When reading archived documents about the soldier, I ask myself if he joined the war to use that as a way to find a free trip home to Sweden? This is the first time I find text in documents that points in that direction.
I mainly do research about Swedes who fought and fell in the Great War during 1914-1919, but it is also very interesting to study the life of those Swedes who emigrated to another country, joined the war and survived.
This is the small story about a Swedish sailor who left Sweden to end up in New Zealand, and from there voluntarily joined the New Zealand Expeditionary Force to fight in the great war.
Ernest William Albert Herner, with the NZEF Service number 34072, was born in Sweden as Ernst Wilhelm Albert Hernström on December 28, 1891. He was born in the parish of Östra Eneby in the landscape of Östergötland.
In the Swedish church books I find that he was a sailor and served in the Gävle House of Sailors No 51, from 1912. His two year older brother, Gustaf Emanuel Hernström also served in the same House of Sailors from 1910. Gävle is a town at the Swedish east coast, north of Stockholm.
There is no specific emigration date specified for Ernst in the church book, only that he is mentioned in the book of absent around year 1916-1917. This was common for sailors as they went around the world, and did not had the possibility to contact any relatives often enough in Sweden to tell them about their specific situation.
Although, I can read from his NZEF registration papers that he enlisted on September 19, 1916. It is also interesting to see the transformation of his surname from Hernström to Herner, and he also stated Gävle as his place of birth even if I know he lived in Torsåker, Gävleborgs county, around the time of 1916. Now I know that he jumped ship in New Zealand and worked in the Otaki region at the time.
He mentioned his father Enoch Hernström, who lived in Torsåker, Sweden, at the time, as his Next of Kin.
Ernest served in the 2nd Company in the 3rd Battalion, Canterbury Regiment, NZEF, when he disembarked in Devonport in the UK, on March 28, 1917. They arrived in Etaples in France on May 28th, 1917. He was then appointed Lance Corporal in the fields but seems to have performed well and he later became Corporal.
The time for service was often stated for the “duration of war” and on the NZ registration papers it was also mentioned that you have to return to the country from where you joined to be discharged from service, and this in interesting in Ernest case.
In Ernest’s paper I read that he in June 1918 applied for to be discharged in England and the reason for that was to later return to Sweden and take care of his parents, his mother Carolina and his father Enoch, who at the time lived in Torsåker, Gävleborg, Sweden.
“Discharged from NZEF, unnaturalized Swede, returning to Sweden to support parents”
I see also some documents regarding the conversation which I assume was between commanders in the matter.
The reasons for being granted his wishes can probably be that he seems to have behaved well as a soldier and NCO, but maybe also for that he wasn’t a naturalized citizen in New Zealand when he joined the NZEF.
These matters have made me look more into the circumstances regarding foreign soldiers and their registration in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, and their possibilities to leave the service when in another country during war.
So what did Ernest do after he left France for England after he was discharged? He is noted to have married The Belarusian born Dora Zunin, (born in Mintsk which I assume later became Minsk) who became Dora Hernstrom around July or August 1918.
Suddenly Ernest had changed his surname again from Herner to Hernstrom (Hernström) and I find that interesting in itself.
Ernest and Dora lived in east London in 1921, and he is still noted in the Swedish church book for the period between 1920-1930, with the note written in Swedish:
“Lär vara gift utomlands, enligt fadern” which in english is “Seems to be married abroad, according to his father” He is also noted in the Swedish church books in the period between 1917-1926, so I wonder if he really went home to his parents to support them after he married Dora, which was the reason for his wishes to be discharged?
I may find more details about this specific story, but I found it really interesting to see that he got his wishes granted, and maybe it was Ernest plan all along to get a free trip back to Sweden when he joined NZEF? We will probably never know.
Ernest and Dora also lived in the Stepney area in the later years. Ernest died in Surrey, England, February 1971.