Birch, John Hampton

John Hampton Birch, known as ‘Jack’, born in 1913, was the son of William and Ethel (nee Alan) Birch, of Buller Street, New Plymouth.

Jack attended New Plymouth Boys’ High School. In 1932, his last school year, he was captain of the First XI cricket team, captain of the First XV rugby team, and Head Prefect. He was also the Battalion Sergeant Major in the school’s cadet corps.

After he left school, he studied accountancy. Jack eventually became Head Cashier at the New Plymouth City Council.

One of his great loves was playing cricket. He was a much-valued member of the New Plymouth Old Boys’ club, serving on the management committee and playing the game as a wicketkeeper and right-handed batsman. An ever-present in the premier team from 1932 onwards, he scored a century in December 1934. He went on to play five games for Taranaki and be selected to play a trial game for the Wellington Plunket Shield team.

Highly regarded by his teammates, he captained representative teams at a young age and held administrative positions in Taranaki cricket. Many years later his school friend, Tom Larkin, remembered “He was a good leader for a boy.”

Jack was also a good golf player, playing at the Westown Golf Club. His last club title was winning the match-play competition in 1939.

When the New Zealand government declared war on Nazi Germany in 1939, Jack was one of the earliest volunteers. The Taranaki Herald lists him in its 13 September edition as part of the very first group of Taranaki men. He left for the Middle East in January 1940. Later that year he earned a commission. He served in Greece, then Libya, and, by mid-1942, he held the rank of Temporary Captain.

Jack Birch died on 22 July 1942. Early the following month he was reported missing in the press. However, it wasn’t until 12 August 1943 that his death was confirmed. That same day, at the Council buildings where Jack worked, on the site of the present-day Civic Centre, a flag was flown at half-mast in his memory.

For William and Ethell Birch, it must have been a terrible wait, over a year, for confirmation of what had become of their only child.

It was assumed Jack had been killed in action. Only much later, in 1945, was an eyewitness apparently able to confirm what happened. Jack had been captured. He and fellow prisoners were being loaded onto trucks and there was a lot of confusion. Amid it, Jack tried to escape. He was seen and shot.

This is the version of his death as related Jack West’s 1995 book ‘Lest We Forget’. Much later, another version would be told.

His school friend, Tom Larkin, had heard another story and he related it in 2016. “German soldiers were roughing up Birch’s men. He protested. They took him away and shot him. I can’t remember where I heard that story. I just assumed what I heard was true.”

Today we can’t be sure of the truth. However, if either story is correct, it again shows Jack Birch demonstrating the leadership his friends back home regarded him so highly for.

At the Taranaki Cricket Association’s 1943 AGM, he was noted as the first Taranaki cricket representative to die in the Second World War. The association also acknowledged his cricket abilities and his popularity.

After the war, his name was honoured at the Boys’ High School for many years with an annual one-day match between the day boys and the boarders, being played for the ‘Birch Cup’. Jack Birch’s name, along with other servicemen, is on a plaque inside St. Mary’s church.

Documents

Taranaki Daily News, 26 November 1935 

Books

The Honours Board by Brian Beer. Pages 152-154

Taranaki Cricket: The Hawke Cup Years Volume One by Brian Beer. Pages 102-103

Lest We Forget by Jack West