Francis Henry Kingston

Francis Henry Kingston

Personal Information
Date of Birth	28 Sep 1892
Place of Birth	London, England
Death	22 Aug 1978, aged 85
Place of Death	Lesmurdie, Western Australia
Age at Enlistment	23 years, 7 months
Description	5'7" (1.70m) tall ; 135lbs 61.235 kg ; fair complexion ; blue eyes ; brown hair
Occupation	Teacher
Religion	Church of England
Address	(NOK) Pipe Track, Cannington, Western Australia
Next of Kin	Father , Mr HW Kingston
Military Information
Reg Number	2436
Date of Enlistment	1 Jun 1916
Rank	Sergeant
Unit/Formation	43rd Battalion, 4th Reinforcement
Date of Embarkation	30 Oct 1916 ‒ 28 Dec 1916
Ship Embarked On	HMAT A16 Port Melbourne
Date of Return	1 Jul 1919 ‒ 10 Aug 1919
Ship Returned On	SS Karmala
Fate	WIA 26 May 1918 Returned to Australia
Monument	Gosnells Road Board Honour Roll Wattle Grove Progress Association Roll of Honour
Medals	British War Medal Victory Medal

Pre War

Francis was teaching at Yerbillon (No 5 Pumping Station on Goldfields Pipeline) at time of enlistment.

War Service

Francis entered Blackboy Hill camp in 1 Jun 1916 and three weeks later was allocated to the 7th reinforcement draft for the 51st Battalion.. On 8 Apr 1916 he was sent to a school for NCOs, and on 16 Aug 1916 he was promoted Corporal. On 14 Sep 1916 he was reallocated to the 18th draft for the 28th Battalion, before on 30 Oct 1916 moving again, this time to the 4th reinforcement draft for the 43rd Battalion, embarking the same day at Fremantle.

Disembarking at Devonport, he was sent to the 11th Training Battalion at Durrington to prepare for France, reverting to the ranks at this time. On 6 Nov 1917 he proceeded overseas to France through Southampton, and on 17 Nov 1917 he was taken on strength of the 43rd Battalion who were in Division Reserve holding ground between the Rivers Douve and Lys.

Appointed lance Corporal on 27 Apr 1918, he was wounded in action (gassed) on 26 May 1918. He returned to his unit on 7 Jun 1918, and on 5 Jul 1918 he was promoted Temporary Corporal.

Made an Acting Sergeant for the journey home aboard SS Karmala. His discharge date is not recorded.

Post War

In 1919 in the Yilgarn, Francis married Winifred Ethel Stump. Winifred died 30 Jun 1982 at Lesmurdie, aged 85.

During WW2 Francis enlisted in Claremont on 19 Jun 1942 with regimental Number W65644.

Electoral Roll entries: 1922 Darkan, school teacher; 1925 at 60 North Beach road, Balkatta, motor bus proprietor; 1931 at 250 Loftus street North Perth, motor bus proprietor; 1936 - 1968 Doonan street, Claremont, confectioner; 1972 - 1977 retired at "Concord" Sanderson road, Lesmurdie