Local Heroes WW1

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Last Updated: Tuesday, 12 May 2015 10:49

Written by Major (retired) Paul A Rosenzweig MA JP

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(Corp) Kenneth Whaite McKenzie CdeG

Private Kenneth Whaite McKenzie 6195, a Clerk with the Adelaide Steamship Coy from Military Road, Largs Bay, South Australia, prior to enlistment 29 September 1915 aged 23, he embarked with the Field Ambulance 4, Reinforcement 11 from Fremantle, Western Australia, on board HMAT A24 Benalla on 1 November 1915

6195 Corporal Kenneth Whaite McKenzie (1892-1941)

Kenneth Whaite McKenzie was born on 17 September 1892, most likely in the family home in Napier Street, Exeter on the Le Fevre Peninsula of South Australia near Port Adelaide and Semaphore. He was the son of John Lauder McKenzie (1858-1934) and Mary Ann (née Whaite; 1864-1936).

Mary Ann’s father was John Whaite (1822-1892) from Lancashire, England who had arrived in Adelaide in about 1848 – the first of the Whaite family to come to Australia (his name seems to have been recorded on the passenger manifest as ‘Weight’). John had been born in Manchester, the son of a cotton spinner who had a mill in Hallsworth Street, Manchester. In South Australia, John settled near Port Adelaide and  married Elizabeth Boyd (c1833-1907) in Trinity Church, Adelaide on 21 September 1850. Elizabeth Boyd is thought to have been either Irish or Scottish, but so far all attempts by her descendants to trace her ancestry have come to nought. It is believed she came to Australia in about 1845-46; she died in Alberton on 29 November 1907, aged 74 years.

John and Elizabeth had seven children, including John Thomas Whaite (born in Alberton in 1853), Robert William Whaite (1858) and Mary Ann Whaite (1864). Curiously though, Mary Ann Whaite was incorrectly registered at birth as ‘Wheat’. She was born on 28 March 1864 in Alberton, probably in the family home on the corner of Wellington and Angas Streets. Her mother Elizabeth was illiterate, and family folklore suggests that the registrar could not understand her broad accent and wrote down what he thought he heard – ‘Wheat’. From 1878 John and Elizabeth lived in High Street [now called Port Road] in Queenstown; after John's death, Elizabeth moved back into the Angas Street property and then later lived in Napier Street, Exeter with her daughter Mary Ann and son-in-law John Lauder McKenzie until her death in 1907.

Mary Ann Whaite and John Lauder McKenzie married in Christchurch in North Adelaide on 21 December 1885, and later came to live on Military Road at Largs Bay. John was a gold prospector and later a fisherman; he died in 1934, and Mary Ann in 1936: both are buried in Cheltenham Cemetery: John’s middle name is given on his headstone as ‘Lawder’. Their son’s South Australian birth record (register number 508/48) gives his name as ‘Kenneth’. Most of his AIF records also state his name to be ‘Kenneth’, and this is the name used in his entry in the London Gazette. In late 1915 when his AIF attestation form was transcribed however, his name was written as ‘Kennith’, and this incorrect spelling was then used for the AIF Embarkation Roll. But the correct spelling was used in his records from that point onwards.

Kenneth had joined the Adelaide Steamship Company Ltd after leaving school, and was transferred to Western Australia in about 1911 – when he enlisted in the AIF, he was recorded as a 23 year old Shipping Clerk in Fremantle. He was medically examined on 22 September 1915 and swore his oath in Perth (5th Military District). He was enlisted on 29 September, was given the Army number ‘6195’, and was assigned to the Australian Army Medical Corps.

Family connections

Through Kenneth’s mother’s side of the family, there were four others who served overseas during World War 1.

Kenneth’s uncle was Robert William Whaite (1858-1903), his mother’s elder brother, born in the family home in Alberton on 10 September 1858. Robert married Emily Jane Josephs (1858-1927) in her father’s home in Queenstown, Port Adelaide on 4 February 1880; Robert was a butcher, and they lived in Hughes Street in Woodville. Among their 12 children (Kenneth’s cousins), were Nell Whaite (1891-1968) and Harold George Whaite (1893-1988). Harold served in the Great War as 6344 Private Harold George Whaite: he was living in Woodville and was a 22 year old store assistant there when he enlisted in the AIF on 16 June 1916. He embarked in Port Adelaide on 28 August 1916 with a reinforcement detail for South Australia’s 10th Battalion AIF (by then already known as ‘The Fighting Tenth’). He completed his war service with the 27th Battalion AIF (‘Dollman’s Dinkums’), and returned to Australia on 21 March 1919.

Harold’s sister Nell was engaged to George Edwin Fletcher (1895-1918), who worked as a fireman and locomotive cleaner with the South Australian Railways at the Mile-End railway yards, and lived on Semaphore Road. He went by the name of ‘Barney’ although it seems he was sometimes also known as ‘Ted’. Before he enlisted, Barney and Nell were well known for doing little skits at family gatherings – he would play the piano and she used to sing. Barney served in the Great War as 3012 Corporal George Edwin Pearce Fletcher, initially with the 12th Battalion AIF, and then later with the 9th Australian Light Horse Regiment AIF. His father was George Bailey Fletcher, a 40 year old stockman who had already gone overseas in 1914 with the 9th Light Horse as their Farrier Quartermaster-Sergeant (8 Warrant Officer Class 2 George Bailey Fletcher); he returned from the war but died at Semaphore, SA on 4 August 1920. Barney was wounded-in-action in Palestine and died of his wounds on 20 July 1918, aged 22. He was buried in the Jerusalem War Cemetery in Israel (grave H-62), and his name is commemorated on the Roll of Honour at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra (panel 7). Nell never got over his death, and never considered another man. Her mother Emily encouraged her to try to find someone else but to Nell there would never be a replacement for Barney, and she died in her residence on 3 November 1968, a spinster aged 74.

Another of Kenneth’s uncles was John Thomas Whaite (his mother’s eldest brother), who had also born in the family home in Alberton on 26 September 1853. He married Jane Henrietta Schollar (1858-1936) in Port Adelaide on 9 November  1875: they had eight children, including Sydney George Whaite (1890-1977), born in the family home in Woodville on 31 May 1890. His name was ‘Sydney’ but throughout his adult life he used the spelling ‘Sidney’. His father John had passed away in 1908, and his mother Jane in 1935: she lived on South Terrace in Semaphore. This cousin also served in the Great War, as 5133 Pte Sidney George Whaite. He was a 26 year old butcher from Semaphore when he enlisted in Adelaide on 1 May 1916. He went overseas with the South Australian 27th Battalion AIF, and completed his service with the 32nd Battalion AIF. Sidney returned to Australia on  8 January 1919, and married Beatrice May Collins in Unley on 30 May 1919.

Egypt

On 16 October 1915, Private Kenneth McKenzie was allocated to a reinforcement detail for the 4th Field Ambulance, AAMC which was assigned to the 4th Australian Infantry Brigade AIF commanded by Colonel John Monash VD. The 4th Field Ambulance was a composite unit, originally formed in 1914 with recruitment based in three States: ‘A’ Section from Victoria (including some men enrolled from New South Wales), ‘B’ Section from South Australia and ‘C’ Section from Western Australia.

Private McKenzie embarked with the 11th Reinforcements for the 4th Field Ambulance in Fremantle on 1 November 1915 on the troopship A24 HMAT Benalla, for duty with the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force (MEF). He disembarked at Suez on 24 November, but did not go on immediately to Gallipoli. But for a close inspection of dates and place names however, it might never have been known that Ken McKenzie eventually spent a little over a week at Gallipoli – supporting the silent withdrawal of the Anzacs.

Gallipoli

On 4 December, Private McKenzie embarked at Alexandria in Egypt on His Majesty’s Hospital Ship Assaye, and on 9 December he joined the 4th Field Ambulance on the Gallipoli Peninsula.
Their hospital, medical dressing station and camp was known as ‘Walden Grove’, and this entry in McKenzie’s records might suggest to some that he had transferred to England. The 4th Field Ambulance was in support of the New Zealand & Australian Division at Gallipoli, and originally had their camp established on the beach at Anzac Cove. Later in the year, during the August offensives, the 4th Field Ambulance camp was established at Walden Point – this site was originally spelt ‘Waldren’s Point’, and was supposedly named after a New Zealand machine-gun officer who had been killed at the Apex on 8 August. Over time the name was modified to ‘Walden Grove’.

Records indicate that the 4th Field Ambulance left Gallipoli on 14 December to return to Egypt (less the stretcher-bearers). Private McKenzie’s records show that he returned to Alexandria on the Alania on 18 December, well after the 4th Field Ambulance had already departed. Anyone familiar with the Gallipoli campaign will recognise that by 18 December the Anzacs had all but left the Peninsula. In planning for the withdrawal, Brigadier-General Cyril Brudenell White anticipated the bulk of the evacuation to take place in secret on the nights of 18 and 19 December. Accounts show that the phased evacuation proceeded according to plan, with gradually decreasing rearguard parties within each unit designated to leave for the beach at specific times: these select few who stayed to the last called themselves the ‘diehards’. The last men to leave Anzac, in the very early hours of 20 December, included the medical personnel of the 1st Australian Casualty Clearing Station and the last 2,000 troops, finally followed by the last two hundred men.

The fact that Ken McKenzie arrived so late and then left Gallipoli four days after his unit suggests that he had gone there specifically to assist with the unit’s packing and evacuation (although the tents were left standing to give the appearance of normality to the Turks), to see off any wounded and stragglers over the next few days, and to remain behind as a stretcher-bearer with the rear party in case a rearguard action had to be fought.

Having returned to Egypt, on 2 February 1916 Ken was detached for duty at Ismailia with the 12th Field Ambulance.

France

On 4 June 1916, Private McKenzie embarked at Alexandria for duty with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in Europe, disembarking at Marseilles on 11 June. From 18 to 30 December he was briefly detached for duty with the 8th Field Ambulance in France (8th Australian Infantry Brigade AIF, 5th Australian Division). At this time, his cousin Private Sidney Whaite was also serving on the Western Front in France with the 8th Brigade, 5th Australian Division – with the 32nd Battalion AIF.

On 23 December 1916, Private McKenzie was taken on strength of the 1st Australian Divisional Supply Column in France (1DSC), in support of the 1st Australian Division. On 31 January 1917 he qualified as a Motorised Transport (MT) Driver, Australian Army Service Corps (AASC).

Driver McKenzie joined ‘K’ Supply Column on 30 March 1917. On 13 November 1917, McKenzie transferred to the 4th Australian Divisional Supply Column (4DSC), in support of the 4th Australian Division. After the armistice, on 17 December 1918 he transferred to the 4th Australian Mechanical Transport Company (4AMTC) as an MT Driver, and the following day was made a Temporary Corporal.

McKenzie was promoted substantively to Corporal on 22 March 1919. On 15 June he marched-out for demobilisation, and embarked on the Ulysses on 22 July for return to Australia. Two troopships, the Ulysses and Delta, brought home 299 South Australian troops in this voyage: the Ulysses arrived at the Outer Harbour on Saturday 30 August and landed her 235 soldiers, while 64 men from the Delta came ashore on Sunday morning. The Ulysses contingent was met by Major J J Hughes representing the State Military Commandant and the Mayor of Port Adelaide Mr R H Smith. The YMCA provided fruit and ‘smokes’ for the soldiers as they left the vessel, and refreshments were made available on the station at the harbour.

Kenneth McKenzie was discharged in Adelaide (4th Military District) on 24 October 1919 with the rank of Corporal. Soon after he returned to Western Australia, and married Dorothy Adeline Ford Lewis on 16 May 1921. They lived at 42 Bedford Street in East Fremantle, and Kenneth continued working as a Shipping Clerk and was reportedly well known in shipping circles at Fremantle.

Kenneth died in Fremantle on 9 May 1941, aged 48, after four months' illness. He was cremated, and was memorialised at Karrakatta Cemetery in the Crematorium Rose Gardens (site 28, position 0019). Dorothy passed away on 16 April 1959, aged 60, and was also cremated: she is also memorialised at Karrakatta Cemetery in the Crematorium Rose Gardens with Kenneth.

Semaphore-born Kenneth Whaite McKenzie died in Fremantle on 9 May 1941, aged 48, and was cremated at Karrakatta Cemetery.
The Daily News (Perth, WA) Friday 9 May 1941, p. 8

Honours

McKenzie qualified for the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal. He was also entitled to receive the ‘Discharged Returned Soldier Badge’, which was instituted in 1916 for members of the AIF who had returned to Australia from active service overseas and been discharged. Some 267,300 badges were issued: it was only for wear with civilian dress, to allow veterans to show that they had served.

In April 1919, the award of the Belgian Croix de Guerre [‘War Cross’] to Driver McKenzie was promulgated – although he had by then recently been promoted to Corporal. This decoration was conferred in reward for ‘conspicuous services rendered’ during the war. On 5 April 1919, King George V granted Driver McKenzie unrestricted permission to wear the decoration.

DECORATION AND MEDAL CONFERRED BY
HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF THE BELGIANS
CROIX DE GUERRE
No. 6195 Driver KENNETH WHAITE McKENZIE
London Gazette No. 31275, 4th Supplement dated 5 April 1919, p. 4527
Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No. 91 dated 23 July 1919, p. 1171

On 5 April 1919, King George V granted Driver Kenneth McKenzie unrestricted permission to wear the insignia of the Croix de Guerre which had been conferred upon him by His Majesty The King of the Belgians in reward for ‘conspicuous services rendered’ during the war. London Gazette No. 31275, 4th Supplement dated 5 April 1919, p. 4527

The Belgian War Cross was instituted by Royal decree on 25 October 1915 to reward acts of bravery or military virtue on the battlefield.
The medal is in the form of a modified Maltese cross with small ball finials on the eight points, with crossed swords between the arms to identify that it was an award for military valour in combat. The central disc on the obverse features the national emblem of Belgium, a rampant lion, facing left; the reverse bears the Royal Cipher ‘A’ for King Albert I, King of the Belgians. The medal is fitted to a double-sided Royal crown which connects to the suspender ring. The 1914-18 version of the Croix de Guerre has a red suspension ribbon with five narrow green stripes – three in the centre and one near each edge (the version instituted for World War 2 has three narrow green stripes near each edge). If the recipient was also mentioned-in-despatches, the decoration was awarded with an appropriate ribbon device, most commonly a bronze laurel branch (bearing the monogram ‘A’) denoting a mention in an Army despatch.

The Belgian Croix de Guerre was also authorised for award to members of allied military forces. While it was a relatively common award to British troops, there were just 405 awards made to Australian Army personnel during World War 1, plus one award to a member of the Royal Australian Navy. The Australian War Memorial online database lists 406 recipients of the Belgian Croix de Guerre for WW1, and no recipients of the Belgian Croix de Guerre with Palm (ie: Mentioned in Despatches). This confirms that Driver Ken McKenzie received the standard Croix de Guerre, without Palm. Records also confirm that McKenzie was not awarded a French Croix de Guerre, as some reports suggest.

On 7 January 1920, the Belgian Croix de Guerre medal was forwarded by Base Records Office Melbourne to the Commander 4th Military District in Adelaide, for presentation to Corporal McKenzie. On 12 December 1922, Base Records Office Melbourne forwarded to Corporal McKenzie the Diploma for the Croix de Guerre.

The award of the Belgian Croix de Guerre to Driver Kenneth McKenzie was announced in a list of decorations to West Australian soldiers in August 1919.
Kalgoorlie Miner (WA) Thursday 7 August 1919, p. 3

Local commemoration

The Semaphore War Memorial on the Esplanade was dedicated in 1925 to honour all of those from the district who fought in the war. A temporary ‘Memorial Arch’ of wood and iron was first erected at the entrance to the Semaphore Jetty bearing the banner title, ‘For King & Empire’. On 27 April 1924, four foundation stones for the new memorial were laid at the approach to the jetty – one on behalf of the citizens of Port Adelaide district, one for the RSSILA, one on behalf of the parents of the fallen men, and one on behalf of the widows and orphans.

Kenneth’s parents John and Mary Ann McKenzie were most likely among the several thousand people who attended the unveiling of the Semaphore War Memorial on 24 May 1925 (Ken by this time was living in Western Australia). Joining them would undoubtedly have been Ken’s cousin Miss Nell Whaite and her mother Mrs Emily Whaite; Mrs Elsie Fletcher, the mother of Nell’s fiancé the late Corporal Barney Fletcher, and returned soldiers Private Harold Whaite (Nell’s younger brother) and his wife May, and Private Sidney Whaite (Kenneth and Nell’s cousin) with his wife Beatrice and his mother Mrs Jane Whaite.
The following year, a granite obelisk was erected on the foundation stones, with an electric ‘turret type’ clock and topped by a marble Angel of Peace with wings outspread. The local newspaper noted, “all the names of those who enlisted from the district or who made the supreme sacrifice cannot be placed on the monument” so it instead bears a simple commemorative plaque.

The Semaphore War Memorial was dedicated on 24 May 1925 to honour all those from the district who fought in the war. Before this however, on 27 April 1924 four foundation stones were laid at the approach to the jetty – including this stone laid by Colonel Charles Philip Butler DSO (ex-43rd Battalion AIF) on behalf of the returned sailors and soldiers such as Corporal Kenneth Whaite McKenzie.

Semaphore & Port Adelaide RSL

For the 2015 commemoration of the Anzac Centenary, the Semaphore & Port Adelaide RSL has created a virtual Honour Board listing the names of over 2,000 local men who volunteered to serve in World War 1. Among them are counted Kenneth Whaite McKenzie, a veteran of the evacuation from Anzac and of service in France and Flanders, decorated by the King of the Belgians for ‘conspicuous services rendered’ during the war.

To commemorate the Great War service of 6195 Corporal Kenneth McKenzie (1892-1941) from Largs Bay, SA, Thanks Digger is supporting the Semaphore & Port Adelaide RSL in developing their virtual Honour Board which lists the names of over 2,000 local men who volunteered to serve in World War 1

Written by:

Paul Rosenzweig is a retired Army officer and author of military history and biography. He was born in the Le Fevre Community Hospital in Semaphore. Through his Facebook page “Thanks Digger” Paul is helping families research an ancestor who is a military veteran and to promoting remembrance in young Australians. More information and images on these veterans is available through ‘Thanks Digger’: https://www.facebook.com/Thanks.Digger

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