Studio portrait of 487, later 487A, Private (Pte) John Dixon Kitchen, 36th Battalion, of ...

Studio portrait of 487, later 487A, Private (Pte) John Dixon Kitchen, 36th Battalion, of Leichhardt, NSW. A storeman prior to enlisting in February 1916, Kitchen stated on his enlistment forms that he was 43 when he was in fact 49, four years older than the acceptable age limit. He embarked from Sydney on board HMAT Beltana (A72) on 13 May 1916 and arrived in France for service on the Western Front in November 1916. He was promoted to Lance Corporal in August 1917 and Corporal in November. On 17 January 1918 he was promoted to Sergeant and, the following day, to Company Quarter Master Sergeant (CQMS). In April 1918 CQMS Kitchen was transferred to the 33rd Battalion. He was killed in action in France, on 30 July 1918, aged 51.