On 13 August 1915, 23-year-old William David Kemp, 12/774, was killed on the slopes below Chunuk Bair on the Gallipoli Peninsula. The W.D. Kemp collection of artefacts and archives was donated to Puke Ariki by his sisters and comprises objects carried by him in battle and those that came to record his death. The importance of this collection is that it tells one man's story, at the same time as being a story symbolic of many Anzac soldiers involved at Gallipoli.
William Kemp was the eldest son of David and Alice Kemp of Roto-o-rangi near Cambridge. He was born at Normanby in 1892 where his parents then owned a farm. The Kemp's later moved back to farm at Te Wera, Stratford. William Kemp's mother died at New Plymouth in 1928 and his father at Opunake in 1944.
William joined the 16th Waikato Regiment, Auckland Infantry Battalion in September 1914, aged 22.
Framed Photographic Print
1914
Ref: A83.041
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"Will" Kemp is pictured second from left with fellow battalion members who he frequently mentions in his diary. From left to right: Capt. J. Peake, William David Kemp, Tony Cox, Charlie Pryme and Francis Payne [front].
Postcard - "A message to our loved one."
Ref: RC2002-861
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The spirit of adventure that enticed so many into service, is evident in this postcard sent by William to his mother. It is signed "From Will on his way to the Front. xxxxxxxx".
Kemp arrived with the Main Body in Egypt in December 1914 on the troop transport Waimana and was posted to the Suez Canal Front in January 1915. He toured Cairo and the ancient Egyptian monuments at Luxor for several days in March. Most of April was spent in training. On 25 April, with many other New Zealanders, he was landed on the beach at what became Anzac Cove. Kemp's diary entry dated 24 April reads:
Preparing for disembarking tomorrow. Had lecture by our Major this afternoon. The Queen Elizabeth being the Flag Ship of our Med-Fleet left this afternoon in rout [sic] for the Dardanelles followered [sic] by smaller cruisers, Submarines, & Destroyers, & then the Transports a splendid sight we are supposed to leave here one in the morning, & may land at 8 a.m.. The Major said this afternoon, that it was the biggest opperations [sic] ever performed in warfare & with God's Help we will come out victorious. Received mail from Home & two from Sue. Glad to hear received parcels & to know all are well.
Framed Photographic Print
1915
Ref: A66.627
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This framed photograph depicts the famous beach landing of the New Zealand and Australian Expeditionary Force on 25 April at Anzac Cove on the west coast of the Gallipoli Peninsula. Captain J. Peake (pictured in photograph A83.041) was wounded in action on this day and Kemp helped to move him back to the safety of the beach (diary entry 25/04/15). Captain J. Peake gifted this framed photograph to the Kemp family after the war.
The 25th of April was the beginning of eight months of trench warfare on unforgiving terrain in confined and squalid conditions. The Anzacs faced heavy resistance from the Turkish forces and no part of the Allied-held territory was safe from enemy artillery fire. While stripping off to take an infrequent bath, Kemp records shrapnel fragments landing at his feet (diary entry 15/06/15).
In May 1915, William was part of two Anzac brigades dispatched to Cape Helles to reinforce the British and French forces. He was involved in the unsuccessful Second Battle of Krithia that saw the New Zealand brigade lose more than 800 men. Back at Anzac Cove in June he was promoted to Corporal.
Poor hygiene and sanitation, searing heat, inadequate food, water shortages, hordes of flies and decomposing corpses in No-mans-land defined everyday life. Kemp mentions periods of weeks before taking his boots off and washing (diary entry 02/05/15 and 09/06/15), the first bread for two months (diary entry 11/06/15) and the armistice to bury some of the dead (24/05/15). In July he fell ill with dysentery, a bacterial disease that ravaged both the Turkish and Allied forces at Gallipoli, and was evacuated to the Lemnos Island hospital.
The following is an extract from a letter Kemp wrote to his parents in June but dispatched while in hospital:
I am the only Roto [Roto-o-Rangi person] that has been spared through it all, the other Boys [sic] all went down the first day in action ... In one of my experiences a bullet went through my rifle and on through my cap, leaving a small wound on my head, but it is quite better now. Our trenches are only a stone throw from the enemy and things are pretty lively at times.
Envelope
Front and Back
Ref: ARC2002-861/3
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The letter referred to above, was enclosed in this misshapen envelope and sealed on the back with a hospital wound plaster.
Although Kemp was not fully recovered, he returned to Gallipoli on 24 June to prepare for the offensive on Chunuk Bair. His diary records:
Everyone is busy cleaning & oiling his rifle, & preparing for the great fray. Every one seems happy. Talking & laughing of what they expect to do during the night (05/08/15).
The battle for Chunuk Bair in early August 1915 is remembered for its intensity and the tenacity of soldiers who endeavoured to hold the ground. In the desperate days following the initial battle, the surviving New Zealand and British troops were hard-pressed to prevent the Turks overrunning their positions below the hill top. The last entries in Kemp's diary record heavy firing and casualties in a matter-of-fact way. He was killed somewhere on the slopes of Chunuk Bair on 13 August 1915.
William David Kemp's name is recorded on the New Zealand Memorial at Chunuk Bair. He has no known grave.
New Zealand memorial at Chunuk Bair
These few items were forwarded to his parents after his death.
Silver Pocket Watch
Exterior and Interior
Ref: A83.044
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The exterior surface is ornately decorated and engraved at centre with the initials "W.K". On the inside cover, scratched in a rudimentary fashion, are William Kemp's initials and his regimental number "12/774".