Kenworthy, Victor George
3231 Private Victor George Kenworthy - Imperial Camel Corps
Victor George Kenworthy was born in Fremantle in 1897 to William and Rose Kenworthy. He was one of six children, with Reginald 1894, George 1895, Keith 1901, Harold 1903 and Ronald 1906.
The family lived in South Street Fremantle before moving to Chester Street. Reginald and his siblings were educated locally and after leaving school he went to the countryside to work as a teamster. While he was in the country, his family was living at Delisle Street North Fremantle.
Victor initially enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force on the 29th November 1915 but it appears that he was given leave from the training camp as it wasn't until 1917 that Victor was assigned to the Camel Corps reinforcements.
He left Fremantle harbour on the 22nd May 1917 aboard the transport ship Port Sydney and arrived at Suez on the 20th June 1917. After being disembarked he was sent to the Imperial Camel Corps Training Camp at Moascar. Victor got into trouble early for breaking camp and going absent withgout leave. He was given 21 days of Field Punishment No.2 as a penalty. This often involved hard labour and extra duties.
In August 1917 Victor fell ill with venereal disease and spent the next few months in hospital. On the 14th October 1917 Victor was posted to No.3 Company of the 1st Battalion Imperial Camel Corps. He served with his unit in operations around Beersheba in October 1917 and at Jerusalem in November 1917.
Victor then fell ill and was sent to hospital where he was diagnosed with venereal disease. He spent some time in hospital, only returning to his unit on the 21st February 1918. He served with the camel corps for the next three months in the Jordan Valley and Es Salt. Towards the end of May 1918 Victor was hospitalised with debility.
He was in hospital through June and in July 1918 was sent to the 3rd Light Horse Brigade Training Regiment. The Camel Corps had now been disbanded and so Victor was sent to join the 10th Light Horse Regiment. He was taken on strength on the 2nd August 1918 and served with them for the next two months. Victor was with the unit during the great advance against the Turkish forces. In October after they had captured Damascus, Victor went absent without leave for four days, but by late October had fallen ill again and was sent to hospital with venereal disease.
Victor was at the 14th Australian General Hospital at Port Said when the Armistice was announced on the 11th November 1918. The following day he was transferred to the 2nd Australian Stationary Hospital at Moascar. He remained there through to the end of January 1919. While he was here Victor got into trouble for taking another soldier's leave pass to use as his own for which he was given 28 days of Field Punishment No.2. This often involved hard labour and extra duties.
Victor left Egypt in March 1919 aboard the troopship Euripides and set sail for home, reaching Fremantle on the 10th April 1919. He was discharged from the AIF on the 1st November 1919.
He then returned home to North Fremantle, however through the 1920's and 30's Victor found it hard to settle down and kept getting into trouble for passing bad cheques and other financial issues with the police and courts and had several stints in prison.
His father died in Fremantle in 1934 and his mother in October 1952.
Victor was married in Fremantle in 1940 to Florence Alice May O'Loughlin and they moved to Harvey for a time before heading to North Tammin where he was working as a Gardener.
In 1960 Victor moved to 450 South Terrace South Fremantle.
Victor died on the 26th September 1971 aged 76. He was buried at Fremantle Cemetery plot Anglican MON A7 0172.