KILPATRICK, Herbert Leslie
| Service Numbers: | WX6613, W22211 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 19 July 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 44 Infantry Battalion AMF |
| Born: | "Rosedene", Bally Bally via Beverley, Western Australia, 17 June 1916 |
| Home Town: | Bally Bally, Beverley, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Bally Bally School, Western Australia |
| Occupation: | Farmer, Tram Conductor, Clerk, Salesman |
| Died: | Heart related issues , Perth, Western Australia, 5 June 2004, aged 87 years |
| Cemetery: |
Pinnaroo Valley Chapel & Crematorium Cassia Court, Wall 23, Position 0082 |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 19 Jul 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), WX6613 | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Jul 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, WX6613 | |
| 25 Jan 1941: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Signaller, WX6613, 9th Corps Signals | |
| 25 Jan 1941: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, WX6613 | |
| 23 Jul 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, W22211, 44 Infantry Battalion AMF | |
| 23 Jul 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, W22211 | |
| 1 Jun 1942: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, W22211, 44 Infantry Battalion AMF |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Felicitas Moore
Mick enlisted in the A.I.F. (Service No. WX6613) in June 1940 at Claremont (Perth). After preliminary training in Western Australia he was sent to Caulfield in Victoria and then on to Bathurst in New South Wales.
He contracted pneumonia during training at Bathurst and very nearly died as a result. Because he was so ill he remembered very little about what happened to him during the course of the first 3-4 weeks of his treatment at the Bathurst camp hospital. He did, however, overhear the doctors debating whether or not to give him a mega dose of sulphur drugs. It was decided they would have to go ahead with it or else he would not survive. Although the drugs undoubtedly saved his life, he was left with lifelong stomach and pancreatic problems as a result.
As he started to improve in health he was sent to Lady Gowrie Home in the Sydney suburb of Gordon. After many weeks of convalescence he was discharged from the army in January 1941 as “Being medically unfit for service Not occasioned by his own default”. He was sent home to Western Australia by train and returned to the family farm at Bally Bally to recover.
Just 6 months later, in July 1941, he was called up for service in the C.M.F. (Service No. W22211). However, he was discharged in June 1942 - once again as “Being Medically Unfit not Occasioned by his Own Default”.
He later became a conductor on the W.A. trams and because he was a young man who looked healthy enough, he was often belittled by hurtful comments about him not enlisting and doing his part for the war effort.
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