Le Grice, Le Grys et al.

Colour Sergeant 58th Regiment of Foot. Chelsea Pension @ 1/6 1/2 diem age 50. Date of admission 9th January 1844. Height 5' 11'' Hair and eyes gray Complexion fresh. Character & trade Good- farmer. Period of service 21 yrs 7mth. Discharged for rheumatism Payment of pension in Howick commenced 1st July, 1847 (prior to leaving England)

FENCIBLES The men numbered 721 and together with their families comprised a total of over 2,500 new settlers for the villages of Onehunga, Otahuhu, Howick and Panmure. The men had served in many regiments of the British Army in many parts of the world. They were used to harsh conditions and many were "pensioned out" as being unfit for further active service, largely due to rheumatism. Sometimes wives and children would have marched behind the regiment. A large number of the families were from Ireland, which was in the middle of the famine period, and all would have been leaving for a better life in New Zealand. The promise of owning land would have been a great incentive. When the first contingent arrived it had not been decided where they should settle. The cottages were not built. The families quickly settled into life in New Zealand, building their own houses, growing vegetables and finding work on the neighbouring farms. The Fencibles were a large group of immigrants who swelled Auckland's population at the time. They created the four villages, now suburbs of Auckland. They were instrumental, in the creation of roads, bridges and lines of communication. They shaped the communities with churches, schools, shops and local governing bodies. Now it is estimated that there are over a quarter of a million descendants of Fencible families living today spread around the world. The villages are now bustling communities. The Fencibles came for a better life, they committed themselves to developing their communities with their labour and their limited resources. They are to be remembered with respect, for without their service the shape of Auckland would have been a very different place to what it is today.