William Hardham

William James Hardham, VC (31 July 1876 – 13 April 1928) was a New Zealand soldier and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that could be awarded at the time to British and Commonwealth forces.

William Hardham
Captain William Hardham, April 1916
Born(1876-07-31)31 July 1876
Wellington, New Zealand
Died13 April 1928(1928-04-13) (aged 51)
Wellington, New Zealand
Buried
Karori Soldier's Cemetery, Wellington
AllegianceNew Zealand
Service/branchNew Zealand Military Forces
Years of service1895–1919
RankMajor
Unit4th New Zealand Contingent
Wellington Mounted Rifles Regiment
Battles/warsSecond Boer War
First World War
AwardsVictoria Cross
Other workRugby Union player

Born in Wellington, Hardham was a blacksmith and part-time soldier in the local militia when he volunteered to serve with the New Zealand Military Forces in the Boer War. Posted to the 4th Contingent in 1900, he was on a patrol in the South African Transvaal when it was ambushed. He rode to the rescue of a wounded soldier while under heavy fire and for this he was awarded the Victoria Cross. Discharged from the New Zealand Military Forces in 1901, he rejoined for another period of service in the Boer War but did not return to South Africa and instead was sent to England for the coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra.

Returning to civilian life, he became increasingly involved in rugby administration with the Wellington Rugby Football Union; he had played representative rugby for Wellington in his youth. He also continued to serve in the militia. When the First World War began, he volunteered for service abroad with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) and was posted to the Wellington Mounted Rifles (WMR) as a captain. Wounded during the Gallipoli Campaign, he was repatriated to New Zealand. On recovery he was made commandant of Queen Mary Hospital in Hanmer Springs but desired a return to the NZEF and a posting overseas. He soon rejoined the WMR, then in Palestine, but his health was poor and affected the remainder of his service in the military. Having reached the rank of major by the end of the war, he was soon discharged from the NZEF. Returning to civilian life, he worked for a newspaper and later the Public Works Department as well being involved in veterans' affairs. He died in 1928 at the age of 51.

Early life

William James Hardham was born on 31 July 1876, the son of George Hardham, a labourer and his wife, Ann Hardham née Gregory. He was educated in Wellington, the city of his birth and when his schooling was completed, he obtained work as a blacksmith. A keen sportsman, he played rugby for the Petone Rugby Club and also represented the Wellington Rugby Football Union in the sport.[1] He would eventually play 53 games for the province. His military career began in 1895, when he joined the Wellington Naval Artillery, a part-time militia unit, serving with the Petone Company.[2]

South Africa

During the Second Boer War, the New Zealand Government offered the British a mounted rifles contingent from the New Zealand Military Forces for service in the conflict in South Africa. Volunteers were plentiful and by 1900, two contingents had already left for the war.[3] Hardham was among those who volunteered and he was posted to the 4th New Zealand Contingent as a farrier sergeant major.[1] Landing in Portuguese East Africa in April 1900, the Fourth Contingent, nicknamed the "Rough Riders", were deployed as part of the Rhodesian Field Force around Mafeking.[4] Aside from a brief action at Ottoshoop in August, the Rough Riders spent the majority of their service in the war in the Transvaal, carrying out reconnaissance patrols and pursuing Boer commandos.[3] As part of the effort to deprive the Boers of resources, they also helped to destroy crops and round up civilians and cattle, during which they occasionally had skirmishes with armed commandos.[5]

On 28 January 1901, Hardham was on a patrol in the Transvaal when it was ambushed by twenty Boers. Although the patrol was able to withdraw, one man was wounded and his horse was shot from under him. Seeing this, Hardham rode to his aid and extracted him to safety while under heavy gunfire.[2]

For his actions, Hardham was recommended for the Victoria Cross (VC) by General Herbert Kitchener, commander of British forces in South Africa, even though the local commander, Major-General Ian Hamilton, believed the Distinguished Conduct Medal was a more appropriate form of recognition. The commander-in-chief of the British Army, Field Marshal Earl Roberts, concurred with Kitchener and the VC nomination was approved. The citation for Hardham's VC, the first to be awarded to a New Zealander of a unit of the New Zealand Military Forces serving overseas,[2] read:

On 28 January 1901, near Naauwpoort, this Non-Commissioned Officer was with a section which was extended and hotly engaged with a party of about 20 Boers. Just before the force commenced to retire Trooper McCrae was wounded and his horse killed. Farrier- Major Hardham at once went under a heavy fire to his assistance, dismounted and placed him on his own horse, and ran alongside until he had guided him to a place of safety.

— The London Gazette, No. 27362, 4 October 1901[6]
The Victoria Cross

Hardham was presented with the VC, the first and only such award to a New Zealander in the Boer War, on 1 July by George, Prince of Wales, who was in South Africa on a visit. This event took place even before the gazetting of the award. The medal itself was not officially engraved; Hardham presumably arranged this himself later.[2] The Rough Riders spent the final weeks of its service in South Africa in operations to the north of Klerksdorp, patrolling and denying the Boer commandos food. It was also involved in the capture of a convoy of Koos de la Rey's commando in March 1901. The contingent left for New Zealand in June 1901[7] and Hardham was discharged two months later.[2]

He volunteered to serve again in South Africa, this time with the Ninth Contingent and was commissioned as a lieutenant in February 1902.[2] Soon after the Ninth Contingent's arrival in South Africa in late April,[8] Hardham, along with over 50 other New Zealand mounted riflemen serving in South Africa, was sent to England to join up with the New Zealand contingent attending the coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra and participated in a parade of colonial troops in London on 1 July 1902.[2][9][10]

Civilian life

Hardham returned to civilian life after his visit to London and continued to serve with the Naval Artillery. In 1910, having attained the rank of sergeant and served as a volunteer in the militia for 16 years, he was awarded the Long and Efficient Service Medal. As well as his work as a blacksmith, he also increasingly became involved in rugby administration; in 1908 he commenced a six-year term on the committee of the Wellington Rugby Football Union.[2]

First World War

On the outbreak of the First World War, Hardham volunteered for the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF), being raised for service overseas.[2] Appointed as a captain in the Wellington Mounted Rifles (WMR), he was second in command of its 2nd Squadron. Travelling on the troopship Arawa, he embarked with the main body of the NZEF for the Middle East in October 1914.[11] His regiment was part of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade and would be destined for service in the Gallipoli Campaign.[12] Arriving in Egypt, the WMR spent several months in training and during this time Hardham helped to organise sporting events to keep men occupied.[13]

While the WMR missed out on the initial landings at Gallipoli, it arrived on the peninsula on 12 May 1915, without their horses.[12] Within days, the WMR was involved in the fighting. During an attack on Anzac Cove on 19 May, the WMR helped fend off attacks at Quinn's Post. Later in the day, Hardham was ordered to lead an attacking party on the Nek, from where Turkish soldiers were sniping. The area over which the party was to advance was swept with machine-gun fire and the orders to attack were countermanded.[14] Soon afterwards, he participated in the Battle for No.3 Post and it was during this engagement that Hardham received serious wounds; another officer who came to his aid was also wounded.[15]

Although treated for his injuries, which were to his hand and chest, Hardham was repatriated to New Zealand in February 1916. He agitated for a return to active duty with the NZEF but instead received an appointment as commandant of Queen Mary Hospital in Hanmer Springs. Initially just a temporary position, he did so well in the post that it was made permanent and he was promoted to major. He still sought a role with the NZEF and eventually in late 1917, the military authorities relented and he was able to rejoin the WMR, which at the time was serving in Palestine. His health was poor and he spent much of the remainder of the war ill.[2] He was ultimately repatriated back to New Zealand suffering malaria.[1]

Later life and legacy

After the war, Hardham was discharged from the NZEF but sought a role in the New Zealand Military Forces as a professional soldier. His application was declined on account of his health.[2] Unable to return to his work as a blacksmith, he found work at a newspaper and later with the Public Works Department. He was involved in veterans' affairs, being a club manager at the Wellington Returned Serviceman's Association and organising Anzac Day parades.[1]

Hardham was still involved with rugby administration, serving again on the committee of the Wellington Rugby Football Union from 1921 to 1925. He was eventually made a life member.[1] As a schoolboy, the future rugby commentator Winston McCarthy met Hardham, later describing him as "a very silent, simple man" who gave him a historic book on rugby.[16]

Suffering from stomach cancer, Hardham died at his home in the suburb of Ngaio on 13 April 1928. He received a military funeral, and among the attendees was the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Gordon Coates.[2][17][18] Buried at Karori Cemetery in Wellington, Hardham was survived by his wife, Constance Evelyn née Parsonson, who he had married on 11 March 1916. The couple had no children.[1] His VC is displayed at the National Army Museum at Waiouru. The Hardham Cup, a competition trophy in Wellington club rugby, is named in his honour[2] and he is also remembered by a plaque in Queen's Garden in Dunedin.[19]

Notes
  1. Crawford, J.A.B. "Hardham, William James – Biography". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  2. Harper & Richardson 2007, pp. 85–88.
  3. Harper & Richardson 2007, pp. 78–80.
  4. Hall 1949, pp. 40–41.
  5. Hall 1949, p. 44.
  6. "No. 27362". The London Gazette. 4 October 1901. p. 6481.
  7. Hall 1949, p. 45.
  8. Hall 1949, p. 76.
  9. "The Coronation". The Evening Post (Vol. LXIII, Iss. 138). 11 June 1902. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  10. "An Imperial Review". Otago Daily Times (Iss. 12395). 3 July 1902. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  11. Wilkie 1924, pp. 6–7.
  12. Stowers 2015, p. 95.
  13. Wilkie 1924, p. 12.
  14. Wilkie 1924, pp. 22–23.
  15. Stowers 2015, pp. 99–100.
  16. McCarthy & Howitt 1983, p. 67.
  17. "Obituary - Major Hardham V.C." Evening Post (Vol. CV, Iss. 88). 14 April 1928. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  18. "Late Major Hardham - Funeral at Wellington". New Zealand Herald (Vol LXV, Iss. 19923). 17 April 1928. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  19. "Cenotaph Record: Hardham, William James". Online Cenotaph. Auckland Museum. Retrieved 30 April 2020.

References
  • Hall, D. O. W. (1949). The New Zealanders in South Africa 1899–1902. Wellington, New Zealand: War History Branch, Department of Internal Affairs. OCLC 12208403.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Harper, Glyn; Richardson, Colin (2007). In the Face of the Enemy: The Complete History of the Victoria Cross and New Zealand. Auckland, New Zealand: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-1-86950-650-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • McCarthy, Winston; Howitt, Bob (1983). Haka: The Maori Rugby Story. Auckland: Rugby Press. ISBN 0-90-8630-077.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Stowers, Richard (2015). Heroes of Gallipoli. Christchurch, New Zealand: John Douglas Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9941059-5-0.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Wilkie, A. H. (1924). Official War History of the Wellington Mounted Rifles Regiment, 1914–1919. Auckland: Whitcombe and Tombs. ISBN 978-1-84342-796-4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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