Arnold Emmett

Christchurch Sun, 30-09-1918

## 31 August 1918 -|- Arnold Emmett

### Biography

Arnold Emmett was born in Christchurch (Canterbury) on March 9, 1894 as the son of Arthur William and Jane Emmett. He was active as an amateur cyclist for a short time and then became part of the board of the Mairehau Cycling Club.

When he on June 12, 1917 he left from Wellington to Plymouth to fight in Europe, Emmett worked as a farmer. As Rifleman he was a member of the 3rd Battalion of the 3rd New Zealand Brigade. He he died of his injuries on August 31, 1918 in the Casualty Clearing Station N ° 3 in France.

Arnold Emmett is buried at the Bagneux British Cemetery (section VI, row E, grave 18) in Gezaincourt (Somme). He is also commemorated at the Church on the Roseland Peninsula in Cornwall (Wales) because his father had emigrated from Cornwall to New Zealand.

Read also: Cornwall Live - https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/memorial-soldier-born-new-zealand-407526

#### Some information on his maternal grandparents

***Many thanks to Barry West***

Arnold’s maternal grandparents were Isaac Dellow, born November 17, 1820, died June 27, 1890 and Mary Dellow, born August 17 1825, died December 3 1909. They came to Canterbury, New Zealand on the Regina, as ‘assisted emigration’ arriving December 6 1859 at Lyttelton, Canterbury (after 13 weeks at sea) and the following day, coming over the hill to Christchurch, to go and work for Mr Isaac Philpott as farm assistant. They had 6 children at that time, 4 more daughters were born here and it appears one other daughter had died as an infant in England prior. Mary had two brothers and a sister in New Zealand already.

Isaac Dellow was born 17/11/1820 in Essex, England. He married Mary Gapes on 6/6/1847 and it says they were formerly from Bow, Middlesex, England. They bought 120 acres at Templeton, 12 miles from Christchurch, after some years of hard saving and farmed there until , with Isaac’s failing health, they moved to St Albans, a suburb of Christchurch. Jane and her sisters learned to read and write as best they could and went off to work for other settles as home help.

Jane, Arnold’s mother was born 19 February 1866 and died 10 July 1907. She married Arthur Emmett in 1890. Their children were Louisa, Gertrude, Arnold, Eleanor (Nell), Edwin and John. It was John’s son Robin I spoke to this week. He Is 86 and lives in Cheviot, North Canterbury. As I said, Nell was my grandmother. Her birthday was July and she died in August 1975, aged 79 I think. That would mean she was very close in age to Arnold. I know she missed him terribly for much of her life. He was a good friend of my grandfather, Harry Coleman and that is how my grandparents got together.

Louisa died aged 15 or 16 I think, Gertrude married later in life to Sydney Turner and had no children, Nell had two children, Alan and my mother Edna, Edwin had a son and daughter (whom I have never met) and John had two sons, Robin and Glanville. Arnold would have had 14 nieces and nephews.

I do think the article about cycling is correct, and he was a friend of my grandfather Coleman, who used to bike everywhere and bike from Lincoln to Shirley, maybe 30 miles, to visit my grandmother when they were courting. I don’t recall the other members of the family being sporty, but they were older of course when I knew them. His sister, Gertrude, was like my second grandmother and lived near us. She died in 1976, a week after she attended my eldest son’s christening. His brother John lived at Waikuku Beach just north of Christchurch, and sawm in the sea each day for about 9 months of the year, until just a few years before he died aged 92 I think.