James Henry WHYTE

Commemorated:
1. Document:	New Zealand WW1 Masonic List	N.Z.

Awards & Titles:

Family :

Son of Mrs Jane Johnson Whyte of Seccombe Road, Mt Eden, Auckland, New Zealand

Service Life:

Campaigns:

Unit / Ship / Est.:

Action : War Survivor

Although many perished in times of national conflict and in the service of their country, many more survived including those interned as Prisoners of War. Stories of those who did survive are included as part of this site, especially those with high gallantry awards, those included against an external rolls of honour and those who had a distinguished career in wartime and military leaderhip.

WHYTE, JAMES HENRY, Major, son of James Whyte, of Glasgow,and Jane Johnstone Whyte(neeRirkenhead): was born at Woodlands,Auckland, New Zealand, 17 Dec. 1878. He was educated at Auckland,New Zealand,joinin~the Army in 1897. During the South African Warhe saw active service as Sergt.-Major with the New Zealand Contingent,and gained the Distinguished Conduct Medal, the Queen's South AfricanMedal with four clasps (Kimberley, Dreifontein, Johannesburg and DiamondHill) and t.he King's South African Medal. Major Whyte again saw activeservice in the European War, and greatly di tinguished himself at the opera–tions in the attack on Hill 60, Gallipoli, 27 Aug. 1915. He was mentionedfive times inD~spatches,and was created a Companion of the DistinguishedService Order [London Gazette, R Nov. ]915]: "James Henry Whyte,:Major,Wellin~tonMounted Rifle Regt. For distinguished service in thefield during the operations at the Dardanelles." He was promoted toLieut.-Colonel. On the 4th of April, 1916, in The Pines, Ghezireh, Cairo,Lieut.-Colonel Whyte married Dorothy Ann, daughter of the late HenryRose, of Dunedin, New Zealand, and Grace Edith Rose, of Christchurch,New Zealand . He was awarded a Bar to the Distinguished Service Order.

Whyte was present at Kimberley Camp in February 1900. 'He was considered an excellent soldier and comrade.' (Stowers, p.181)

Whyte had a bullet pass through his bayonet scabbard and into his horse at Koornspruit.

Whyte returned to New Zealand aboard the S.S. 'Orient' in January 1901 and later joined the 21 Company (Auckland Section), 7 NZMR as Sergeant (4056). He returned to South Africa aboard the S.S. 'Gulf of Taranto' from Wellington in April 1901. (Stowers, p.181)

Whyte received the Distinguished Conduct Medal in October 1902. He was promoted to Sergeant Major Lieutenant of the 10 NZMR. (Stowers, p.181)

In 1902 Whyte was Officer in Command of the Auckland Division, Auckland Company, Auckland Mounted Battalion. He was promoted to Deputy Assistant Quartermaster-General of the Auckland Volunteer district in 1907. (Stowers, p.181)

Whyte also served in World War One. Registration No. 11/698, Wellington Mounted Rifles.

Officer Commanding Troopships for Africa and Pacific

Citations & Commemorations :

DSO
Companion of the Distinguished Service Order and bar (DSO*)

DSO (when a Major) Wellington Mounted Rifles London Gazette 8 November 1915, p. 11027 Dardanelles.

Bar DSO (when a Lieutenant Colonel) Wellington Mounted Rifles London Gazette 1 January 1918 p. 17 whilst acting as Brigade major to the 2nd Australian Light Horse Brigade.

Also:
Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM)
Queen's South Africa Medal (Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Relief of Kimberley, Transvaal clasps)
King's South Africa Medal (South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902 clasps)
1914-1915 Star
British War Medal (1914-1920)
Victory Medal with oak leaf
1939-1945 Star
Africa Star
Pacific Star
Defence Medal
War Medal 1939-1945 with oak leaf
New Zealand War Service Medal
New Zealand Long and Efficient Service Medal
New Zealand Volunteer Service Medal
Mentioned in Despatches (MiD) Five Times
MiD 1915; 1916; 1916; 1917; 1918

Masonic :

Type	Lodge Name and No.	Province/District :
Mother :	Wellington No. 1521 E.C.	New Zealand (North Island)

Initiated	Passed	Raised
-	-	-

Source :

The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The (UK) National Archives
Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry

Additional Source:

Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
Researcher : Bruce Littley

Last Updated: 2022-01-27 18:11:02

Commemorated: