Source: https://museum.timaru.govt.nz/explore/scroll/profile?id=2161
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 18:39:43+00:00

Document:
Height 5 feet 11½ inches. Weight 174 lbs. Chest measurement 35½-38½ inches. Eyes grey-green. Hair brown. Sight - both eyes 6/6. Hearing perfect. Limbs well formed. Full & perfect movement of all joints. Chest well formed. Heart & lungs normal. Teeth good. Free from hernia, varicocele, varicose veins, haemorrhoids, inveterate or contagious skin disease. Vaccinated. Good bodily and mental health. No slight defects. "Physically fit in every way."
Distinguished Service Order: London Gazette, 1 January 1917, p29, Rec No 472: During operations on September 1916 this officer, though wounded, continued to carry on his duties in a most efficient manner. He has always displayed great coolness and has brought his battery to a most satisfactory state of efficiency. During operations on the 15th September he re-organised and practically took over command of the 12th Battery when its O.C. became a casualty. This he again did in a most efficient manner on the 25th when its O.C. was again casualtied, and by his personal supervision and coolness, instilled confidence in the battery personnel during heavy shellfire. Mentioned in Despatches: London Gazette, 4 January 1917, p261: Mentioned in despatches from General Sir Douglas Haig, G.C.B., Commander-inChief of the British Armies in France, dated 13th November 1916.
22 July 1915 admitted to hospital; 27 September 1916 wounded in arm - remained with unit.
Victor Aaron Francis Rogers, who appears to have gone through life often known simply as Victor, was born on 13 November 1888 at Brenchley, Kent, England, and christened there on 21 December 1888. He was the only son of John Henry Rogers and his wife, Maria Jane née Sheppard, and had four older sisters, two of them born in France. John, a Church of England minister, and Maria had married in 1871 at Bristol. Rev. J. H. Rogers held charges in various parts of England, including Brenchley, Kent in 1888-1889. In 1901 Mr and Mrs Rogers and their four daughters were at the Vicarage, Boscaswell, Cornwall, while young Victor was a pupil at Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Early in 1902 Rev J. H. and Mrs Rogers, Misses J. M. Rogers, E. C. Rogers, D. A. Rogers, M. R. Rogers, and Master V. Rogers were saloon passengers on the “Tongariro” from London to Auckland, New Zealand, via Capetown and Hobart, and from Auckland to Lyttelton by the “Waikare”. Victor Aaron Francis Rogers continued his education at Christ’s College Grammar School in Christchurch, from May 1902 through to 1904. By 1905 the Rev. J. H. Rogers was well engaged in church work in Christchurch, and Mr V. Rogers was appointed junior diocesan clerk. At the skating carnival held at the Christchurch Olympia Rink in mid 1912, Victor partnered Miss Steel to win the prize for most graceful couple. A few months later he gave a vocal item at the annual dinner of the Red and Black Association. The following year he again gave vocal items, this time at the conclusion of the competitions held under the auspices of the Lyttelton Literary and Debating Society. This came after gaining first place in the Comic Song (gentlemen, own selection) category. The judge said that he had given a very fine performance and a splendid character impersonation of “Solomon’s Trombone”. At the Julius Knight Dramatic Club’s concert in May 1914, Mr Victor Rogers’ excellent Yiddish impersonations were very well received and earned him a recall. Again in May 1914 he contributed to the concert in aid of the Belfast School library fund. In time (1913) John Henry Rogers became the Vicar of St Mary’s Timaru and Otipua, Timaru. Victor was best man at the wedding of a Timaru man in Rangiora in June1914. In the same month, in Christchurch, he sang at a complimentary social arranged by the Honorary Territorials.
Enlisting at Christchurch on 17 August 1914 - on the outbreak of war, Victor Rogers was already serving with E Battery New Zealand Field Artillery, having received a commission in that unit shortly after the territorial system came into being. He had previously been with the College Rifles until discharged. Now this well-known amateur concert performer was sworn in as a member of the Field Artillery of the Expeditionary Force and prepared to leave for Palmerston North for concentration. He was one of the representatives of the Christchurch Football Club who were bade farewell with speeches and patriotic songs in the Red and Black Association’s Rooms. By February 1915, 46 members of the Red and Black Association had enlisted, and it was proposed to erect an honours board. He was also named among 42 members of the Christchurch Football Club who had enlisted, that number increasing to 67 by May 1916. Victor was also present at the farewell gathering held by the Junior Reform League, at which the president, in proposing the toast, said that the young men leaving were the cream of the country, and the country was proud of them. Bombardier Victor Rogers of E Battery had been appointed a territorial Officer in January 1912. In May 1912, when he was a Volunteer Officer with the New Zealand Field Artillery, he resigned his commission. As of January 1913 he was again appointed a second lieutenant (on probation), this appointment being confirmed. And on 23 March 1913, he was examined at Springfield and was promoted to Lieutenant. When he joined the camp at Palmerston in August 1914 he was appointed a lieutenant in the New Zealand Field Artillery. He had not registered for compulsory military training under the Defence Act, 1909, as he was over age. Victor was single and in 1914 was employed as a commercial agent for A. H. Turnbull and Company, Christchurch. He had been selected for the New Zealand Contingent dispatched to England for the coronation of King George in 1911. While at Home he studied seed fertilisation in Edinburgh, and after his return to New Zealand, spent many years on the staff of J. Montgomery and Company, seed merchants, Christchurch, in the capacity of a seed expert. He was a well built, fit man – “of fine physique” - 5 feet 11½ inches tall and weighing 174 pounds. His sight was good, his hearing perfect and his teeth good. He was “physically fit in every way”. He nominated his father as next-of-kin – Rev J. Rogers, Otipua, Timaru. Victor himself was residing at 44 Hewitts Road, Merivale, Christchurch. The New Zealand Gazette, 24 September 1914, recorded – Divisional Troops, Divisional Artillery, No. 2 Battery – Subaltern: Lieutenant Victor Rogers, New Zealand Field Artillery. This rearrangement of appointments to commissions was a consequence of the New Zealand Government’s decision to despatch a Field Artillery Brigade.
Lieutenant Victor Rogers embarked from New Zealand on 15 October 1914, reaching Egypt on 4 December. Of No. 2 Battery, New Zealand Field Artillery, Main Expeditionary Force, he left Alexandria for the Dardanelles on 12 April 1915. Shortly after he wrote a “chatty letter” to a friend in Christchurch – ‘Faint not nor fear at the sight of ink; but after a lengthy search I have discovered a fountain pen floating round my kit and am launching forth herewith. . . . . Most of us have joined the camel corps which means that we are all developing humps on our backs through dodging shells and bullets, and crawling round trenches, and it is howling funny sometimes, although one might stop one at any moment.
The landing of the troops was a never-to-be-forgotten episode, and a feat that was thought by some to be impossible. There were, of course, a good many casualties, but our boys just went through them like a packet of salts, and got on quite well. Our battery landed the following day, and I took my section straight to a position where we have been for ten days. . . . . We have had to haul the guns about with men, as the place is not suitable for horses. . . . . . We are all “dug in,” and quite comfortable. . . . . Bob and I live in the “Gallipoli Club.” That is the name of our underground dwelling, and we are quite comfortable. . . . . . I also have the “office” just in the rear of the guns, where I have my telephonist, and control the battery when we are in action, which is on and off all day. Gave them a nice little “pill” of 96 rounds before breakfast to-day.
V. Rogers was admitted to hospital on 22 July 1915. On 26 July following at Anzac he was promoted to Captain of the New Zealand Field Artillery, for meritorious services. He was on duty at Anzac from August 1915 until 22 December when he marched into Zeitoun, and then on 15 January 1916 he marched out to Moascar where, in February, he was transferred to the 9th Battery. On 7 April 1916 at Alexandria he embarked for France, where he was slightly wounded in the arm while on duty on 27 September. He remained, however, with his unit. He was subsequently (11 November) transferred to the 5th Battery.
It was the London Gazette of 26 December 1916 which carried the advice that Major Rogers was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in the Field. The Gazette of 4 January 1917 published the notification that he had been mentioned in General Sir D. Haig’s dispatch dated 13 November 1916. “His Majesty the King has been graciously pleased to approve of the under-mentioned rewards for distinguished service in the Field, dated 1st January 1917” – “Awarded the Distinguished Service Order” – and there with thirteen others is the name of Captain Victor Rogers, N.Z.F.A. The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) citation in the London Gazette, 1 January 1917, p29, Rec No 472, read: During operations on September 1916 this officer, though wounded, continued to carry on his duties in a most efficient manner. He has always displayed great coolness and has brought his battery to a most satisfactory state of efficiency. During operations on the 15th September he re-organised and practically took over command of the 12th Battery when its O.C. became a casualty. This he again did in a most efficient manner on the 25th when its O.C. was again casualtied, and by his personal supervision and coolness, instilled confidence in the battery personnel during heavy shellfire. And that for Mentioned in Despatches (MiD) in the London Gazette, 4 January 1917, p261: Mentioned in despatches from General Sir Douglas Haig, G.C.B., Commander-in-Chief of the British Armies in France, dated 13th November 1916. The headmaster of Christ’s College noted at the school’s prize-giving in March 1917 that he had been mentioned in despatches.
As of date 29 December 1916, Lieutenant Victor Rogers, D.S.O., New Zealand Field Artillery (E Battery), was to be Captain. By this time he had five years experience with E Battery and was in his third year of Active Service. From February 1917 Victor was attending a course of Gunnery. On 3 May 1917 he was admitted to hospital, sick (suspected German measles), before being transferred to No 3 Casualty Clearing Station and the next day admitted to the 14th Stationary Hospital at Boulogne. Just three days later V. Rogers, D.S.O., New Zealand Field Artillery, was promoted to Major. He was discharged on 13th and rejoined 5th Battery in the Field on 20 May. From 29 June until 11 July he was on leave in the UK. On 5 November 1917 he was wounded in action for the second time – gunshot wound to the head, and was admitted to hospital for five days before rejoining the 5th Battery. Another period of leave in the UK followed.
Victor wrote from Belgium on 18 August 1917, to Bertie, in response to a suggestion from Bertie. He says that he gets an allotment of 4 shillings per day, which is paid to his father who deposits some of it into his Post Office savings bank account. There is then about £200 in this account, which will go to his father unless he (Victor) writes a will. He also has a small fund invested by a friend, and, “in case of accidents”, all money in it is to be credited to his sister Dolly (Dorothy). He is, it seems, asking Bertie to ensure that all his money goes to Dolly. He goes on “Things are still knocking along and fairly lively at times – but this waiting is a rotten job, and one is continually getting fellows damaged more or less."
It was 5 December 1917 when the Reverend Rogers received from the King the decoration of the Distinguished Service Order awarded to his son for conspicuous bravery on the Somme, where he had taken the first battery across the German line and, although wounded, he had remained for two days in charge of two batteries. For over a year he acted in place of Major Beattie, of the N.Z.F.A., who was absent through illness.
A cable advising of Victor Rogers’ death was published in the Evening Post of 16 February 1918, two days before official notification was received and forwarded to his relatives. Major Victor Rogers, NZFA, DSO, was killed in action on 8 February 1918 in the Field in Belgium, (official information being conveyed in Casualty List No 782 issued on 11 February) – and “Struck off Strength of Unit”. Victor died at Railway Wood, Belgium, France, aged 29 years. This was his fate after distinguished service at Gallipoli, the Somme, Messines and Passchendaele. He had paid a visit to headquarters and was killed instantaneously by a high explosive shell while walking along the road back from headquarters to his battery. The news was received with much regret. He was buried in the Divisional Cemetery, Ieper, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium, France.
The name of Victor Rogers featured in a long list of Christ’s College old boys who had given their lives for King and country, and additionally in a list of those who had won military distinctions, these lists being read at the College prize-giving ceremony on 21 February 1918. At the annual general meeting of the Christchurch Football Club held on 16 March 1918, his name was recorded in the annual report, he being one of thirteen members who had lost their lives in the war. The committee extended its deepest sympathy to the relatives.
“He was with me yesterday afternoon on a court martial, and left before me to go up to his Battery. He must have been caught in a shell storm on the road, as the first we knew was that he had been picked up and taken on to a dressing station. He had been hit on the head by a large fragment of shell, and his pocket book, pay book, letter and so on that were in his breast pocket had been riddled. Death was instantaneous.
Timaru Herald, 22 April 1918 – ‘THE LATE MAJOR VICTOR ROGERS, D.S.O. (From Malcolm Ross, Official War Correspondent.) BELGIUM, Feb. 10. Since coming to the war the N.Z. Artillery have lost some of their most gallant and capable officers. The death of Major Victor Rogers removes from among them one of the old hands who was greatly liked, both for his bravery and his ability. His father is, I am told, a clergyman in Timaru.
When the war broke out he volunteered to join as a gunner with a Christchurch battery, but the formation of a brigade resulted in his obtaining a commission. He sailed with the Main Body of the Expeditionary Force, and served through the Gallipoli campaign, going away only once—to bring over the Fifth Battery from Egypt. He did good service on the Peninsula, and got his battery safely away at the evacuation.
He was in the fighting in which the New Zealanders took part in France and Belgium, being with the guns in the Battles of the Somme, Messines, and Passchendaele. During these operations he was twice wounded, yet he retained his nerve to the last.
On the day of his death—the 8th inst. - he attended a court-martial at Divisional Headquarters, and jokingly remarked that he bad outlasted all the officers except one, who had the devil's own luck. That same evening he was going back to his battery along a road when he was killed by a high-explosive shell. Death was instantaneous. As he did not return to his battery in the evening, inquiries were made, and it was ascertained that the body of an officer had been taken to a dressing station not far away. A visit to the station revealed the circumstances under which he lost his life.
At the annual meeting of parishioners of St Mary’s Timaru, in April 1918, heartfelt sympathy was expressed for the Rev. J. H. Rogers and his wife and family in the loss they had sustained through his son, Major Victor Rogers, D.S.O., being killed in action. Rev. Rogers who was in charge of the parish while Archdeacon Jacob was on active service, had not spared himself and had gained the esteem and affection of all for the faithful manner in which he had “carried out his duties in the present trying times.” A few days later he gave the address at the Anzac Day service, his opening words being ‘he seemed to hear the voice that day of one who was among the first to land at Gallipoli, and among those who assisted to remove the last battery from the Peninsula, and whose body was now lying in a lonely grave at Ypres. This voice wished him (the speaker) to give them a message, and it was this: “The Dardanelles campaign was a splendid success, but it was also a terrible failure, having failed to achieve complete success through lack of support.” The historic landing would go down as one of the greatest works of heroes in the annals of our time — a work which would leave its mark for all time on British character and British courage. Let them look at the position of the Empire and the cause to-day when the fate of the Empire was trembling in the balance. Would it go down for want of support? No! God help us, no! There must be adequate support, and the last man, the last shilling, the last act of sacrifice must be made, and the last prayer uttered. . . . . Every man, woman, and child who voiced one real prayer to God made a real contribution to the task of winning the war; . . . .’ Surely the voice he heard was his son’s. Before April’s end Mr Rogers was addressing the men who were leaving as South Canterbury’s quota of the 41st Reinforcements – “they were going to take part in the most glorious cause that a man could fight, or live, or die for – the cause of Liberty.” In conclusion he pictured the warmth of their welcome home, after duty nobly done, and wished them God’s blessing.
A 'Fallen Soldiers' notice was published in the Times of London on 16 February 1918, and a Roll of Honour notice in the Timaru Herald of 19 February – “He did his duty.” Thereafter Victor Rogers was regularly honoured on 8 February in the Timaru Herald and in the Otago Daily Times after his parents moved to Dunedin in 1920. Mrs Rogers died in 1924 at Dunedin, and Mr Rogers died in 1935 at Timaru, having moved back there a few months before. When Mr Rogers’ will went to probate, it was necessary to establish the kinship of Victor in whose estate Mr Rogers had a share. Mr Rogers had named in full his four daughters. When he died, Janet was married and living at Geraldine; Ethel and Dorothy were living in Timaru, Ethel later marrying; and the youngest Margaret, was in England, where she was a maternity and Plunket nurse in 1939 and where she died in 1971; Janet, Ethel and Dorothy are all buried in the Woodbury Cemetery, leaving no issue. Victor’s estate was administered by the Public Trustee in 1919. The cash in his Post Office Savings Bank account amounted to £176.17.9., but it was subsequently found that by taking into account his effects in England, the gross value of his estate exceeded £600. The Savings account, and maybe more, was probably the asset identified in the execution of his father’s will. In January 1919, when the Public Trust Office in Wellington was administering the estate of Victor Rogers, a letter and an account dated 15 October 1917 for £2.10s for a pair of thick Khaki Whipcord Trousers was received from a Military Tailors & Outfitters firm in London. His medals – 1914-1915 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal – were to be sent to Miss Dorothy A. Rogers (sister), at The Vicarage, Shirley, then, as per a memo of 27 October 1920, to St Martins Vicarage, N. E. Valley, Dunedin. His father was the recipient of the memorial plaque and scroll, at the same addresses.
A notice from the 'Old Country', dated 27 July, appeared in the Press of 20 September 1917 – The engagement of Major V. Rogers, D.S.O., N.Z.F.A., only son of the Rev. J. H. Rogers, vicar of Timaru, and Beatrice Enid Byard (known as Enid), elder daughter of Mr and Mrs Byard Sheppard, The Orchard, Taunton. Enid was a Devonshire girl, a distant relation of the family. Her fiancé lost in battle, Enid went on to marry Harold Samuel White in 1923. Enid and Harold had a son, John. In 2012 Englishman John White contacted the Timaru Herald to find descendants of the Reverend John Henry Rogers. The story then unravels. Mr White wanted to return Victor’s Distinguished Service Medal to immediate family. Enid, the fiancée of Victor Rogers, had visited the Rogers family in Timaru, probably in the early 1920s, in remembrance of Victor. She was given Victor’s medal, which she kept, along with a photo of Victor, at her bedside throughout her married life. When Enid died in 1973, her husband Harold White, full of hitherto unseen resentment, burnt the photo and threw the medal across the floor. Enid’s son John kept the medal and, after visiting Victor’s grave in France, was now looking for its home in New Zealand. As was established, there were no direct descendants of John Henry and Maria Jane Rogers. [ref. Timaru Herald, 1 May 2012 & 15 May 2012]. John White considered Christ’s College, Victor’s New Zealand School, to be the most appropriate repository for the medal, and so it proved to be. In February 2013 John and his wife visited Christ’s College and made the presentation. Christ’s College was delighted to accept the medal and associated items of a man of whom brigadier General Johnstone wrote to his father: “I well remember in August 1914 – his coming to me & offering to join up in any capacity – gunner, NCO or officer. Since then he has been with me all the time except, when absent through wounds, & you can imagine those long years spent together – under strain & stress teach us the value of men. Your boy was a very gallant soldier in fact, & only the other day when I went round his Battery, I found everything in perfect order – he was too plucky to allow “war strain” to affect him & wound up a better & keener soldier than when he began, which is saying a great deal. He was probably the most popular officer in the NZFA & more important was respected by all. He knew his job thoroughly had a good head & was a fine gunner.” [Christ’s College - In Black & White, Issue 46, March 2013, page 10].
Victor Rogers was remembered as an enthusiastic volunteer and a keen and competent officer, having held a commission in the E. Battery. He was well known in Christchurch, being a prominent amateur entertainer – “one of the best amateur comedians in Christchurch”. He was also a member of the Christchurch Football Club and the Red and Black Association, was a leading light in the Ascot “baching” fraternity, and was connected with various sports including athletics. He was remembered for his cheerful, jovial nature and constant smile. The name of Victor Rogers is inscribed on the Timaru Memorial Wall, the Otipua District War Memorial, and the Timaru St Mary’s Anglican Church Memorial. Christ’s College has a World War I stained glass memorial and a Memorial Dining Room. A photo of Victor Aaron Francis Rogers is to found in Volume 3 of “Onward – Portraits of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force” (held by the South Canterbury Branch NZSG).

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