James Kirk

James Kirk

Personal Information
Date of Birth	17 May 1889
Place of Birth	Liverpool, Lancashire, England
Death	30 Jun 1968
Place of Death	Mt Lawley, Western Australia
Age at Enlistment	25 years, 3 months
Description	5'5½" (1.66m) tall ; 121 lbs 54.885 kg ; dark complexion ; blue eyes ; brown hair
Occupation	Mill hand
Religion	Church of England
Address	Jarrahdale, Western Australia
Next of Kin	Sister , Miss Irene Kirk
Military Information
Reg Number	108
Date of Enlistment	8 Sep 1914
Rank	Private
Unit/Formation	16th Battalion, B Company, transferred to AIF HQ (AIF Kit Store)
Date of Embarkation	22 Dec 1914 ‒ 1 Feb 1915
Ship Embarked On	HMAT A40 Ceramic
Date of Return	17 Jun 1918 ‒ 8 Aug 1918
Ship Returned On	HMT Matatua
Fate	Wounded in Action 2 May 1915 Baby 700, Gallipoli, Egypt Returned to Australia
Monument	Jarrahdale Honour Roll ANZAC Memorial Park (Byford)
Medals	1914-15 Star British War Medal Victory Medal

Pre War

Lived and worked in Jarrahdale as a mill hand.

War Service

An original member of the 16th Battalion, one of 300 men who gathered at the drill hall in Perth and who were then conveyed by train to Helena Vale where they were formed into four (4) companies. Assigned to B Company which contained men from the South West and Great Southern regions of WA.

On 21 Nov 1914 along with his company he embarked on the SS Indara for Melbourne via Adelaide, arriving there at 7:30am on 28 Nov 1914. After a march to the Spencer Street Station they entrained for Broadmeadows camp where they were to carry out Brigade level training. The last members of the battalion joined them in camp on 5 Dec 1914, and they all participated in a Ceremonial March through Melbourne on 17 Dec 1914. Between 7:00am an 7:30am on 22 Dec they departed Broadmeadows camp for the railway station and travelled to Port Melbourne, where they embarked on HMAT A40 Ceramic with the ship leaving the dock at 2:30pm.

Arriving in Albany on 27 Dec 1914 they anchored in King George Sound where they joined the rest of the ships making up the 2nd Convoy which departed Albany on 31 Dec 1914 and which arrived in Alexandria, Egypt on 1 Feb 1915. Disembarked they travelled to Zeitoun near Cairo where they camped on the Aerodrome. Here the 6 company structure changed to one of 4 rifle companies, with B Company joining with D Company to form a new B Company.

The 16th Battalion embarked across three ships for Lemnos Island - SS Harda Pascha, HMAT A48 Seang Bee and HMAT A46 Clan McGillivray, arriving there on 15 Apr 1915. They sailed from Lemnos in fine weather around 1:00pm on the 25th, and three hours later they prepared to land in Anzac Cove. On the day that James was wounded the battalion War Diary makes no mention of a major contact, with his records showing that he had received a gun shot wound to the chest and left side, penetrating the lung. He was most likely a victim of active Turkish snipers.

Evacuated on 3 May 1915 to HMHS Gascon, then on 7 May 1915 to Shebin-el-Kom Hospital, he wasn't discharged by them until 1 Jul 1915 when he entered the Convalescent Camp at Mustapha. Recovered he was assessed as Class B, and assigned to the section in Alexandria looking after deceased soldiers effects. On 4 Mar 1916 he was admitted to the 3rd Australian Auxiliary Hospital with side effects from his old injury, before being discharged to Gaza for duty on 10 Apr 1916. On 1 Aug 1916, James embarked for England aboard HMT Lake Manitoba and on 1 Sep 1916 was detached to the AIF Kit Store where he remained until 8 Feb 1918 when he transferred to the No.2 Command Depot in Weymouth to prepare for the trip home.

Discharged by 5th Military District as medically unfit on Sep 1918.

Post War

Electoral Roll entries - 1922 Mornington Mills, a mill hand; 1925 - 1934 Jarrahdale, mill hand; 1936 Hoffman Mill, mill hand; 1943 195 Ninth avenue, tram conductor; 1949 haulage contractor at 22 Baron crescent, Victoria Park

During WW2 served as a private from 14 Feb 1941 to 22 Nov 1942 with 109 Construction Depot and Base, Regimental No. W27615..

In April 1967 he was living at 21 Westminster street, East Victoria Park when he applied for his Gallipoli Medal.

External Links

• AIF Project
• RSL Virtual War Memorial