Victory Medal : Sergeant J R C Kelly, 30 Battalion, AIF

Victory Medal. Impressed around edge with recipient's details.

John Robert Cowan Kelly , then a 22 year old clerk, enlisted in the AIF at Newcastle, NSW, on 18 July 1915. After initial training he was assigned as a private to B Company, 30 Battalion, with the service number 453. The battalion left Sydney for overseas service on 9 November 1915, aboard HMAT A72 Beltana. Further training was undertaken in Egypt before the battalion moved to France. Kelly was promoted to corporal in May 1916. On 7 July 1916, at Fleurbaix, he received a gunshot wound to his back which resulted in nearly three months hospitalisation before he was posted to a training battalion in October 1916, prior to return to his own battalion. In November 1917 Kelly was promoted to sergeant and shortly afterwards transferred to 3 Training Brigade. After a brief return to 30 Battalion in 1918 he was selected for special duty with the Imperial (British) Army and transferred to the North Russian Expeditionary Force (NREF) where he was assigned to Elope Force. There were only 9 Australians (three officers and six sergeants) in the 560 strong NREF, and all wore their own Australian uniforms throughout their year long attachment to the Force. The mission of the NREF was to secure the North Russian ports of Murmansk and Archangel to prevent the large quantity of munitions and supplies there, originally sent for the Russian Imperial Army, from falling into German hands. In addition they were to train a White Russian force in the area as a preparation for the formation of a new Eastern Front against the Central Powers. Securing both ports, as well as the railway junction at Vologda on the Trans-Siberian Railway proved easy, but there were real risks involved with training the White Russian regiments, several of whom mutinied and became allied to the Bolsheviks. Some members of the NREF were killed by the mutineers, including an Australian captain. In March 1919 a decision was made to withdraw the NREF but this was only achieved in June under cover of the newly raised North Russian Relief Force, which included a company of Australians attached to the 45th Fusiliers. Elope Force was evacuated from Archangel aboard SS Pretorian. Sergeant Kelly returned to Australia on 10 October 1919.