Arthur George Kettley

Arthur George Kettley

Personal Information
Date of Birth	c1886
Place of Birth	Shadwell, London, England
Death	30 May 1916
Place of Death	Fleurbaix, France
Age at Enlistment	28 years, 4 months
Description	5'7" (1.70m) tall ; 132lbs 59.874 kg ; dark complexion ; hazel eyes ; dark brown hair
Occupation	Outfitter
Religion	Church of England
Address	none provided
Next of Kin	Father , Mr George Thomas Kettley
Military Information
Reg Number	2158
Date of Enlistment	18 Jan 1915
Rank	Lance Corporal
Unit/Formation	11th Battalion, 6th Reinforcement.
Date of Embarkation	6 Jun 1915 ‒ ?? Jul 1915
Ship Embarked On	HMAT A2 Geelong Fremantle to Suez
Fate	Killed in Action 30 May 1916
Monument	Gosnells War Memorial Gosnells Road Board Honour Roll Australian War Memorial
Medals	1914-15 Star British War Medal Victory Medal

Pre War

Prior to emigration to Australia Arthur was working as a shop assistant in London. On 29 Aug 1912 Arthur, then 26 years old and described as a hosier, sailed from Liverpool for Sydney aboard the White Star Line's SS Suevic, arriving there on 10 Oct 1912, now described as a farmer and giving his forwarding address as Ferries Ltd, Brisbane. It is not known when he travelled to WA, but he was in WA for the 1913 electoral roll update.

Electoral Roll entries: 1913 - 1916 Orchardist at Maddington.

War Service

Soon after entering camp Arthur was posted to the 4th reinforcement draft for the 16th Battalion, but on 31 Mar 1915 this changed to the 6th reinforcement draft for the 11th Battalion, and he travelled with them to Egypt aboard HMAT A2 Geelong. Following additional training in Egypt, Arthur embarked at Alexandria for Gallipoli aboard HMAT A35 Berrima on 31 Jul 1915, and on 4 Aug 1915 Arthur was taken on strength by the 11th Battalion on Gallipoli.

Suffering with chronic diarrhoea, on 11 Sep 1915 he was seen by the 1st Australian Casualty Clearing Station and taken offshore to a hospital ship that transferred him to the 25th Casualty Clearing Station on Imbros on 11 Sep 1915. On 19 Sep 1915 he was admitted to the 16th Stationary Hospital on Lemnos before another move to the 24th Casualty Clearing Station on 29 Oct 1915. Discharged to duty on 30 Nov 1915, Arthur was absent from camp from 8:30am until 3:30pm on 30 Nov 1915 for which he forfeited a day's pay. On 2 Dec 1915 while on Mudros he rejoined his unit which had been evacuated from Gallipoli. On 3 Jan 1916 along with the rest of his unit he embarked on HMT Lake Michigan for Alexandria where they disembarked on 6 Jan 1916. The battalion spent some time near Gebel Habieta guarding the Suez Canal from Turkish attack during the reorganisation of the AIF. It was where Arthur was appointed Lance Corporal on 28 Jan 1916.

The battalion embarked on HMT Corsican in Alexandria on 29 Mar 1916, landing in Marseilles, southern France on 5 Apr 1916. They then travelled by train to Flêtre where the battalion was billeted until the 19 April, before moving to Sailly, where it commemorated Anzac Day on 25 April. In mid-May, after a period of acclimatisation and training to prepare them for the European battlefield, the 11th Battalion moved up to the front line around Petillon in the Fleurbaix sector.

The 11th Battalion were in the front lines near Cordonnerie Farm at Fleurbaix on 30 May 1916 when the Germans subjected them to an intense artillery bombardment followed by a small raid. The battalion lost 36 men KIA, 61 WIA and 6 missing. Arthur was one of those killed in the attack.

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  Rue-Petillon Military Cemetery at Fleurbaix
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  Location of Arthur Kettley's grave