Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

 Allen Kempster was born in Norwood, South Australia in 1890. Before joining the AIF at the age of 24 years and 8 months, he was a labourer in South Australia. Allen's next of kin on his Attestation Paper was orginally his mother Christine Kempster.  The NOK information was later changed to his wife Mildred Victoria who he married on 20th November 1915.
 
Allen had brown eyes and hair, was 5’7’’, and weighed 78 kilograms at the time of his enlistment on the 27th of August, 1915. He was a member of the Church of England (also known as the Anglican Church), as many people in Australia at the time were. He lived on Wall Street, in Norwood. 

 
Upon enlistment, the unit that Allen first joined was the 27th Battalion. His unit embarked from Adelaide, SA, on board the ship HMAT A28 Miltiades. Allen did not fight alongside the troops at Gallipoli, due to the fact that the campaign was close to ending. After the campaign, the 27th Battalion returned to Egypt, where soldiers such as Allen reinforced the Battalion and undertook more training to further their abilities on the front lines. 
 
Allen transferred to the 50th Battalion on April 2nd, 1916. Allen was injured for the first time in the right leg in August 1916, during the Battle of Mouquet Farm, a difficult battle that was a part of the larger Battle of the Somme. It cost Australian divisions involved approximately 11,000 casualties, one of which included Allen’s injury, which subsequently caused him to be admitted to North Evington Hospital in Leicester. This shows how severe Allen’s injury was, as, unlike soldiers with less significant wounds, he was admitted to England, the place where he could receive sufficient rest and recuperation to rejoin the army.  
 
After his discharge, Allen re-joined his unit, the 50th Battalion, which was continuing with the Battle of Mouquet Farm in September of 1916. After the intelligence officer and 6 scouts of the wars’ visitation of the site, the unit had ‘orders to take over the front line, commencing at night’. On September 2nd, the battalion moved into the front lines at 10 pm. While none of the Australian attacks – such as the one Allen was involved in – managed to capture Mouquet Farm, the British advances eventually did.  
 
The 50th Battalion went on to participate in the Battle of Messines, in which Allen was injured on the second day of the battle, the 9th of June. The injury that Allen bravely faced was a gunshot wound in the right arm, and he was admitted to Tooting Hospital on June 24th 1917. Again, Allen had received an injury so severe that he had to be transported from the front lines in the village of Messines (West Flanders, Belgium), all the way to another hospital where he knew he could not return to the state of fitness that he previously held to fight for his country and the Allies. Tooting Military Hospital was originally St Joseph’s Roman Catholic College but was converted to a hospital for soldiers during World War 1 and renamed. It held 712 beds for enlisted servicemen, one of which belonged to Allen 
 
Allen was discharged from service at the Private rank that he began with, reeling from the wounds he had bravely suffered through in two major battles. He embarked on the HMS No. 2 from England for his return to Australia. Allen’s total service amounted to nearly 3 years in total when he was discharged from service on the 14th of August 1918, fighting valiantly despite his injuries. 

When he returned, he was awarded the British War Medal for participation during the conflict, the 1914-15 Star, demonstrating soldiers’ service during the years of 1914 and 1915, and the Victory Medal – awarded for the victory of the Allied Forces over the Central Powers. His bravery through injury and the perils of war showed the incredible Anzac spirit that Allen withheld throughout all of his service. 

Allen died 17th May 1967 and is buried at St George's Cemetery Magill.

Bibliography: 
 
Rslvirtualwarmemorial.org.au. (2019). Australian Soldiers, Memorials and Military History. [online] Available at: https://rslvirtualwarmemorial.org.au/education/school-resources. 
 
Adfa.edu.au. (2016). Search. [online] Available at: https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/search. 
 
https://www.awm.gov.au/people/roll-search 
https://www.awm.gov.au/people/roll-search 
https://www.awm.gov.au/collectwww.awm.gov.au. (n.d.). Advanced Search | Australian War Memorial. [online] Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/people/roll-search. 
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