DEATH OF A SOLDIER

New Zealand Times, Volume XLII, Issue 9721, 25 July 1917, Page 7

DEATH OF A SOLDIER

INQUEST ON BODY OF PRIVATE HELL. i

An inquest into the circumstances concerning- the death of Private Thomas Wiidiam BEill, of the 25th Reinforcements, who was found dead in some bush at Silverstream, was held by Mr W. G. Itiddell, S.M.. yesterday afternoon.

Private R. H. Roulston. - G Company, 2Sth' Reinforcements. Trentham Camp, said that he found the body of a" man in a clump of birch bush some distance away from the segregation portion of the oamp. The deceased man was wearing - denim coat, putties and boots, but his . trousers could not be seen. A portion qf the putties were tied round the neck of the body, which , was lying near, a stream and part of the putties were hanging to the • branch of a tree, about eight feet from the ground.

• Robert William Lawson, attached to tho Medical Corps at Trentham Camp, said that he saw the deceased on February 7th at an observation ward at the camp. Next day tho man was reported as missing. Deceased complained being ill. He was in 'the observation ward on the morning of February 2nd .for ;a‘ minor complaint and had also to undergo a slight operation for corns on his feet. He was discharged the next morning. Diarrhoea was the principal cause of illness.

• Captain Albert Edward Brown, officer commanding the 31st Reinforcements, produced tie file showing that Private Hill went into camp on January 23rd, 1917. He was described as being a man of 35 years of age, sft "Jin in ieight, of dark complexion with brown hair and gray eyes. The marks on his body denoted that he had suffered from smallpox. His oivil occupation was given as. that of a carpenter. On February 2nd his sick-sheet showed that he attended sick parade for influenza, the letters A.E.D. (attend sick parades, excused military. duty) being marked opposite his name. On th© Bth he was reported as being absent from sick parade, and the officer commanding the unit reported that Private Hill was in a morbid condition and recommended that the police search for him. He was last seen at Hut 56 at 7 o'clock on the morning of February Bth. A search was made by the police, ' but without success, and a ’Board of Inquiry found that Private- Hill was in such a state of mind at. the time of disappearance-'as to b© capable of doing himself serious bodily harm even to committing suicide. Constable J. MoHolm deposed to finding a body from information received, at Silverstroam on July 22nd. The body was dressed in blue denims, one putty was on a leg and another wa s partly round the neck of the body and party round the limb of a tree. In a pocket of the trousers the sum of 14s Id was found and on the comer of a handkerchief the initials T.W.H. ■ Fanny Mary Victoria Hill, widow of deceased, residing at Frankbon Junction, stated that her lat© husband was a driver, 32 years of age. They were married in January. 1916. Deceased suffered from corns on his feet, and had a nervous breakdown in November, 1915, since when he had- been in a normal state of health. Witness recognised the initials on the handkerchief produced as her writing. Sine© ho was reported missing witness had not heard of him. At the end of January, 1917, she received a letter asking her not to write as he was to go into hospital in Febniary. In February she came > to Wellington in order to make inquiries concerning her late husband and that afternoon Lieutenant Atkinson -sent out a search party of 250 soldiers. - Mrs Hill said that her- husband had- no- to serving as a soldier. He .had volunteered for 'service during the South African War. and had .been rejected. Since 1914 he had volunteered on three separate occasions- and each time he had been rejected, on account of his feet. He was eventually called up in the ballot and accepted. A' verdict was returned that deceased, Thomas William Hill, on or about February Stb met his "death by hanging himself while his mind was in. a state of mental depression.