A collection of Patricks
To celebrate St Patrick’s Day, we have two different Patrick’s from our photograph collection.
This studio portrait taken by well-known Hamilton photographer Henry Gaze has been tentatively identified as Patrick McQuillan, and would have been taken prior to him leaving New Zealand to participate in the First World War. Patrick was born on 18th July 1889, and was married to Ellen Josephine Flynn in Hamilton on 8th December 1915, just a week before he began his military service. Prior to the war, he worked for the Post Office as a telegraph linesman, which led him to serve in the Divisional Signal Corps. He served in the European theatre for almost the whole war, attaining the rank of Sergeant and was awarded the Military Medal in 1916. After the war, he returned to Hamilton and his job with the Post Office. Patrick and Ellen later retired to Christchurch, where they are both buried.
This image shows Joe Patrick, and the accompanying caption notes he was the fireman on Fa182. The locomotive Fa182 was a New Zealand Railways built locomotive, built at the Petone workshops. The locomotive was in service from 1895 to 1929, so we can presume this photo was taken during this timeframe. We don’t know much else about Joe Patrick, or his connection to Hamilton.
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