Kennedy, Percy John
4767 Private Percy John Kennedy - 28th Battalion AIF
Percy John Kennedy was born in London England in 1883 to Henry and Harriet Kennedy, being one of seven siblings. He grew up in London and was educated there. After leaving school he began to work for his father who was a bricklayer.
In 1911 Percy married Annie Maud Smyth at Camberwell London though at the time of marriage Percy was living at 27 Choumert Square Peckham.
Percy came to Australia for work in 1912 and took up residence in Fremantle before heading to Beverely to work as a farm labourer. He then returned to Fremantle, working as a brick layer.
On the 22nd February 1916 Percy enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force. He was accepted as fit for service, with the medical examiner recording his physical attributes as;
Height - 5 feet 6 & 1/2 inches tall;
Weight - 130lbs;
Chest Measurement - 34-37 inches;
Complexion - Brown;
Eyes - Grey;
Hair - Brown.
Upon his successful enlistment, Percy was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to the Training Depot. He was taken through the basics of infantry work and was then assigned to the 12th Reinforcements to the 28th Battalion AIF. He trained with his group for a few weeks in WA, then on the 17th April 1916 entrained for Fremantle Harbour where they boarded the transport ship HMAT Aeneas.
The ship then set sail for Egypt, arriving at Suez in May 1916. The men were then disembarked and sent into the AIF reinforcements camp. The 28th battalion had already departed for France, so Percy was sent on to England. Once arriving in England, Percy was assigned to the 7th Training Battalion at Rollestone Camp on the Salisbury Plains.
Percy would be in England for the next several months though at least he could reunite with his wife who was still living in London. It was not until May 1917 that Percy was sent across to France. He then spent the next five weeks at the 2nd Australian Division Base Depot Camp at Etaples. He was then taken on strength of the 28th Battalion on the 3rd July 1917.
When he joined them, the 28th battalion were then on a rest period out of the front line which much of the time being taken up by training and sporting activities.
In September 1917, the 28th battalion made their way to Belgium to take part in the Third Battle of Ypres. On the 20th September 1917 the 28th Battalion took part at the Battle of Menin Road and successfully took their objectives.
Unfortunately during the advance Percy was blown up by a shell, suffering wounds to his face, arm, leg and thigh. He was initially taken to the 6th Field Ambulance for treatment and was then sent to the 7th Casualty Clearing Station. From here Percy was put on an Ambulance train and was sent to the French coastal town of Le Treport where he was admitted to the 16th USA General Hospital.
Percy was a patient here till the 4th October 1917 and they did what they could for his wounds, his leg and thigh being the worst of the wounds. Unfortunately they could not save his leg, it being amputated on the 24th September. Percy spent then days at Le Treport to see how he coped after the amputation.
He was then shipped to England and on the 5th October 1917 was admitted to Bath War Hospital. Further work was done to Percy including saving his eye, which seems to have been successful though he suffered from defective vision for a while.
Percy remained at Bath War Hospital till the 6th February 1918. He was then transferred to the 2nd Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Southall. This hospital specialised in treating soldiers after amputations. It was while he was here that Percy tried out using the false limb.
He would have two months at Southall and he was then sent back to Australia on the 8th April 1918 aboard the hospital ship Dunluce Castle. His records are sparse on detail but it appears that Percy was disembarked in Egypt and remained in hospital until he was re-embarked aboard another ship, arriving in Fremantle on the 25th August 1918.
Upon his arrival in Fremantle, Percy was disembarked and was sent to No.8 Australian General Hospital in South Terrace. He would be a patient here through to the 10th February 1920.
Percy's wife had also came out from England while he was at No.8AGH and resided in Fremantle while he was in hospital.
In 1921 they were at 102 South Terrace the base hospital before moving to 20 Mandurah road South Fremantle, Percy had now resumed his work as a clerk. they lived here till the 1930's before moving to Arundel Street Fremantle.
Percy died in Capel on the 21st January 1956 aged 73. He was cremated at Karrakatta Cemetery.