Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From the book Fallen Saints  - Henry Arthur Kinnish was born at Norwood South Australia and gained his early education at the Norwood Public School before attending the Collegiate School of St Peter. He was well known for his skill at lawn tennis and was a leading member of the St. Bartholomew’s Football Club, Norwood.

After leaving the School, he worked as a clerical officer with the Australian Mutual Provident Society and remained with them until 19 August 1914 when he enlisted in the 10th Battalion..

He was posted to E Company at Morphettville and when the CO tasked the battalion’s first RSM Sergeant Major Wesley Whitbourn to fill the vacancies among the NCO ranks with the best men he could find Kinnish was among the first five corporals promoted in E Company. His rank was confirmed on 1 September and he sailed with the battalion from Adelaide aboard HMAT Ascanius on 20 October 1914.

Corporal Kinnish survived the landing on 25 April, but five days later was shot in the foot and evacuated to Cairo; he recovered quickly and rejoined the battalion in the line at Anzac on 17 June.

On 1 July, he was promoted to sergeant and, shortly after took over the duties of Battalion Orderly Room from Sergeant Benjamin Bennet Leane. Due to illness, he asked to be relieved of his duties in September, and was evacuated to Mudros hospital suffering from dysentery and jaundice. He was subsequently transferred via HS Dongola to St Paul’s Hospital, Malta and after regaining his health retuned to Anzac and rejoined the battalion at Anzac in the first week of November. He returned to Egypt with the battalion after the evacuation and was appointed second lieutenant on 16 March and a week later embarked aboard HMT Saxonia at Alexandria and proceeded to France; he was promoted to Lieutenant on 21 June.

Lieutenant Kinnish was killed in action on 21 August 1916; he was 27 years of age.

During his service, Henry was twice wounded, evacuated seriously ill a number of times and as this extract from the Adelaide Chronicle shows had certainly seen his share of action prior to the attack at Mouquet Farm.

 Once while he was leading a night attack, a bullet went through the sleeve of his tunic: grazed along his arm, chipped a piece of flesh off the wrist, and smashed an entrenching tool he was carrying. [i]

His brother Major William John Kinnish, 43rd Battalion AIF, was mentioned in despatches and survived the war.

[i] Adelaide Chronicle, 23 September 1916, p. 44

Henry Arthur Kinnish was born on the 14th of February 1888 in Norwood, South Australia. His parents, William and Mary-Ann Kinnish, sent him to Norwood Public School for his early education then moved him to Saint Peters College for his later years. Henry was known well for his skill at grass-court tennis and captained St. Bartholomews Football club during his school life. He and his family lived in Norwood, at 86 George Street and followed the Church of England. Henry was one hundred and seventy cenitmeters tall, and weighed sixty five kilograms. After school, he became a clerk for the Australian Mutual Provident Society (A financial services company).

He was a clerk for several years, until enlisting in the 10th battalion on the 19th of August 1914 at the Morphettville station. Henry served in the E company, and was promoted to a corporal on the 1st of September to fill vacancies within the ranks. He was given the service number 216 and sailed with the battalion aboard the HMAT Ascanius on October 20th 1914.

Henry survived the landing, fighting for 5 days until being shot in the foot by an enemy rifle. He was then evacuated to Cairo aboard the hospital ship ‘Dongola’. His wound healed quickly, and he re-joined the force on the 17th of June. Later, on July 1st 1915, he was promoted to Sergeant however soon contracted dysentery and jaundice and was relieved of his duties in September. He was treated in Mudros Hospital until being transported by the same Hospital ship, ‘Dongola’, on the 25th of September 1915, to St. Pauls Hospital in Malta. Once again, Kinnish healed quickly and re-joined the battalion in early November.

After re-joining, he was transported back to Egypt, and soon after was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant on the 16th Of March. A week later, he was again transported with the battalion aboard the HMT Saxonia to France. 3 months later, on the 21st of June, Kinnish was appointed Lieutenant. Unfortunately, Henry died while in battle 2 months later in Pozieres, France, on August 21st 1916, at 27 years old. He is now buried at Villers-Bretonneux Memorial in France however has no gravestone.

Henry Arthur Kinnish’s life is described in the book “Fallen Saints’, held at St. Peters College, Adelaide. He was also mentioned in the Adelaide Chronicle, an extract from this is shown below:

Once while he was leading a night attack, a bullet went through the sleeve of his tunic: grazed along his arm, chipped a piece of flesh off the wrist, and smashed an entrenching tool he was carrying (Pg 44.)

This extract was written on the 23rd of September 1916. Henry’s brother, Major William John Kinnish, survived the war, and came back to Australia.

Henry Arthur Kinnish was a very brave Australian who served for 2 of the 4 years of the war, definitely having his fair share of action on the field. While fighting for his country, he showcased the ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) spirit. He showed this as he did not give up; even after being injured twice and evacuated ill he kept in the corps and re-joined as soon as his wounds healed. He also showed mateship and great courage as he landed at Gallipoli, under heavy fire by the Turks, and watching some of his partners fall before him. Although his life was short, he served his country well.