S5108
KEMPE, Humphrey Courtenay Gilbert
| Service Number: | 627 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 3rd Light Horse Regiment |
| Born: | Not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Clerk |
| Died: | Circumstances of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Centennial Park Cemetery, South Australia |
| Memorials: | Adelaide High School Great War Honour Board, Glenelg and District WW1 & WW2 Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 21 Dec 1914: | Involvement Private, 627, 3rd Light Horse Regiment, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '1' embarkation_place: Newcastle embarkation_ship: HMAT Thirty-Six embarkation_ship_number: A36 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Dec 1914: | Embarked Private, 627, 3rd Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Thirty-Six, Newcastle | |
| 11 Nov 1918: | Involvement Sergeant, 627 |
One of my Legacy widow’s father in WW1 by L/ Peter Scott
Merridy Henderson Howie (nee Kempe) became a Legacy widow when her husband, Herbert James Howie, died in 2002. Herbert has served in the 2/3 MG Battalion in Syria and Java where he was captured and became a POW of the Japanese in Thailand. Merridy had herself served in the RAAF for nearly three years in WW2 and became a sergeant in the 55 RADAR STATION.
Humphrey Courtney Gilbert Kempe, Merridy’s father, had been called up for compulsory military training in 1914 and gained a commission but ignored this rank when he enlisted for service in the First AIF on 24 October 1914, adding to his age to be 19 years (born in 1897). Allotted regimental number 627 in the 3rd Light Horse Regiment he embarked for Egypt on 21 December 1914 on the ship HMAT Boonah A 36.
Leaving their horses in Egypt, the regiment arrived at Gallipoli on 12 May 1915. Based on Pope’s Hill, Kempe’s was to experience many periods at Quinn’ Post. At other times he was engaged in carrying tasks from the beach to various units up Shrapnel Gully and Monash Valley to the Cheeseboard beyond Pope’s Hill.
The unit withdrew from Gallipoli in December 1915 and after marrying up with their horses Kempe was transferred to the 1st Machine Gun Battalion. After two years in the Sinai Peninsula, Palestine and Jordan he returned to Adelaide, on 18 November 1918.
That is what I call a military family.
Submitted 10 February 2016 by Elsa Reuter
Biography
Humphrey Courtney Gilbert Kempe had been called up for compulsory military training in 1914 and gained a commission but ignored this rank when he enlisted for service in the First AIF on 24 October 1914, adding to his age to be 19 years (born in 1897). Allotted regimental number 627 in the 3rd Light Horse Regiment he embarked for Egypt on 21 December 1914 on the ship HMAT Boonah A 36.
Leaving their horses in Egypt, the regiment arrived at Gallipoli on 12 May 1915. Based on Pope’s Hill, Kempe was to experience many periods at Quinn’ Post. At other times he was engaged in carrying tasks from the beach to various units up Shrapnel Gully and Monash Valley to the Cheeseboard beyond Pope’s Hill.
The unit withdrew from Gallipoli in December 1915 and after marrying up with their horses Kempe was transferred to the 1st Machine Gun Battalion. After two years in the Sinai Peninsula, Palestine and Jordan he returned to Adelaide, on 18 November 1918.
L/ Peter Scott
Click images to start slideshow.