victory, Nelson, and also served as the first Master of Lodge Motueka 117, of which he was a founding member, along with John Arliss Guy of Ngatimoti, Alexander White of Orinoco and Motueka's hardworking and intrepid country doctor, Henry O'Brien Deck. All were to lose sons duing the war. Lodges and Friendly Societies were a powerful networking tool for men of business and public affairs in colonial
New Zealand, and even a small town like Motueka had no less than three; the Masonic Lodge and two Friendly Societies, the Manchester Unity Independent Order of Oddfellows and the Ancient Order of Foresters.
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| Alan's father William de Castro in Masonic regalia. |
Alan would
have got to know and befriend the local lads from the Motueka area and trained with them. His father
William had been involved with several volunteer mounted militia groups, including the 1st Westland Rifles and the Blenheim City Rifles, and Alan
followed suit. He served with the Nelson College Cadets and then became a member of the 10th (Nelson) Mounted Rifles. Alan worked in orchards around Stoke after he finished school.
His family appears to have moved to Mount Street in central Nelson around the time Alan attended Nelson College. He would probably have been in attendance when a disastrous fire destroyed the Nelson Boys' College building a late in 1904. A messy time followed for both teachers and pupils. A temporary building known as College House (aka the Tin Wing) was built as dining room and boarding house. Various other locations around the town served as accommodation and classroom spaces, with the School of Music acting as the main "headquarters" The foundation stone for the new building was laid in October 1905, with the new college opening in 1906.
A reception was held at the de Castro Mount Street home on the 30th of March, 1910, following the marriage of Alan's older sister Muriel to bookseller Albert Edward Jackson at All Saints' Anglican Church. Alan and his younger sister Margie were both members of the wedding party. [10] All Saints' was the de Castro family's parish church of choice, and William de Castro served as a churchwarden there between 1902 and 1908.
When his father was promoted and transferred to the Invercargill branch of Lands and Deeds in July, 1912, instead of joining his parents, Alan chose instead to move to Motueka, where he had so many friends and contacts. He continued his training there with the Motueka Mounted rifles, commanded by Motueka's Dr Henry Deck, a Boer War veteran. Dr Deck's son Robin (Bob) was killed at Gallipoli. Alan was no doubt present at the large Top of the South Territorials camp which took place at Tapawera, in April, 1914. He carried on working on orchards around Riwaka. [11] His work would have involved cultivating for new plantings, spraying, grubbing (weeding) and mowing around trees, making up boxes and pruning in winter, picking and packing apples during harvest time. Horse teams were still employed for heavy work at this time, though steam power had come into use for agricultural and horticultural implements. Among the varieties of apples commonly grown before the war were Cox's Orange, Sturmer, Delicious, Monroe's Favourite and Jonathan. A keen rugby player from his days at Nelson Boys' College, Alan was a member of the Nelson Old Boys' Club, an affiliate of the Nelson Rugby Union. (12)
When his father was promoted and transferred to the Invercargill branch of Lands and Deeds in July, 1912, instead of joining his parents, Alan chose instead to move to Motueka, where he had so many friends and contacts. He continued his training there with the Motueka Mounted rifles, commanded by Motueka's Dr Henry Deck, a Boer War veteran. Dr Deck's son Robin (Bob) was killed at Gallipoli. Alan was no doubt present at the large Top of the South Territorials camp which took place at Tapawera, in April, 1914. He carried on working on orchards around Riwaka. [11] His work would have involved cultivating for new plantings, spraying, grubbing (weeding) and mowing around trees, making up boxes and pruning in winter, picking and packing apples during harvest time. Horse teams were still employed for heavy work at this time, though steam power had come into use for agricultural and horticultural implements. Among the varieties of apples commonly grown before the war were Cox's Orange, Sturmer, Delicious, Monroe's Favourite and Jonathan. A keen rugby player from his days at Nelson Boys' College, Alan was a member of the Nelson Old Boys' Club, an affiliate of the Nelson Rugby Union. (12)
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| Men at a local orchard stacking cases filled with apples, ready to go off for packing |
Alan was living
at Umukuri and working for Mr William A..J. Briggs of Riwaka, an orchardist and
representative of the Motueka Cool Storage Company, when he enlisted with the NZ Expeditionary Force on the 13th
of August, 1914, as a Trooper with the 10th (Nelson) Squadron of the
Canterbury Mounted Rifles. [13] Although fit, he must have just scraped through his medical, being exactly the minimum acceptable height for recruits of 5 ft 4 in. (162.5 cm.).
Alan was among the first to join up and along with the other Nelson and Motueka recruits sailed from Nelson to Lyttleton, where they embarked with the Canterbury Mounted Rifles on
the requisitioned steamer turned troopship HMNZT Athenic. From there they sailed in convoy with the HMNZT Tahiti to Wellington, where they departed with the Main
Body of the NZ Expeditionary Force on 16 October, 1914, joined along the way by a convoy of ships from Australia. They were heading for England and from there the Western Front, but whilst en route they were diverted to Eygpt when news came that Turkey had joined the war as a German ally. Also travelling onboard the Athenic were Ngatimoti acquaintances Hector Guy, Pvte William Ham, who would became the NZ Expeditionary Force's WWI casualty, and Major Cyprian Brereton, commanding officer of the 12th (Nelson) Company. They disembarked at Alexandria on 3 December, 1914, then set up at Zeitoun Camp just outside Cairo, where they underwent intensive training in the desert along with the Australians.
It soon became clear that horses would not be of any use at either the rocky, precipitous Gallipoli Peninsula or at the Western Front, knee deep in mud and covered in trenches, and the troopers were obliged to give up their mounts - a sad and difficult event for those who had grown attached to them. Knowing that they would most likely become horse meat, a number of troopers, aware of how poorly the Egyptians treated animals, shot their own horses so that they wouldn't suffer.
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| The Canterbury Mounted Rifles ride through Cairo after their arrival in December 1914 An impressive sight, but trench warfare would make the use of horses on the battlefield redundant. |
Although it takes nothing away from the bravery of the Kiwi soldiers, looking back in hindsight the Gallipoli campaign can only be seen from start to finish as a heroic disaster, with the New Zealanders fighting in totally unfamiliar steep and craggy territory which was home ground for the enemy, and being constantly assailed by a Turkish weapon previously unknown to the Allies - what the New Zealanders called bombs, but are better known now as hand grenades.
Alan’s war was a short one. After arriving at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, on May 12, 1915, he saw plenty of action at
Walker's Ridge, where he was wounded on 29 June, 1915. He recovered, but was killed not long afterwards at Bauchop's Hill on the 6th
of August, 1915, during an attempt over several days by the Otago Mounted rifles, supported by the Canterbury Mounted Rifles, to win the Battle for Chunuk Bair on the steep, rocky heights of the Gallipoli Peninsula. The 10th (Nelson) Squadron troopers were fighting with the Canterbury Mounted
Machine Gun Section at the time.
On the 8th of August 1915, just two days after Alan's death, the the Wellington Battalion succeeded in taking Chunuk Bair, however the cost was high, with only 70 left standing at the end from the original 760. who took part in the attack, the rest either dead or wounded. Among the dead was their commanding officer, Lt-Col. William Malone. Sadly, despite their gallantry, this has to be seen as a pyrrhic victory, as Ottoman forces recaptured the position on 10 August 1915, just two days later, from the British troops who had relieved the New Zealanders.
The particular circumstances of the action
leading to Alan's death were published in the "Motueka Star" and reprised in Nelson newspaper, the Colonist, on the 13th of October, 1915, in an article titled "On Gallipoli Hills: August Fighting, Doings of the Nelson Squadron", taken from a letter written by a 10th (Nelson) Squadron officer from Motueka, Lt. (later Captain) John Gordon McCallum, to his wife Lorrie. McCallum noted, “It cost us several men, including little Alan de Castro, well known to many in Motueka and Riwaka. He was the happiest and
best of comrades and the keenest of soldiers, and his loss will be deeply felt
by all who knew him.” [14]
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| The Bauchop's Hill trenches at Chunuk Bair on the Gallipoli Peninsula. |
Captain McCallum, a solicitor with Motueka law firm Easton & Nicolson in civilian life, was himself wounded at Gallipoli. He later served with the Imperial Camel Corps. He was killed in Egypt in January 1917, and is commemorated at the Motueka War Memorial. Just before leaving for the war in 1915, he had married Lorrie Batchelor, only daughter of Lower Moutere farmer and entrepreneur, Fred Batchelor.
"Alan de Castro was the pet of the whole regiment, the boys are very cut-up over his death", wrote another local man, Private Ivan Stafford, in a letter sent from the trenches to his mother [15]
Canterbury Mounted Rifles earlier embarking with their horses on the troopship
HMNZT Athenic at Lyttleton before heading to Wellington in convoy with the HMNZT Tahiti.
From there they would depart for Egypt with the Main Body of the NZEF on 16 October, 1914.
Alan’s
parents had since retired to Blenheim, but took comfort in their old friends at
Ngatimoti, some of whom had also suffered losses: Alex and Mary Strachan lost their only
son, Frank; John and Lily Guy, two of their three sons, Walter and Hector. Like others in the Motueka Valley, the de
Castros found solace after the war in plans to erect a War Memorial at
Ngatimoti. Alan’s mother made an extended visit to Orinoco during the
deliberations, probably staying with the Strachans. She is
recorded as making a donation at this time during the drive to raise money in the Motueka Valley for the memorial,
to which her son’s name would be added. [16] Alan’s father, William de Castro,
offered to obtain a suitable parchment, and write “records of the soldiers of
the district thereon". The original parchment has been preserved and a framed duplicate version is the one which currently hangs inside St James Church.
No doubt Alan's family were in attendance on April 25th, 1921, when the Ngatimoti War Memorial was unveiled by
the Rt. Rev. William Saddlier, Bishop of Nelson, in front of a crowd of
600-700, including Mayors of Motueka and Nelson, Mr Hudson, M.P for the district, returned servicemen and
local residents.
Margaret de Castro suffered a double loss; her brother and her fiancé, Frank Strachan, are both commemorated at the Ngatimoti Memorial. In 1923 she married Geoffrey Revell, whose father Thomas was manager of the Union Steam Ship Company in Blenheim. She named one of her sons Alan for her lost brother. Alan's parents continued to live in Blenheim for the rest of their lives. William Waring de Castro died in Blenheim in 1933, his wife Nellie in 1949. They are buried together at the Omaka Cemetery.
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| Panel 4 Chunuk Bair (New Zealand) Memorial Chunuk Bair Cemetery, Gallipoli, Turkey |
Alan's Plaque & Scroll, British War Medal and Victory Medal went to his father William de Castro in Blenheim. In his will Alan bequeathed the whole of his estate to his father, with a request that he use this money for the education, advancement, preferment or benefit of Alan's brother, Keith Yeo de Castro.
Memorials
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| Memorial marking the hard-won capture of Chunuk Bair on 8 August 1915 by the New Zealanders. Of the 760 men who took part in this battle, only 70 were left still standing after the battle. The cost in manpower was clearly too high, and the decision was made to remove the Expeditionary Force from Gallipoli and head for the Western Front. |
Alan de
Castro’s final resting place is unknown. In the heat and chaos of battle, generally bodies could not be retrieved for burial, though identification in the form of dog tags and personal effects was collected where possible and handed to the appropriate commanding officer, who then had the heart-breaking job of writing and sending letters to the families of the deceased soldiers.
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| St James Church and War Memorial at Ngatimoti |
De Castro, A.H., can just be discerned at the top of the list of Troopers on the righthand side of Panel 4. His
details are recorded at the Auckland Online Cenotaph and he is commemorated at the Ngatimoti War Memorial in the Motueka Valley, Tasman, NZ, which
is situated in front of picturesque St. James Anglican Church, on a hill overlooking the Mount Arthur Range. Alan's name is listed as well on the WWI memorial window in the Chapel of Peace at All Saints' Anglican Church in Nelson; the same church where he had
served as groomsman on that happy family occasion
of his sister Muriel's wedding in March, 1910.
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| WWI memorial window at All Saints' Anglican Church Vanguard Street, Nelson. Click to enlarge |
References
1) de Castro Family website: Charles Daniel de Castro.
See also:
Cyclopedia of NZ
(Wellington Provincial District) (1906)
Voyage to New Zealand. Per H. Brett, "White Wings".
3) Salisbury, J. Neville (2006) Bush, Boots and Bridle Tracks: The Salisburys: Pioneers of the Motueka and Aorere Valleys, Auckland, NZ: J. Neville Salisbury, pp 44-59
Cyclopedia of New Zealand (Nelson, Marlborough and Westland
Provincial Districts) 1906) Land Transfer Department, Nelson, pg 57
5) Marriages: de Castro-Dixon
Evening Post, 23 February, 1886
6) Arthur, Helen (2002) Ezra Brook Dixon, a Pioneer Settler at Paynes' Ford in the Takaka Valley. Nelson Historical Society Journal, Vol 6, Issue 5.
5) Marriages: de Castro-Dixon
Evening Post, 23 February, 1886
6) Arthur, Helen (2002) Ezra Brook Dixon, a Pioneer Settler at Paynes' Ford in the Takaka Valley. Nelson Historical Society Journal, Vol 6, Issue 5.
7) Nelson College School List 1856-1924
de Castro, Alan Hirst, in attendance 1904-1906. Formerly orchardist at Stoke. Served in WWI, K.I.A. on 6/8/1915
Shadows of Time website
8) Cyclopdia of New Zealand (1906) (Nelson, Marlborough and Westland Provincial Districts) Ngatimoti, pg. 139
John Edward Salisbury
8) Cyclopdia of New Zealand (1906) (Nelson, Marlborough and Westland Provincial Districts) Ngatimoti, pg. 139
John Edward Salisbury
9)
10) Wedding: Jackson-de Castro
Colonist, 31 March, 1910
10) Wedding: Jackson-de Castro
Colonist, 31 March, 1910
Colonist, 3 July,
1912.
12) List of rugby players from local clubs affiliated with Nelson Rugby Union serving at the Front.
12) List of rugby players from local clubs affiliated with Nelson Rugby Union serving at the Front.
Includes Alan de Castro as a member of the Nelson College Old Boys Club.
"Colonist", 31 May 1915, p 7
"Colonist", 31 May 1915, p 7
13) Archives NZ, Military Personnel Record: Alan Hirst de Castro
14) On Gallipoli Hill
August Fighting Described: Doings of Nelson Squadron. Details the death of Alan de Castro.
August Fighting Described: Doings of Nelson Squadron. Details the death of Alan de Castro.
Colonist, 19 October, 1915
15) Personal [letter from Private Ivan Stafford [extract from letter commenting on the deaths at Gallipoli of Motueka servicemen Robin (Bob) Deck and Alan de Castro.
Colonist 15 November 1915, p 4
15) Personal [letter from Private Ivan Stafford [extract from letter commenting on the deaths at Gallipoli of Motueka servicemen Robin (Bob) Deck and Alan de Castro.
Colonist 15 November 1915, p 4
16) Whelan, Helen, Ngatimoti
is in the News. Unpublished ms.
Further sources
Follows the progress of the C.M.R. and actions the unit was involved in throughout the First World War
NZ History Online
William Waring de Castro/Helen Ratcliffe Dixon and their children.
Blank Family genealogy page.
Men's Clubs in New Zealand: Masons
Te Ara: The encyclopedia of New Zealand
Cyclopedia of New Zealand (1906) [Nelson, Marlborough and Westland Provincial Districts]: Stoke
See Stoke Public School and Mr John Naylor.
The Apple Industry: Hard Graft for Early Growers.
The Prow: Historical and Cultural Stories from Nelson/Marlborough.
Tapawera Camp: Big Muster Expected
Marlborough Express, 20 April, 1914.
Tasman Roll of Honour. Kete Tasman: Alan Hirst de Castro, serial no. 7/187
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database record: Alfred Lee Dixon, serial no 12/2996
Obituary: Captain John Gordon McCallum
Colonist, 22 January, 1917: Personal
Powles, Colonel C.G., The History of the Canterbury Mounted Rifles, 1914-1919
New Zealand in the First World War, 1914-1918.
Chunuk Bair
Gallipoli Guide: the Chunuk Bair push explained
Colonist, 22 January, 1917: Personal
Powles, Colonel C.G., The History of the Canterbury Mounted Rifles, 1914-1919
New Zealand in the First World War, 1914-1918.
Chunuk Bair
Gallipoli Guide: the Chunuk Bair push explained
Ngatimoti's First Anzac Day, 25 April, 1921
Photo credits
Cover Image: Photograph of Alan de Castro courtesy of the Nelson College Old Boys' Association per Gina Fletcher.
Photo of Alan de Castro published in the "Auckland Weekly News" 5 August 1915
Auckland Libraries Heritage Images Online
Ref: Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, AWNS-19150805-40-4
Portrait of William Waring de Castro
Tyree Studio Collection/Nelson Provincial Museum Permanent collection. Ref: 37273
Men at a local apple orchard stacking filled packing cases ready for packing.
Nelson Provincial Museum. F.N. Jones Collection, ref: 321314.
Canterbury Mounted Rifles riding through Cairo after their arrival in December 1914
Photo credits
Cover Image: Photograph of Alan de Castro courtesy of the Nelson College Old Boys' Association per Gina Fletcher.
Photo of Alan de Castro published in the "Auckland Weekly News" 5 August 1915
Auckland Libraries Heritage Images Online
Ref: Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, AWNS-19150805-40-4
Two Margarets at "Sunny Brae", Ngatimoti. Margaret (Margie) de Castro and Margaret (Daisy) Guy during a visit to Orinoco. Photographer Daisy's older brother, Walter Guy.
Guy Collection/Nelson Provincial Museum Permanent Collection, ref. 315167
Portrait of William Waring de Castro
Tyree Studio Collection/Nelson Provincial Museum Permanent collection. Ref: 37273
Men at a local apple orchard stacking filled packing cases ready for packing.
Nelson Provincial Museum. F.N. Jones Collection, ref: 321314.
Canterbury Mounted Rifles riding through Cairo after their arrival in December 1914
Courtesy Australian War Memorial, Negative H16662
Canterbury Mounted Rifles embark with their horses on the HMNZT Athenic at Lyttleton, getting ready for departure to Wellington and from there to Eygpt. Note that HMNZT stands for His Majesty's NZ Transport.
Alexander Turnbull Library .
St James Anglican Church and War Memorial at Ngatimoti & WWI Memorial Window at All Saint's Anglican Church, Nelson. Photographer: John McFadgen
Further reading
Article complete with photographs comprehensively covering the battle for Chunuk Bair, published in the July-August 2004 edition of "New Zealand Geographic" magazine.
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