Pte. Robert Archibald John Hughes

Robert Archibald John Hughes was born at Invercargill in the Southland region of New Zealand's South Island on 30 April 1886 (reg. 1886/8947). His parents were Robert Hughes and Mary Hughes (née Docking) who had married in 1876. Robert worked as a sawmill hand. A Police report in Robert's Military Personnel File states that Henrietta Maud Edith Harriett Wood (née Cleaver, later Middlemiss) had left her husband Mabille Louis Wood (1866-1940) due to his brutal treatment, most likely taking their children with her. Henrietta and Robert cohabitated and had four children together from 1912 to 1917 that were registered to Robert Archibald John and Edith Maud Wood:

1. Robert Louis Henry Wood (reg. 1912/23600)
2. Kathleen Rita Mary Wood (reg. 1915/27974) [twin]
3. Edith Rose Wood (reg. 1915/27975) [twin]
4. William James Wood (reg. 1917/1492)

Robert served with the Auckland Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion during World War I. He was killed in action in France on 1 May 1918. 32-year-old Robert was buried in the Hebuterne Military Cemetery [I. F. 4.]. His death would leave Henrietta in desperate circumstances. According to the Police Report she was "destitute and had six children under twelve to care for" and had no option but to return to her husband. One can only imagine how harsh her life was, and how her children to Robert were treated by their stepfather. Henrietta and Mabille had three further children in 1920, 1923 and 1926. He died in 1940. Henrietta remarried to William Robison Middlemiss in 1954. One can only hope the next nine years were happy for her before her death in Invercargill on 4 March 1963. Bio by Debbie McCauley (3 August 2024).

Sources

1. Archives New Zealand: Military Personnel File
2. Births, Deaths and Marriages Online New Zealand.
3. Cenotaph: https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/...
4. New Zealand and World War One Roll of Honour: http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~sooty/genealogy/nzefrohHI-HY.html / Ref 10.4.2021