Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

PTE Kenrick Harold FORD Service No. 3305 

Kenrick Harold FORD was born in St Leonards, North Sydney, NSW, in 1899 (exact date unknown).[i] His father, Arthur Paradise FORD, worked as a sub-district officer in the State and served in the State and Commonwealth Departments in control of the lighthouse sections from 1895 to 1930.[ii] The rest of the family lived in Mosman, North Sydney, where most of Ford’s childhood was spent. He attended Sydney Technical High School for 2 years from 1912 to 1913, and achieved an intermediate certificate for graduating in 1913.[iii] During his schooling, his love for rugby union football was tremendous, joining the Mosman District Rugby Union Football Club to play with friends and companions. After finishing school, Ford was later employed as a clerk, which was popular during the wartime.[iv] Before Ford signed up for service, his older brother, Arthur Rex Ford, had enlisted earlier in the war on the 30th of May 1915.[v] This suggested he may have been inspired by following his older brother’s footsteps, which was common during the war effort, likely driven by a sense of duty and family pride.

Ford was enlisted in the 35th battalion, 8th reinforcements on the 2nd of June 1917.[vi] Upon enlisting in the Australian Imperial Forces, he was ranked private and remained unpromoted during his service.[vii] On the 22nd of June, Ford was recruited to the 1st infantry depot battalion in Liverpool, a major training and holding unit for newly enlisted soldiers in Australia.[viii] He would have been temporarily trained in basic military skills, including drills, weaponry, and physical training to prepare for his service overseas. Exactly 2 months after his enlistment, his unit embarked from Sydney, on board HMAT A28 Miltiades, on the 2nd of August 1916, bound for Western Europe in England.[ix] He later arrived at Durrington, England on the 3rd of October 1917 and commanded a redirect with the 35th battalion to the Western Front to fight in the battle of Passchendaele on the very next day.[x] 

From 12th of October 1917, Ford fought with the 35th battalion alongside the Allied forces (Triple Entente) which included the British army, with support from France and Belgium against the Central powers (Triple Alliance) of mainly the Germans who were trying to defend their well-fortified positions along the Ypres Salient.[xi] As a young soldier, Ford quickly adapted to the brutal realities of trench warfare. The conditions of the battle were appalling for him, where the heavy rain and artillery bombardments in weeks leading to October 12th had deluged the battlefield into a quagmire, with “thick mud tugging at the advancing units and fouling their weapons”.[xii] Moreover, trench conditions were dire, certainly both physically and mentally difficult for Ford. With waterlogged dugouts, Ford was likely offered little protection from the constant dampness of rain, mud and cold weather. This left him constantly wet, leading to horrible conditions like trench foot that must have been tormenting during battle.

Unfortunately, he was later found wounded with severe injuries resulting in head trauma and could not continue fighting.[xiii] Due to Ford’s sickness, he was then invalided back to England on the 30th of October for treatment, where he spent a week or two recovering.[xiv] During his convalescence, he was later discharged from hospital and spent the rest of his service in further training at Hurdcott camp, which specialised in providing facilities for soldiers like Ford recovering from wounds or illness.[xv] However, his training was later interrupted on the 30th of January 1918, as he was commanded to return to Australia for being underage.[xvi] This was likely because he lied about his age by a few months since his exact date and month of birth were unknown. As such, he returned to Melbourne, Australia on the 21st of March 1918 and proceeded overland to Sydney a few days later.[xvii] Nonetheless, Ford’s resilience and courage in both battle and training indicated his commitment to overcoming the horrific conditions during the war effort and suggested his significance in the AIF.

After returning to Australia in 1918, Ford resumed his work as a clerk. On the 2nd of September 1919, he was commemorated on the Mosman District Rugby Union Football Club honour board, which acknowledged Ford as one of their former members from the club that served during World War 1.[xviii]

Ford and Maureen Dorothy Sykes were later married on the 6th of August 1929, their marriage held at St. Francis Xavier’s Roman Church, Wentworth.[xix] After a few years, they had 2 children called Selina and John.[xx] However, on the 14th of February 1953, Ford tragically died at the age of 54 years at his residence, The Boulevarde, Cammeray.[xxi]

References

[i] Anonymous, FORD Kenrick Harold Records, The AIF Project, UNSW Canberra.

[ii] Anonymous. The Sun (Australian newspaper Co): Long Service MR. A. P. Ford Retires 30 Aug 1930, Canberra: National Library of Australia 2017, p. 7.

[iii] Anonymous. Sydney Technical High School, Daily Telegraph, 3 February 1914, Canberra: National Library of Australia.

[iv] Anonymous, op. cit., The AIF Project, UNSW Canberra.

[v] ibid.

[vi] Anonymous, Kenrick Harold Ford Records (1914-1920), National Archives of Australia 1899, p. 12.

[vii] ibid, p. 8.

[viii] ibid, p. 12.

[ix] ibid, p. 12.

[x] ibid, p. 12.

[xi] Anonymous, 35th Australian Infantry Battalion, Australian War Memorial.

[xii] ibid.

[xiii] Anonymous, op. cit., National Archives of Australia 1899, p. 8.

[xiv] ibid, p. 12

[xv] ibid, p. 12.

[xvi] ibid, p. 13.

[xvii] ibid, p. 14.

[xviii] Anonymous, The Sun (Australian Newspaper Co): Mosman Honour Roll 2 Sep 1919, Canberra: National Library of Australia, p. 2.

[xix] Anonymous, South Australian Chronicle: Wedding FORD-SKYES 22 Aug 1929, Canberra: National Library of Australia 2012, p. 69.

[xx] Anonymous, The Sydney Morning Herald: Family Notices 16 Feb 1953, Canberra, ACT, National Library of Australia 2009, p. 12.

[xxi] ibid, p. 12.

Bibliography

Australian War Memorial, “Description” in 35th Infantry Battalion https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/U51475

Canberra, ACT, National Library of Australia 2009, The Sydney Morning Herald: Family Notices 16 Feb 1953 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/18357547?searchTerm=Kenrick%20Harold%20FORD

Canberra: National Library of Australia 2012, South Australian Chronicle: Wedding FORD-SKYES 22 Aug 1929 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/90053517?searchTerm=Kenrick%20Harold%20FORD

Canberra: National Library of Australia 2017, The Sun (Australian newspaper Co): Long Service MR. A. P. Ford Retires 30 Aug 1930 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/224252585?searchTerm=Arthur%20Paradise%20FORD

Ken Stevenson, Google Drive Folder, WW1 Honour Board Soldier files: Kenrick Harold FORD https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1wXGhTjIfNybFziqtkrdvUXUotXQE6TLY

National Archives of Australia 1899, Kenrick Harold Ford Records (1914-1920) https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=4023103

National Army Museum, Battle of Passchendaele https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/battle-passchendaele#:~:text=The%20army%20at%20Passchendaele%20was,the%20hardships%20of%20the%20battle.

The AIF Project, UNSW Canberra, FORD Kenrick Harold Records https://aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=101109

Virtual War Memorial, Kenrick Harold FORD, AIF https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/371621

Virtual War Memorial, 35th Infantry Battalion, AIFhttps://vwma.org.au/explore/units/280