KEMP, William McFarlane
| Service Number: | 5361 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 23 February 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 26th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, 1889 |
| Home Town: | Toowoomba, Toowoomba, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 9 May 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Queensland Railways Toowoomba Employees Roll of Honour, Toowoomba Roll of Honour WW1, Toowoomba St Stephen's Church WWI Memorial Tablet, Toowoomba St. Stephen's Presbyterian Church Roll of Honour, Toowoomba War Memorial (Mothers' Memorial), Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 23 Feb 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 5361, 26th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 8 Aug 1916: | Involvement Private, 5361, 26th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Itonus embarkation_ship_number: A50 public_note: '' | |
| 8 Aug 1916: | Embarked Private, 5361, 26th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Itonus, Brisbane |
Help us honour William McFarlane Kemp's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
William Kemp of the 26th Battalion, embarked from Brisbane, Queensland, on 8 August 1916, 3 days after his 2nd brother Jack was killed at Pozieres, having had another brother Alex killed at Gallipoli in 1915. William joined the 26th Battalion during February 1917 and was killed in action at Bullecourt in May 1917. In his Red Cross file is a letter from a 5120 Pte. Edward Tewes 26th Battalion. ‘I hand you herewith a purse and contents I took out of his pocket on the night of 5 May 1917 at Bullecourt. He was killed by a shell. Lived about half an hour after being wounded and was unconscious all the time. He was buried just outside the first aid post near our line. Pioneers buried him on 6 May 1917 and there is a wooden cross on his grave. I would like the purse and contents sent to his mother, Mary Kemp, Hume Street, Toowoomba.’
A fourth brother, James Kemp, was sent home to Australia later in 1917 by the authorities on account of his three brothers having lost their lives.
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