Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

John was the son of John Henry KILLEN & Margaret FORSYTH and was born on the 14th of December 1890 in Price, SA.

His parents were married on the 17th of July 1890 in Crafers, SA.

His father was the son of William KILLEN and was born in 1855 and his mother was the daughter of John FORSYTH and was born in 1861.

John was the eldest child born into this family of 6 children.

When John was only an infant they moved to High Street, Queenstown where his father gained employment a wharf labourer.

The family then moved to Long Street, Queenstown and on completing his education John gained employment as a shop assistant.

In 1908 the family moved to Spring Street, Queenstown.

His brother Leonard enlisted into the 1st AIF on the 3rd of September 1914 and was posted to the newly raised 12th Battalion, F Company (673).

At the age of 23, John enlisted into the 1st AIF on the 29th of September 1914 in Morphettville and allotted the service number 1143 and posted to the newly raised 1st Australian Stationary Hospital at Keswick.

John trained in nursing, orderly duties and stretcher bearing at the Adelaide Hospital and then entrained to Melbourne on the 27th of November for embarkation on board HS Kyarra.

John embarked from Melbourne on board HMAT A55 Kyarra on the 5th of December 1914 with the Red Cross flag flying from the masthead.
He disembarked in Alexandria on the 17th of January 1915 and entrained to Ma’adi Camp, south of Cairo.

On the 2nd of March John proceeded to Lemnos and arrived 4 days later and they set up a tent hospital at East Mudros and they contributed significantly to the early Gallipoli campaign by tending to the wounded and ill.
He suffered from Influenza on the 26th of June and was admitted into his own hospital for several weeks before returning to duty.

In late October John and his hospital landed at ANZAC Cove to treat the wounded and embarked from the Peninsula in December for Lemnos.
With the Gallipoli campaign completed, the hospital moved to Ismailia in Egypt to service troops guarding the Suez Canal.

In mid September John and the Stationary Hospital embarked for England and moved to the Orchard Convalescent Hospital, located on the riverbank at Longreach, near Dartford.
Here they were redesignated and became known as the 3rd Australian Auxiliary Hospital.

In May 1917 he was transferred to the 16th Australian Field Ambulance at Prophylactic Hut in Wareham, for training.
John proceeded to France on the 28th of November and was posted to the 13th Australian Field Ambulance.

He served in France until the 27th of September when he was grant 2 months special furlough leave in Australia, known as ANZAC Leave.
John was given Anzac leave rosettes, which were worn by men who came home early on "Anzac leave". They were given one to wear on each shoulder of their uniform as a sign of their status so that apparently able-bodied men would not be accused of shirking their duty.

John embarked from Taranto, Italy on board HT Port Sydney on the 8th of October 1918 and after calling at Pt Suez, he sailed again on the 20th of October.
Just a few weeks into the voyage the Armistice was signed on the 11th of November 1918.

John disembarked in Adelaide on the 2nd of December and now that the war had ended he wasn’t required to return and remained home with his parents and gained employment as a labourer.

On Wednesday the 26th of December 1918 John found his father dead in his bed at their home from heart failure.
They buried him the following day in the Cheltenham Cemetery; Section N, Drive C, Path 27, Site Number 160C.
John was discharged from the AIF on the 31st of January 1919.

John married Rita Blonde BYRNE in 1919 in Pt Adelaide.
Rita was the daughter of William Norman BYRNE & Eliza BOYD and was born in 1897 in Broken Hill, NSW.

They welcomed their first child, Rhonda Marjorie on the 2nd of July 1920 and purchased their first home at 61 Victoria Street, Queenstown in December 1925.

John joined the Alberton/Rosewater RSL Sub-Branch and then Rita Margaret was born in 1928.

They sold their home in 1936 and moved to 34 McGillivray Avenue, Yatala, where John was employed as a driver and in 1954 they moved to 21 Second Avenue, Cheltenham.

John died on the 26th of July 1956 and buried the following day in the Cheltenham Cemetery; Section N, Drive C, Path 27, Site Number 160C, with his parents.

Rita died on the 21st of July 1958 in the Royal Adelaide Hospital and was buried in the Cheltenham Cemetery; Section N, Drive C, Path 27, Site Number 160C, with John.

Military

At the age of 23, John enlisted into the 1st AIF on the 29th of September 1914 in Morphettville and allotted the service number 1143 and posted to the newly raised 1st Australian Stationary Hospital at Keswick.
He listed his father, of Spring Street, Queenstown, SA, as his next of kin.

John trained in nursing, orderly duties and stretcher bearing at the Adelaide Hospital and then entrained to Melbourne on the 27th of November for embarkation on board HS Kyarra.

The HS Kyarra arrived in Melbourne from Sydney the same week; however, her departure was postponed for a week as the HS Kyarra was found to have a quantity of contraband cargo on board which had to be removed as a Red Cross Ship was not permitted to carry stores of war.

John embarked from Melbourne on board HMAT A55 Kyarra on the 5th of December 1914 with the Red Cross flag flying from the masthead.
In accordance with the Geneva Convention the HS Kyarra was painted white and girdled by a wide green longitudinal band, 10 feet above the water line.
She also had a large red cross on both port and starboard sides with a third being painted on the funnel.
There were 1640 beds for sick and wounded soldiers and on board were 72 Officers, 161 nurses and 576 others.

They called at Perth on the 12th of December for 2 days before sailing for Colombo, accompanied by a man-of-war.

On passing the Cocos Island they could see the trees and the captain took them close enough so they could see the remains of the SMS Emden which was run aground on the North Island after the Battle with HMAS Sydney, just weeks before, on the 9th of November.
They then went through the tropics, which was just like steam and full of lightning.
Each night, since leaving Perth, there had been dancing, card parties and sports events.

They spent Christmas Day in the tropics, although it is was a cool day.

When they crossed the Equator, all the officers who had not crossed before, were ducked in a huge tank of water, and then tarred. Dignity was nowhere.
The following day they reached Colombo at 3pm on Boxing Day and found the harbour very quiet.
Here John was allowed ashore to visit Kandy and explore Colombo and then 3 days later they sailed and saw the New Year in on board the Kyarra before reaching Aden a week later.
They then sailed up the Suez Canal, arrived at Alexandria on the 13th of January 1915, disembarked and entrained to Ma’adi Camp, south of Cairo.

Ma’adi Camp was the base for the Australian Light Horse and John and his hospital set up camp here in tents where they provided medical treatment for the troops.

On the 2nd of March John proceeded to Lemnos and arrived 4 days later and they set up a tent hospital at East Mudros.
In May, they received orders to move to ANZAC Cove, Gallipoli as a field hospital. But within days, after reconnaissance, the order was rescinded when it was realised that this would be impossible with their equipment.

The hospital was officially equipped and manned to cater for 250 casualties but looked after more than 1000 casualties in the middle months of the campaign.
They contributed significantly to the early Gallipoli campaign by tending to the wounded and ill and endured freezing conditions and gale force winds.

John suffered from Influenza on the 26th of June and was admitted into his own hospital for several weeks before returning to duty.
Then when the weather changed they had to endure the summer heat, flies and mosquitos.

In late October John and his hospital landed at ANZAC Cove to treat the wounded and embarked from the Peninsula in December for Lemnos.
On Christmas Day 1915 the embarked from Lemnos on board HT Dunvegan Castle and disembarked in Alexandria 4 days later.

With the Gallipoli campaign completed, the hospital moved to Ismailia in Egypt to service troops guarding the Suez Canal.
The hospital was a former French convent located north of the Suez Canal between Suez and Kantara.
While they were not particularly busy until the Battle of Romani in early August 1916, the location of the hospital and the extreme climate were enervating for the staff and many suffered from general debility. The term ‘general debility’ was widely used to describe staff who were basically exhausted.

In late August John and the Stationary Hospital entrained to Mustapha, Alexandria, detrained on the 24th of August and marched into the RAMC (Royal Army Medical Corps) Depot in Mustapha.
They embarked from Alexandria on the 14th of September on board HMT Warilda, disembarked in England and marched into the AMC (Australian Medical Corps) Training Depot in Camp 2 at Parkhouse.

On the 4th of October they moved to the Orchard Convalescent Hospital, located on the riverbank at Longreach, near Dartford and 5 days later they were redesignated and became known as the 3rd Australian Auxiliary Hospital.

The following month John was admitted into his own hospital for 2 weeks suffering from arthritis and then on the 21st of December he suffered from Jaundice and was admitted into his hospital for 4 days.
John remained with the 3rd Australian Auxiliary Hospital until the 2nd of May 1917 when he was transferred on duty to the AMC Training Depot in Parkhouse and then 6 days later he was transferred to the 16th Australian Field Ambulance at Prophylactic Hut in Wareham, for training.

John and the 16th Australian Field Ambulance then moved to Fovant on the 19th of June and after 3 months of further training John was transferred back to the AMC Training Depot on the 22nd of September.
The Field Ambulances were crucial in the casualty evacuation chain, moving wounded from the front lines to Casualty Clearing Stations.

John proceeded to France on the 28th of November and marched into the AGBD (Australian General Base Depot) in Rouelles.

On the 8th of December he was posted to the 13th Australian Field Ambulance at Peronne where he spent Christmas 1917.
They moved to the Main Dressing Station at Kemmel on the 11th of January 1918 and 6 weeks later they moved to Bailleul and took over the Rue-du-Musee Ambulance Station.
On the 27th of March they moved to the Dressing Station in Mennencourt for 4 days before moving to Warloy and then onto the Vadencourt Chateau and La Neuville.
Their next move was to Blangy-Tronville & Allonville at the end of April, before moving to Querriea on the 25th of May.

Six days later, they moved to the Woolen Mills at Daours where the remained until the 13th of July when they moved to Rivery for duty and training.
They spent nearly 2 months here before moving to Le Catelet on the 9th of September and then onto Tincourt and Saveuse.

On the 27th of September John was grant 2 months special furlough leave in Australia, known as ANZAC Leave. This leave was only granted to men who had enlisted in 1914.
John was given Anzac leave rosettes, which were worn by men who came home early on "Anzac leave". They were given one to wear on each shoulder of their uniform as a sign of their status so that apparently able-bodied men would not be accused of shirking their duty.

John embarked from Taranto, Italy on board HT Port Sydney on the 8th of October 1918 and after calling at Pt Suez, he sailed again on the 20th of October.
Just a few weeks into the voyage the Armistice was signed on the 11th of November 1918.

John disembarked in Adelaide on the 2nd of December and now that the war had ended he wasn’t required to return.

John was discharged from the AIF on the 31st of January 1919 and awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War & Victory Medals.