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Wedding portrait of Private James Arthur Hoverd and Florence Lilian Hoverd.
This portrait of James Hoverd and his bride Lilian was taken on their wedding day, 20 July 1918.
James Hoverd was born on 2 October 1895 in Wellington, son of William and Elizabeth (nee Clark). James first enlisted in 1916, but because he had mild tachycardia (a fast heart rate), as well as slightly flat feet with corns, he was classified 'C1' - 'likely to become for for service overseas after special training.' The C1 camp, based initially at Featherston, later at Tauherinikau, helped recruits build up their health, and many of them later joined the reinforcements. James was conscripted in 1917; by the time he entered Trentham in May 1918 as part of C1 draft, he was working as a storeman for Cocks & Co., jewellers of Victoria Street, Wellington. After training, he was transferred to the 42nd Reinforcements, and later the 43rd.
James was granted leave without pay from 18 July and married Florence Lilian Davies two days later, and the couple took time out of their wedding day to pose at Berry & Co.'s studio. Lilian (as she was known) was the eldest daughter of Ernest and Sarah Davies, who had emigrated from England around 1905.
Returning from leave on 23 August, James underwent another medical examination. Because of ongoing problems with his heart and feet, he was classified unfit for overseas duty, but 'fit for service of some nature in New Zealand', and on 30 August he was issued with a certificate of leave. His military service was over.
After the war, James and Lilian moved to Nelson, where he worked as a nurseryman. They had two children, Dulcie (born 1919) and Norma (1923). By the mid-1930s the family was back in Wellington, where James took a number of jobs as a storeman or warehouseman. He died at Hutt Hospital in 1966, aged seventy; Lilian lived a further eleven years.