KENT, Robert
| Service Numbers: | 1145, 6845 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 30 September 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 24th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Braybrook, Victoria, Australia, 1895 |
| Home Town: | Coburg, Moreland, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Coburg, Victoria, Australia, 1 April 1960, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Coburg Pine Ridge Cemetery, Victoria, Australia Methodist B, Grave 909 |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 30 Sep 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1145, 7th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Dec 1914: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 1145, 7th Infantry Battalion, Unit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A32 Themistocles | |
| 30 Jan 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 6845, 24th Infantry Battalion, Date returned to Australia |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Robert Kent enlisted in 1914 as a 19-year-old labourer, from Coburg Victoria.
He embarked 22 December 1914 with the 1st reinforcements for the 7th Battalion. He embarked Alexandria to join the MEF Gallipoli on 5 April 1915, and was present at the landing and severely wounded.
“05.10 am. As men of 7th Battalion approach North Beach, they come into the sights of the intact Turkish machine gun position, the gun emplacement targets a boat about 200 metres offshore and kills nearly every man aboard. Of 140 men attempting to land in four boats, 100 are killed before they reach shore.”
Robert Kent was shot through the foot 25 April 1915, and according to the family, wounded in the boats of the 7th Battalion that were raked by machine gun fire on North Beach. He arrived in Malta on the 4 May 1915, and was transferred to England 6 July 1915, and the wound was serious enough for him to be returned to Australia on the 7 November 1915.
He was awarded a pension of 52 pound a year on the 16 April 1916, however he tried to enlist again during November 1916. Kent’s pension was cancelled when he successfully re-enlisted on the 3 February 1917 as 6845 R. Kent 24th Battalion and embarked from Australia on the 11 May 1917. He arrived in Devonport England on the 20 July 1917. However, apparently, he had not healed sufficiently as he was once again returned to Australia on the 30 January 1918, due to the old gunshot wound to his left foot.
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