FAMILY LIFE

George Kemp was born in 1883 in Berry, son of Charles Eli Kemp Snr & Elizabeth (Perkins) Kemp. He was brother to John & Grace. His mother is listed on the Banner St Memorial, Murwillumbah which lists the 2348 pioneer settlers of the Tweed district

APPLICATION

He was single farmer, living in Burringbar, eager to do his bit. He travelled to Brisbane on 14^th February 1916 to complete his application which showed his next of kin as his mother, Elizabeth. His medical showed he was 30 years 6 months old, 5ft 5 ½ inches tall (1.66m), weighed 140 lbs (63kgs), with a medium complexion, blue eyes & brown hair.  His eyesight was good. George was Church of England and had a scar on his right lip.  He was enlisted as a private into the C Coy 3^rd Pioneer Battalion with service No 820

 3RD PIONEER BATTALION

The 3rd Pioneer Battalion was an Australian infantry and light engineer unit raised during World War I as part of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). Formed in March 1916 in Victoria, it was assigned to the 3rd Division and served on the Western Front in France and Belgium. Pioneer battalions were unique in that they combined infantry combat skills with light engineering capabilities, such as constructing trenches, defensive positions, and maintaining roads and railways. The 3rd Pioneer Battalion's legacy is marked by its versatility and dedication

 ENOGGERA TRAINING CAMP

As was the case with men from the Northern Rivers district in New South Wales, they trained at Rifle Range Camp, Enoggera near Brisbane. The Barracks Block was built as accommodation for men in two dormitories, each 36 feet by 22 feet (10.97 x 6.7 metres). Beds or bunks were not provided, instead each man slept on a palliasse with ground sheet on the floor. For many it was their first time away from home. Men from every walk of life, from clerks and teachers to factory and shop workers, were crammed together

 Now training for the new recruits began. Firstly, the men received their vaccinations for smallpox, rabies & plague, then a recruit had to be inducted into military forms of discipline, command, and order. This was partially achieved through a program of basic training carried and, in a sense, was maintained for a long as a man was in the service.

 It involved marching and drilling with the rifle, cleaning and caring for personal equipment and being supervised and inspected in ways quite different to ordinary civilian life. For example, no boots should be allowed to get in a bad state of wear but must be sent to the bootmaker without delay for repair. Men who were found with hair long and unshaven had to have a haircut and shave

 Secondly, after basic training there followed the far more serious exercise of turning a man into a fighting soldier at least partially prepared for the kind of warfare he was about to experience overseas. The topics and exercises in the syllabus of training were a world away from their former lives and included daily physical training, entrenching, wiring, firing rifle grenades, firing the Lewis light machine gun, dealing with gas attack, using hand grenades, using the bayonet, and the routines to be followed in the trenches.

 This training was then put into practice during what were called ‘Field Days,’ when men would practice using the skills they had acquired in mock attacks both by day and by night. How well men had learnt to use their weapons, in cooperation with each other in training, would be tested in the harsh reality of the front line. Training would take several months

 VOYAGE OVERSEAS

On the 6^th June 1916, the recruits left Melbourne, sailing upon the HMAT Wandilla. They thought it was the start of a new adventure- for many it was their first time so far away from home. However, after some time at sea the biggest problem turned out to be boredom. Attempts at breaking up the boredom, apart from the regular drill, varied. Shipboard activities included regular church parades and concerts. Troops engaged in lifebelt drill; a cookhouse on deck; soldiers on fatigues peeling potatoes 'spud bashing'; going to the dentist; barber, pay day; soldiers cleaning personal equipment; medical inspection.

 Sports and recreation included boxing, deck quoits, draughts. Also, the commanding officer's morning inspection; kit inspections; submarine drill; recreation such as the on deck 'open air' library, deck billiards, pillow fighting and card games including Nap. As well, conditions on the ships were cramped and the risk of illness was constant. Whilst docked at Cape Town, South Africa on the 3^rd July he went awl- no time recorded, and was awarded an admonishment from his superior office & forfeited one day’s pay

 LARKHILL TRAINING CAMP

They disembarked Plymouth on 26^th July 1916. They had already completed their basic training in Australia but over many more tough months, in the English training camp at Larkhill, the volunteers left their old lives farther behind. They began their training with physical fitness exercises, they were taught individual and unit discipline, how to follow commands, how to march, some basic field skills and how to safely handle his weapons.  Later, as soldiers specialised in a particular area (for example, machine gunner or signaller) they would be trained in specific skills and would take part in practice manoeuvres and sham fights. They would spend many hours learning training in the use of bayonets, anti- gas training and guard duty along with lectures on camouflage or trench warfare and much more.

 DISCIPLINED OCTOBER 1916

During this period, he again went awl from 23^rd October to the 24^th October. For this he was awarded Field Punishment No 2 where the prisoner was placed in fetters and handcuffs was able to march with his unit. This was a relatively tolerable punishment. He also forfeited 2 day’s pay. He again went awl 18^th November till 19^th November and received the same punishment as the last one

 TRENCH WARFARE

He proceeded overseas to France to join his unit on the 26^th November 1916. Before engaging in major operations on the Western Front, troops of the four Australian Imperial Force (AIF) divisions completed extra training near the Belgian border. The soldiers now found themselves fighting the German in trench warfare. On the Western Front in 1914–1918, both sides constructed elaborate trench, underground, and dugout systems opposing each other along a front, protected from assault by barbed wire. The area between opposing trench lines (known as "no man's land") was fully exposed to artillery fire from both sides. Attacks, even if successful, often sustained severe casualties. Trench warfare created a living environment for the men which was harsh, stagnant, and extremely dangerous. Not only were trenches constantly under threat of attack from shells or other weapons, but there were also many health risks that developed into large-scale problems for medical personnel. Apart from the inescapable cold during the winters in France & Belgium, trenches were often completely waterlogged and muddy, and crawling with lice and rats

 The time soldiers spent in the trenches varied depending on factors like their army's rotation system and the intensity of the conflict in their sector. On average:

·      Front-line trenches: Soldiers typically remained here for about 4–6 days at a time. This was where the fighting was most intense and the conditions were the harshest.

·      Support and reserve trenches: After time on the front line, soldiers were rotated to these positions for around 6–12 days. These trenches were set further back and offered slightly better conditions.

·      Rest periods: Soldiers were then moved away from the trench system entirely for rest, training, and recovery, often lasting several weeks, depending on operational needs.

The rotation system helped prevent complete physical and mental exhaustion, but the constant dangers of trench life meant there was rarely any true respite.

 ARMENTIERES- MARCH TO JUNE 1916

Between March and June 1916, the men were sent to a quieter section of trenches at Armentières, dubbed 'the Nursery sector'. Armentières remained a relatively quiet sector on the Western Front during World War I. It was primarily used as a training ground for newly arrived troops, including Australians and New Zealanders, to acclimate to trench warfare. While not a site of major battles that year, the area still experienced occasional skirmishes, artillery fire, and gas attacks. Soldiers stationed there gained valuable experience before being deployed to more active fronts. They also experienced new weapons of modern warfare, such as gas. George & his unit spent some time in this sector.

 DETACHED TO DIVISIONAL SUPPLY- DECEMBER 1916

On 20^th December 1916 he was detached for duty with Divisional Supply under Colonel Steenverch. Soldiers cannot fight without food, equipment, and ammunition. They cannot move without horses or vehicles. It was the Divisional Supply’s job to provide them. In the Great War, most of the supply, maintaining a vast army on many fronts, was supplied from Britain. Using horsed and motor vehicles, railways and waterways, Divisional Supply performed prodigious feats of logistics and were one of the great strengths of organisation by which the war was won.

 BATTLE OF MESSINES JUNE 1917

He rejoined his unit on 21^st April 1917 which was still fighting on the Western Front in France. The 3^rd Pioneer had engaged in several large battles in 1917.  They saw action in The Battle of Messines where British tactical objective was to capture the German defences on the ridge, which ran from Ploegsteert Wood in the south, through Messines and Wytschaete to Mt Sorrel, depriving the German 4th Army of the high ground. The ridge gave commanding views of the British defences and back areas of Ypres to the north, from which the British intended to conduct the Northern Operation, an advance to Passchendaele Ridge and then the capture of the Belgian coast up to the Dutch frontier. The battle began with the detonation of nineteen mines beneath the German front position, which devastated it and left large craters. A creeping barrage, 640 m deep, began and protected the troops as they secured the ridge with support from tanks, cavalry patrols and aircraft. The effect of the mines, barrages and bombardments was improved by advances in artillery survey, flash spotting and centralised control of artillery from the Second Army headquarters. The attacks from 8 to 14 June advanced the front line beyond the former German Sehnenstellung (Chord Position, the Oost Taverne Line to the British). 

 BATTLE OF PASSCHENDAELE JULY- NOVEMBER 1917

Their next action was the Third Battle of Ypres, aka the Battle of Passchendaele, which took place in Ypres, Belgium, between 31^st July to 10^th November 1917. Allied forces, with help from the French and the use of tanks, launch an attack to wrest control of Ypres from the Germans. Attacks and counterattacks ensue for four months in the rain and mud, with Canadian forces brought in to help relieve the troops but little ground being won. In the end, it is considered a victory for the Allies, with but one that costs both sides more than 550,000 casualties.

 BATTLE OF BROODSEINDE OCTOBER 1917

They were also involved in the Battle of Broodseinde was fought on 4 October 1917 near Ypres. The battle was the most successful Allied attack of the Third Battle of Ypres. Using bite-and-hold tactics, with objectives limited to what could be held against German counter-attacks, the allied devastated the German defence, prompted a crisis among the German commanders and caused a severe loss of morale in the 4th Army. Preparations were made by the Germans for local withdrawals and planning began for a greater withdrawal, which would entail the abandonment by the Germans of the Belgian coast, one of the strategic aims of the Flanders Offensive. On 28^th November George was granted leave in Paris and rejoined his unit on 5^th January 1918. The battalion wintered around Messines, during which time it provided reinforcements to the Australian engineer tunnelling companies, as well as helping to construct and maintain the divisional tramway systems.

 HOSPITALISATION FEBRUARY 1918- VENEREAL DISEASE

George was given leave in England on 14^th February 1918 but was admitted to the 1st Australian Dermatological Hospital, Bulford with venereal disease. Treatment for VD was a punishment in its own right. Special hospitals for VD patients were set up and often regarded as deterrent. Patients would be treated with Salvarsan and mercury which offered uncomfortable and sometimes serious side effects such as jaundice and convulsions. Other treatments included irrigation, which was painful and undignified resulting in many men to opt for chemical treatment instead. These long and uncomfortable stays in VD hospitals often averaged between 50 and 60 days, with most patients recovering and returning to the front.

 COMMAND POST 1^ST MAY 1918

67 days later, on 1^st May he was discharged to No 3 Command Depot at Hurdcott which dealt with the soldiers deemed able to return to duty. However, on the 8^th May he was again admitted to Burford with VD for a period of 20 days, discharged but immediately readmitted for a further 22 days.  On 20^th July he was again marched into No 3-command depot. Here he would convalesce but continue with drilling & training as the technology and techniques were rapidly changing and soldiers had to be up to date when they were ready to rejoin their units.

 On 7th October he was marched into the Overseas Training Brigade which was established to carry out the training of soldier until such a time they were passed to Infantry Base or other Depots for absorption. However, on 31st October he was again admitted to the hospital for venereal disease and was discharged 40 days later on 19th December.

 GOING HOME

On 11^th November the fighting was officially over so he prepared to return to Australia. After the Armistice, the Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes insisted Australian troops be repatriated (returned home) as quickly as possible. This logistical challenge was enormous with 135,000 troops brought home from Britain in 147 voyages, and 16,773 troops from the Middle East in 56 voyages, mostly on a first come, first go basis. There was a lack of suitable ships to transport personnel home. On the 18^th January 1919 he left England for Australia on the Ulysses and disembarked at Melbourne on 4^th March. He was discharged 26^th April at Brisbane as medically unfit, with trench fever stated as his disability.

 AFTER THE WAR

For his service, George was awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, and the Victory Medal and his name is recorded on the Wooroolin Great War Pictorial Honour Roll, Wooroolin WW1 Roll of Honour. George was living in Beach Pde, Maroochydore when died 5^th August 1955, aged 71, at Greenslopes Repatriation Hospital, Brisbane and is buried at Woombye Cemetery, Sunshine Coast. 

If you have any additional information about this individual, we invite you to email us at rsl@msmc.org.au.