Kitson, Joseph
1014 Lance Corporal Joseph Kitson - 12th Battalion & 3rd Light Railway Operating Company
Joseph was born on the 19th December 1891 in Fremantle WA to Joseph and Mary Kitson, being one of four siblings with, John 1885, Henry 1887 AND Alice 1897. Sadly John died aged three in 1888.
Joseph's Mother Mary died in Fremantle in 1905 and his father later remarried. Joseph was educated in Fremantle and after leaving school he went to the country where he was employed as a boundary rider. However he returned to Fremantle often, during which time he resided with his sister in Hubble Street East Fremantle.
On the 7th September 1914, Joseph enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force. He was found to be fit for enlistment, with the medical examiner recording his physical attributes as;
Height - 5 feet 7 inches tall;
Weight - 120lbs;
Chest Measurement - 33-34 inches;
Complexion - Sallow;
Eyes - Blue;
Hair - Brown.
After his successful enlistment, Joseph was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to "G" Company of the newly forming 12th Battalion AIF. The 12th Battalion was formed from men from Three States, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia.
For the six weeks after enlistment Joseph trained at Blackboy Hill Camp. Towards the end of October 1914 the WA Companies of the 12th Battalion received their orders to leave WA and so the men packed up camp and entrained for Fremantle Harbour where they boarded the HMAT Medic. They boarded on the 31st October 1914 and the ship then pulled into Gage Roads for two days. They then set sail on the 2nd November 1914 and made their way into the Indian Ocean where they joined the rest of the 1st Contingent that had sailed from Albany.
Arriving in Egypt in late November 1914 the men were disembarked and sent into camp at Mena which would be their base for the next few months.
While the 11th Battalion photo on the pyramid is well known, the Western Australians in the 12th Battalion also took the opportunity for such a photo. (Photo below) Joseph's position in the photo is not known.
On the 2nd March 1915, the 12th Battalion as part of the 3rd Brigade left Alexandria and were sent to Lemnos Island in preparation for the landing on the Turkish coast. The 12th Battalion would train at Lemnos for the next several weeks.
On the evening of April 24th the troopships began departing Lemnos, bound for the Turkish coast. The 12th Battalion was to be split among the 9th, 10th and 11th Battalions. D Company of the 12th would land with their fellow Western Australians in the 11th Battalion. Landing at North Beach, the men quickly made their way inland through the rocky and scrubby foothills till they reached the 2nd Ridge and some parties continued on to the Third ridge and beyond. Turkish resistance stiffened by mid morning and the Australians were pushed back to a toe hold on the 2nd Ridge.
In Joseph's records it states that he was wounded between the 25th and 28th April 1915 when he suffered a bullet wound to the left hip. He was sent aboard a hospital ship and reached Alexandria on the 5th May 1915, where on arrival he was admitted to Hospital. He remained in Egypt for the next few months. By now having recovered from his wound, Joseph was returned to Anzac Cove, reaching there on the 16th July 1915. The 12th Battalion were by then in the southern portion on the battlefield near Tasmania Post.
In the August Offensive, the 12th Battalion was a reserve unit for the 1st Brigade who had been ordered to capture Lone Pine. On August 6th the 1st Brigade did capture the Turkish trenches but due to heavy casualties they had to be reinforced by several units including the 12th Battalion. The men of the 12th continued with the bomb fighting and managed to hold on to the captured trenches, which had been won at such a high cost. Joe came through this unscathed.
After being relieved from Lone Pine, the 12th Battalion returned to positions near Tasmania post.
In late November the 12th Battalion was given a well deserved rest on Lemnos Island. With the Gallipoli campaign soon over, the 12th Battalion was returned to Egypt, reaching Alexandria on the 6th January 1916. The Battalion took on reinforcements and began training as well as holding a sector of the Suez Canal Defence line as it was feared that the Turks would attack Egypt.
At the end of February 1916, news came through that the original four AIF Brigades would be split in half to form new Battalions and thus given the new units an experienced veteran base. The 12th Battalion was thus split and half went on to form the 52nd Battalion, and Joe was in the section that was sent to form the 52nd Battalion. The 52nd Battalion was part of the 13th Brigade, 4th Division AIF.
For the next three months, James and the 52nd Battalion trained in the Egyptian desert. On the 5th June 1916 James and his unit left Egypt aboard a transport ship bound for France. After arriving at Marseilles on the 12th June 1916, they were entrained north for the Armentieres sector.
The 52nd Battalion had their first taste of the Western Front near Fleurbaix. They were then relieved by the 5th Division AIF and journeyed to the Somme front where they would soon be in action. The 1st Australian Division captured the village of Pozieres on July 22nd and then had to endure a devastating German bombardment for almost a week. They were then relieved by the 2nd Australian Division who furthered the gains though at a horrendous cost of casualties. The 2nd Division was then relieved by the 4th Division. The 4th and 12th Brigades of the 4th Division were involved at Pozieres from early August 1916 though the 52nd Battalion and 13th Brigade were initially kept in Reserve.
Mouquet Farm was proving a tough obstacle to overcome and on the 3rd September 1916 the 52nd Battalion were involved in another assault to capture it. Initially good progress was made but the Germans were again able to successfully defend the Farm. Joe came through his time here unscathed.
After this action the Australians were transferred to the Ypres front in Belgium, which was at this time in 1916 a quieter part of the front.
By November 1916 the 52nd Battalion were back on the Somme front as they would be spending the 1916/17 French winter in the muddy shell hole strewn battlefield. This winter was the coldest in decades and many men were evacuated ill from the freezing conditions though Joe’s health appeared not to be affected.
Joe only remained with the 52nd Battalion till the end of December 1916. He was then transferred to the newly forming Anzac Railway Corps. The name of the unit was the 17th Anzac Light Railway Operating Company. The HQ Depot of his new unit was at Harfleur France. The units main role was to transport men and supplies around France and Belgium.
In June Joe was promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal and he remained with his unit through 1917. In December 1917 Joe had a fortnight's leave to England.
In March 1918 Robert's unit was rename to the 3rd Australian Light Railway Operating Company. He served with his unit through to the 27th September 1918 when he was transferred to England. Joe had qualified for the Anzac leave, which was a six month rest in Australia, which was begun for those men who had enlisted in 1914 and were still serving.
Joe was due to leave in October 1918 but requested a further amount of time in England as he was due to get married. On the 4th December 1918 Joe was married to Fanny Vanham at Bingley Bradford.
Joe and Fanny departed for Australia on the 4th June 1919 aboard the transport ship Bremen, arriving back in Fremantle on the 18th July 1919. After being disembarked, Joe was sent to No.8 Australian General Hospital in South Terrace Fremantle for a medical check. Joe was then discharged from the AIF on the 30th July 1919.
They went to live in Irwin Street East Fremantle and they would have two sons, Jack in 1919 and George in 1922. During this time Joe was working as a painter.
The family then moved to Petra St East Fremantle/Bicton and they would live here through to the 1960's.
Joe died on the 10th July 1963 in Fremantle aged 70. He was cremated at Fremantle Cemetery.