KING, Hainsworth
| Service Number: | 239 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 15 August 1914, An original member of A Company |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 7th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Kingston, South Australia, Australia, 1 February 1885 |
| Home Town: | Brunswick, Moreland, Victoria |
| Schooling: | State School, South Australia |
| Occupation: | Potter |
| Died: | Killed in action, Gallipoli, Turkey, 8 August 1915, aged 30 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, City of Brunswick Honour Roll, Lone Pine Memorial to the Missing, South Melbourne Great War Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 15 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 239, 7th Infantry Battalion, An original member of A Company | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Oct 1914: | Involvement Private, 239, 7th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Hororata embarkation_ship_number: A20 public_note: '' | |
| 19 Oct 1914: | Embarked Private, 239, 7th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Hororata, Melbourne |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Hainsworth King was the son of William and Amelia King. Born at Kingston, South Australia, he was living at Brunswick, Victoria, when he enlisted.
He was one of the first Australians to enlist and was an original member of the 7th Battalion. He served at the Anzac landing and had a letter printed in the Adelaide Express and Telegraph during June 1915, under the heading “Three Bayonet Charges.”
"Private H. King, a former resident of East Brunswick, writing from Mena Hospital to his mother, says: - "The Turks give us a hot time, but we went straight ahead, and they couldn't stop us till we had got three miles inland. I was fighting all day right up against the Turks. They were too well entrenched. We had three or four bayonet charges. I was in three of them, and went about three yards in the fourth; when I got shot through the left arm. I thought my arm was blown off, but it only made a clean hole right through. It is getting on well now. I will be back in the firing line when you get this. The people in Malta are good to us.”
Hainsworth was reported as wounded in action on 25 April 1915 and he was evacuated to Malta. He was sent back to Gallipoli and rejoined the 7th Battalion on 10 July 1915.
He was reported as wounded in action during the very heavy fighting in the Lone Pine Trenches. A number of witnesses later reported they had seen him killed during the bloody struggle. One sergeant stated that many of the 7th Battalion men were killed and fell into the trenches, and the survivors were forced to walk upon the bodies. He also said that many of the bodies were buried in a sap, and their identification discs could not be collected due to the sheer volume of fire they were under.
Hainsworth King had no known grave and he was officially stated to have been “killed in action” by a court of enquiry held during June 1916.
His mother stated to Base Records, ‘His father, William King, deserted myself and family in 1904, and I have not heard of or from him and I do not know whether he is alive or dead….’ She was awarded her son’s medals and other entitlements, and a pension of 30 shillings per fortnight.
His brother, Stanley Raymond King, served in the Royal Australian Navy from 1914.
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