Clarence Godfrey Egan

BDM1898/11825 Egan Clarence Godfrey; Charlotte; John

Clarence Egan started work initially as a labourer around the Taihape area and then as a sawmill hand at a local mill. Having met a young lady from Auckland in the early 1920's, Clarrie at 25 years of age took the plunge in July 1923 and married 18 year old Eileen Muriel Edlin at St Thomas Church in Ponsonby. Shortly after their marriage Clarrie got a job with the Egmont Box Company in Taumarunui; they made the move and two of their three children were born in Taihape, Vincent Edwin and Helena Alice (Trixie). By 1929 the family had moved back to Auckland where once again Clarrie secured work as a millhand. The family settled in Onehunga at 262 Church Street before the arrival of their third child Mavis Muriel, in1931.

When the call for volunteers came in early 1940, Clarrie was working at the Public Works Dept., (later to become the Ministry of Works) in Auckland. While working for the PWD Clarrie had acquired many skills, particularly in operating heavy machinery, e.g. scrapers, rollers, excavators, 'dozers, shovels and ditchers, as well as being a fairly handy general engineer. Given his wide range of abilities, wealth of experience and maturity, he was immediately accepted for a new Army unit being assembled.

NZEF Base Camp Maadi

38047 Sapper Clarence G Egan; 21 MEC NZEF, left New Zealand with the fourth Reinforcements on 1st February 1941 in the Nieuw Amsterdam together with 8 Field Company, 18 Army Troops Company and a party of divisional and non-divisional Engineer Reinforcements. On arrival at Bombay, because of the situation in the Red Sea - Eritrea and Somaliland were still in enemy hands - it was necessary to change into smaller ships which maintained a shuttle service to Suez. Those units not going on straight away went to a transit camp at Deolali outside Bombay. After six weeks in the transit camp, 21 MEC arrived at Port Tewfik on 23 March. The next day the unit marched into the 2NZEF Base Camp at Maadi, about three miles from the port.

Service number WWII 38407
Next of kin on embarkation: Mrs. Eileen Muriel Egan, 262 Christchurch St., Onehunga (wife)
Rank: Temporary Lance Corporal
Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force, Third Echelon

Medals and Awards:

War Medal 1939-1945
New Zealand War Service Medal
Defence Medal (United Kingdom)
1939-45 Star
Africa Star

https://medalsreunitednz.co.nz/

Wellingtonian John Egan (1860-1943) was a labourer who had worked his way from Wellington to the northern Rangitikei around Taihape by 1900. His first recorded census listing shows that he was a wagon driver from Moawhango which is an area 40 km north-east of State Highway No. 1, about midway between Taihape to the south and Waiouru to the north. In September 1896 John married a former Napier girl and then Utiku resident Charlotte “Lottie” Jeffares (1875-1949) at the church in Utiku (south of Taihape). The couple had eight children, the first three born at Charlotte’s family home in rural Meeanee, near Taradale on the outskirts of Napier.

First born was a son, Vincent Joseph (1896-1982), followed by twins, Clarence Godfrey (1898) and his brother John Leslie “Jackie” Egan (1898-1902) who unfortunately died at the age of 4 years 6 months. Evelyn Jane Minchin (1899-1967) followed, and a move back to Taihape saw the birth of Harold Richard (1901-1901) who survived for just 3 months, and their last born Alvera Robina Agnes “Bina” Fazakerley (1902-1987). By 1905 the Egans were living at Ohutu where John ran his own carrying business for the next 20+ years. Ohutu is about 30 kms due east of Taihape in very rough and remote outback. By 1930 the Egans had moved into Taihape, John working as a labourer.

https://medalsreunitednz.co.nz/clarence-godfrey-egan-ww2-medals-sal...

Clarence Godfrey Egan

WWII medals salvaged from Trade Me by a dedicated Motueka veteran's advocate.

• This link tells the amazing story of the dedication of Clayton Ross, in finding stolen medals initially on a Canadian website, then on Trade Me, and how he purchased them in order to return them to the Egan family.