Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

In 1896 on the 5th of May, in Mitcham South Australia where he would soon live in, Francis Desmond Kelly was born. He had grey eyes and dark hair, and the religion that he would practice would be Methodism. His mother’s was by the name of A.A Kelly. The schools that he would attend are Mitcham and Mount Barker Public Schools; Mount Barker District High School, South Australia. Francis had one known older brother who was also participating in the same war. Before the time he enlisted he worked as a cabinet maker.

Francis enlisted on the February 5, 1915, but he was under the age of 21 so he needed a note of consent from his mother to join (see page 23 of his service record). He joined as Private 120 in the 27th Battalion and weighed 121 lbs and measured 5’6. Prior to enlisting he was part of the 78th Infantry (still serving).

After the period of training at Ascot Park in Adelaide he embarked on the troop ship HMAT Geelong heading towards the middle east, from Adelaide on the 31st of May 1915. While on the ship he was relocated to the 27th Infantry battalion, as he was originally from the 24th infantry battalion, eventually he would arrive in the Middle East by the 6th of July  to continue his training in Egypt for approximately 2 months and then he was sent to Gallipoli on the 12th of September to reinforce the war-torn New Zealand and Australian Division. 

After Gallipoli, he disembarked at Mudros on the 10th of January 1916, then during the 16th to 21st of March then he proceeded to join the B.E.F. at Marseilles. 

On June 7th he was accidently wounded by a bayonet on the left shoulder while running for safety after responding to a bomb blast. Before the blast he was repairing a broken telephone line, he ran to a trench and did not see a sentry on guard and ran into the sentry's bayonet. He was initially treated in France and then sent to Tunbridge Wells in England where he was admitted 11th June. Soon rejoined the 27th Battalion in Belgium on the 10th of September. Days later, on the 2nd of October, he was fined 7 days of no pay for drunkenness and creating a disturbance.

Francis participated in the German withdrawal to Hindenburg Line and Outpost Villages, which was from February 15, 1917, to April 3, 1917. His Battalion, which was the 27th Battalion, was responsible for pushing towards one of the isolated, fortified positions near Warlencourt. During one of the nights of March 1917, the battalion attacked the malt trench near the Butte du Warlencourt. A successful counterattack on the Germans, who flanked and assaulted the plan of the 17th Battalion to link up with the 5th Brigade on their right flank, that the 27th Battalion engaged in had been organised by Captian Devonshire and was led by Lt Davies; this also led them to secure the Grevielles line of 500m of trench.

Francis was also part of another large conflict that was the Second Bullecourt, which was from May 3 to May 17, 1917. This included the 2nd division, which included his battalion. It had been a battle where most of them were also severely weakened. As a result of the battle, the divisions lost not only 10000 men but also control of the Hindeberg Line, which would have been reclaimed by the Germans and their counterattacks. Ultimately, the conflict between the divisions ended in defeat.

On the 28th of June, Kelly Francis Desmond was transferred into the 7th Machine Company as a Private. Later, he went on leave to the U.K. from the 23rd of September to the 5th of October. After he rejoined his battalion, he became sick on the 9th of October and went to hospital returning to his unit in early December.

On the 17th of February 1918, he was diagnosed with neuralgia (this causes a pain that feels like being shot, stabbed, or a burning sensation, this can be caused by damage or injury to nerves which send messages to the brain to signal pain, it can be extremely difficult to cure/treat), when he recovered, he went back to duty on the 22nd February. On March 17, Francis transferred to the 2nd Machine Gun Battalion. 

On May 7th, he came back to the hospital, and after 3 days, he rejoined the battalion on May 10, 1918. Francis went on English leave on the 25th of August and returned on the 11th of September.

In 1919 Francis Desmond would later return to Australia on April 13 and on the 27th of July,  Kelly Francis Desmond was discharged from the army. By August 11, 1943 he died of pneumonia, aged 47 years, in Adelaide, South Australia.