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Emigrated
to New
Zealand
and served in 6th Field Ambulance RAMC in Greece and Crete and
was captured as a Prisoner of War at Sidi Rezegh. He became a builder in
Masterton, near Auckland, New Zealand |
Ronald
Martin Farndale 22 January 1919 to 3 July 1974
FAR00852
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Headlines
of Ronald Farndale’s life are in brown.
Dates
are in red.
Hyperlinks
to other pages are in dark
blue.
References
and citations are in turquoise.
Context
and local history are in purple.
Geographical context is in green.
Follow
this link to the Farndales
of New Zealand
Wakefield
1919
Ronald Martin Farndale, son of
Robert and Sarah Jane (nee Alcock) Farndale (FAR00606) was born in Stanley, Wakefield (census)
on 22 January 1919 (DR, Letter, BR).
His birth was registered in Wakefield
District in the first quarter of 1919 (GRO Vol 9C
Page 92).
1921
Robert Farndale, 36, farmer,
horseman on the Stanley District Council
Sarah Jane Farndale, 36
Robert Edwin Farndale, 8,
born Stanley
Maurice Farndale, 6, born
Stanley
Ada Farndale, 4, born
Stanley
Ronald Martin Farndale, 2, born Stanley
Wellington,
New Zealand
1936
Ronald emigrated to New Zealand in 1936. On 30 April 1936 Ronald Farndale, 17, a
farmer, departed from London for Wellington, New Zealand on the Ruahine of the
New Zealand Shipping Company Limited. His last address was Bells Farm near
Skipton.
Greece,
Crete and North Africa
1941
62013 Ronald M Farndale served
in World War 2 in 6th Field Ambulance RAMC in Greece and Crete.
His military records showed that he was a
farmer from Morrinsville, Waikato, New Zealand. 62013 Pte Ronald Martin
Farndale of Mastamata, New Zealand, enlisted at Morrinsville, a farmer, his
next of kin was Mrs S Farndale, Bells Farm, Thornton in Craven, Skipton,
Yorkshire and he appeared on the nominal roll 1 April to 30 June 1941. He was
part of infantry reinforcements and served with the Second New Zealand
Expeditionary Force. Ronald was in New Zealand prior to the war as he was
farming near Waharoa and embarked from New Zealand.
He was almost certainly captured at
Sidi Rezegh in 1941 and was a prisoner of war in Italy for the rest of the war (Letter).
1943
The Weekly News, 16 June
1943: NEW ZEALANDERS
REPATRIATED: PRISONERS OF WAR ARRIVE IN ENGLAND AFTER INTERNMENT IN ITALY. Left:
the Bishop of Walaps, Right Reverend G V Gerard, senior chaplain with the New
Zealand Expeditionary force before being taken prisoner, attends the Anzac day
service in London. Right: Mr W G Jordan, High Commissioner visits the
repatriated party. From left back row: J H Barr, Whakatane; C J Cousins, Ohai;
W P Kane, Lyttelton; R M Farndale, Waharoa; P F Griffin, Invercargill; L
W Jones, Palmerston; J M Malcolm, Auckland; F Milne, Masterton; Padre L Groves,
Dunedin; front row: J McDermott, Wellington; M Muir, Dannevirke; Bishop
Gerard, Napier; Mr W J Jordan, High Commissioner; Colonel W Foot; Brigadier R S
Park; P W Purcell, Christchurch; A T Ryburn, Eltham; E J White, Otautau.
I have received further information from Geoff Muir in August 2019,
who has researched his father’s (Maurice Muir) World War 2 history.
Maurice Muir NZ890
served with NZ 24th Battalion, and was captured at Sidi Rezegh on 1st December
1941. They were transported by German Ship from Tripoli to Naples, then to
Capua PG66, on to Servigliano PG59, then to Chiavari PG52. Maurice Muir was
transferred to Lucca Hospital PG202 in September of 42, and repatriated to the
UK in April of 43 along with 400 or so British and 14 other New
Zealanders who had relatives in the UK. (Email
Geoff Muir, 3 August 2019)
Ronald Farndale was with Maurice
Muir, as can be seen in the photograph above.
There is evidence that they all were
working in the New Zealand 6th Brigade Advanced dressing Station at Belhamed,
near Sidi Rezegh, when they were captured by German forces, and they all stayed
together until they were repatriated.
4th and 6th
New Zealand Field Ambulance at overnight camp, North Africa, 1 October 1942
The Battle of Point
175 was a military engagement of the Western Desert Campaign that took place
during Operation Crusader from 29 November to 1 December 1941, during the
Second World War. Point 175 is a small rise just south of the Trigh Capuzzo, a
desert track east of Sidi Rezegh and south of Zaafran. The point was held by
Division z.b.V. Afrika (later the 90th Light Afrika Division). The 2nd New
Zealand Division and Infantry tanks of the 1st Army Tank Brigade captured Point
175 on 23 November, early in Operation Crusader. The New Zealanders then
attacked westwards and made contact with the Tobruk garrison, which had broken
out to meet them. From 29 November to 1 December, the New Zealanders defended
the point and the area to the west against Axis attempts to sever the link with
the Tobruk garrison and regain control of the local roads. The new 132nd
Armoured Division Ariete re-captured Point 175 late on 29 November. The
defenders mistook Italian tanks and armoured cars for South African
reinforcements led by armoured cars; 167 men of the 21st New Zealand
Battalion were captured, the Italians apparently being just as surprised.
The 6th New Zealand Brigade suffered many casualties around Point 175 and
eventually retreated to Zaafran. The 2nd New Zealand Division returned to Egypt
to refit, having suffered 4,620 casualties. When the division reassembled, it
was sent to Syria to recuperate and was almost returned to Asia to participate
in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater after the Japanese invasion of Malaya on 7/8
December 1941.
The 2nd New Zealand
Division began Operation Crusader with 20,000 men, of whom 879 were killed or
died of wounds, 1,699 men were wounded, 2,042 were taken prisoner (103
prisoners died from all causes), total casualties for the division being 4,620
men.
Ronald Martin Farndale’s public WW2 record can
be found here. His NOK is his mother Mrs. S. Farndale, Bells Farm,
Thornton-in-Craven-Skipton, Yorks., England. https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/123761?n=farndale&ordinal=0&from=%2Fwar-memorial%2Fonline-cenotaph%2Fsearch
Ronald
appears on a War Memorial which seems to have been to those who served in WW2,
rather than a list of those killed in action.
Ronald M
Farndale, 24, then in the Army, departed from Liverpool on 19 June 1943 for
Auckland, New Zealand on the Sydney Star of the Blue Star Line. His address was
shown as c/o New Zealand Army HQ, 415 Strand, London WC2.
Masterton,
New Zealand
He would have been returned to NZ by
the Army after the war. He was repatriated to UK in 1943. But he must have been
in New Zealand after the War as his family were born there.
He became a builder in Masterton,
near Auckland, New Zealand. The nearest major city
to Masterton is the capital Wellington.
1945
Ronald M Farndale, married Margaret
Madge Maxted (born 1906) on 28 July 1945 in Auckland New Zealand (email
from Robyn).
1946
Maxwell Farndale (FAR01006)
was born on 21 May 1946 in New Zealand.
In the 1946
Electoral Roll, Ronald Martin Farndale, a carpenter, lived at 81a
Hillsborough Road, Roskill, Auckland with his wife Margaret Madge Farndale.
1954
In the 1954
Electoral Roll, Ronald Martin Farndale, a carpenter, lived at 99
Banister Street, Hawkes Bay, Wellington.
1956
Margaret died of a brain tumour in
1956. She is buried at Archer Street Cemetery, where Ronald was later buried.
1959
Ronald Martin Farndale, married
Doris Elaine Wilkin in 1959 in New
Zealand.
These pictures have kindly been provided by Robyn, their daughter.
1960
Bruce Matthew Farndale (FAR01102A)
was born in 1960 (Email from Robyn)
1962
Wendy Jane Farndale (FAR01114A)
was born in 1962 (Email from Robyn)
1963
1963 Electoral Roll –
lived at 24A Fleet Street, Wairarapa, New Zealand, a carpenter with Doris
Elaine Farndale
1965
James Roald Farndale (FAR01134A)
was born and died on 8 December 1965 (Email from
Robyn)
1967
Lynda Rose Farndale (FAR01127A)
was born in or about 1967 and sadly passed away on 13 January 1967 in infancy (Email from Robyn)
1970
Donna Ruth Farndale (FAR01173A)
was born in 1970 (Email from Robyn)
1972
Robyn Joye Farndale, born 1972 (FAR01191A)
(Email from Robyn)
1972 Electoral Roll –
lived at 24A Fleet Street, Wairarapa, New Zealand, a carpenter with Doris
Elaine Farndale
His son Maxwell Farndale, a clerk,
with Maxwell’s wife Gail Ann Farndale, lived at 3 Casel Street, Wairarapa.
Ronald Farndale
1974
Ronald Martin Farndale, born 22
January 1919 died on 3 July 1974 at the age of 55 at Masterton District,
Wellington. He is buried at Row 13 (ex servicemen), Archer Street Cemetery.
Inscription:
He is also commemorated on a public memorial in Waharoa District, Matamata County for
his service during the Second World War: R M Farndale; 62103, 2nd
NZEF, Pte; NZ Medical Corps; Died 3.7.1974
1980
Ronald’s widow, Doris Elaine, remarried Jack Cottle in about
1980 and Jack passed away in about 2014. Doris and Jack had no children.