KERR, Douglas
| Service Number: | 4971 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 17 August 1915, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 14th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Edinburgh Scotland, 8 September 1888 |
| Home Town: | Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Market Gardener/Clerk |
| Died: | Heart Failure, Moe, Victoria, Australia, 15 July 1970, aged 81 years |
| Cemetery: |
Springvale Botanical Cemetery, Melbourne Ashes at Cassia T146 |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 17 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Melbourne, Victoria | |
|---|---|---|
| 14 Mar 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 4971, 14th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Anchises embarkation_ship_number: A68 public_note: '' | |
| 14 Mar 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 4971, 14th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Anchises, Melbourne | |
| 14 Sep 1918: | Discharged AIF WW1 |
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Douglas Kerr was a clerk in Scotland, and spent 4 years in the Territorials 5th Battalion Royal Scots, before he came to Australia prior to WW1. Enlisting in the AIF on 17 Aug 1915, he was transferred to Warnambool, Vic for military training. His military history follows:-
4 Mar 1916 - He embarked from Melbourne on the transport HMAT A68 "Anchises".
15 Apr 1916 - Disembarked at Tel El Keber, Alexandria.
8 Jun 1916 - Embarked from Alexandria for France .
14 Jun 1916 - Disembarked Marseille.
17 Jun 1916 - Reached Etaples, France.
11 Aug 1916 - Wounded in the back by 8 pieces of shrapnel at Rouen.
25 Sep 1916 - Went to Machinegun School to learn Vickers & Lewis guns.
12 Oct 1916 - Returned from Machinegun School and joined 12th machinegun company.
18 Jan 1917 - Badly wounded in the arm and abdomen at Rouen, and sent to
a casualty clearing station. Field surgeons wanted to amputate the arm but he refused.
31 Jan 1917 - Embarked for England on H.S. Warilda from Le Havre.
11 Feb 1917 - Admitted to Reading War Hospital where a bone was
removed from his leg and grafted into his arm.
18 Jun 1917 - Discharged from hospital.
20 Jul 1917 - Went on leave.
3 Aug 1917 - Returned from leave to Weymouth.
25 Aug 1917 - Married Isabella Mary Meikle in Scotland.
28 Aug 1917 - Went AWL. (Absent Without Leave)
6 Sep 1917 - Apprehended on Weymouth Station, and awarded 7 days CB
(Confined to Barracks) and docked 10 days pay.
30 Jan 1918 - Embarked for Australia on "Eucipides"
14 Sep 1918 - Discharged from the AIF.
He became an orchardist at Upper Beaconsfield in Gippsland under the Soldiers Settlement Scheme. In 1930 he moved to a dairy farm in Moe and retired to Warragul in 1947.
He had three children, Sheilah born 21 Aug 1919, Eileen McClelland born 16 May 1923 and Douglas Stuart born 31 Oct 1930.
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