Captain Frederick Clifford Kemp

Frederick Clifford Kemp was born in Waverley, New Zealand, on 16 January 1887 to parents William Frederick Kemp and Lillian Kemp (née Piper ), the second son in a family with a daughter and four sons.

Kemp attended the Wanganui High School in New Zealand. Before his enlistment he was employed as a bank clerk in Sydney with the Bank of Australasia (known as the Australia and New Zealand Bank from 1 October 1951). Kemp had served in the militia with the 33rd Infantry, formerly the New South Wales Irish Rifles, for two and a half years and was appointed a 2nd lieutenant on 13 April 1911.

Kemp enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) at Liverpool, New South Wales, on 29 December 1914 and was attached to the 4th Reinforcements of the 3rd Battalion. Kemp embarked from Sydney on the troopship Shropshire on 17 March 1915. During the voyage Kemp participated in a concert held on 3 April 1915 and sang “The old brigade”.

On 31 May 1915 Kemp was taken on strength on Gallipoli and promoted to corporal. On 23 June he was promoted to lance sergeant and then sergeant on 4 August 1915. He was wounded in action in August 1915 and admitted to hospital on Lemnos with a gunshot wound to the right cheek. In late August Kemp returned to Gallipoli and on 7 October 1915 was promoted to 2nd lieutenant. In October 1915 he was admitted to the 3rd Australian General Hospital (AGH) at Lemnos with an infection of the hand returning to his unit on Gallipoli in late October. In November 1915 Kemp was suffering from gastritis and was admitted to the hospital ship Dongala; on 4 December he was being treated at No. 2 AGH at Ghezireh, Egypt. Kemp returned to duty on 15 January 1916 at Tel-el-Kebir, Egypt and was promoted to lieutenant on 28 January.
On 22 March Kemp was sent to France, arriving in Marseilles on 28 March; on 17 April 1916 he was promoted to captain. Kemp was wounded in action at Pozières, on 23 July 1916 and transferred to the Liverpool Merchants Hospital, England, for treatment for shell shock, and later to the 4th London General Hospital. After sick leave in England during August and September 1916, Kemp returned to France on 7 December and rejoined his unit on 9 December. He attended the 4th Army School of Instruction in France during February and March 1917, rejoining his unit on 22 March. In April Kemp was hospitalised in France with neurasthenia, eventually returning to England for treatment for this condition and a gastric ulcer on 19 May 1917. In July 1917 Kemp was struck off strength and departed England for Australia on 5 July aboard the hospital ship Karoola, arriving in Australia on 29 August 1917.

Kemp re-enlisted in the AIF on 23 November 1917 and was attached to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Infantry Brigade, with the rank of captain. On 27 November 1917 he embarked from Melbourne on the troopship Indarra, disembarking at Suez, Egypt, on 27 December 1917. On 9 January 1918 Kemp embarked at Port Said on the troopship Kashgar travelling via Taranto, Italy, before disembarking at Southampton, England, on 2 February 1918. Kemp was initially attached to the 15th Training Battalion and later the 1st Training Battalion, and was sent to France in March 1918. Kemp was hospitalised with gastritis on 14 March 1918 and granted leave in England during April. After being classified fit for general service in that month, Kemp was restored to establishment. On 2 May Kemp returned to France and on 19 May was again hospitalised with gastritis and returned to England on 26 May 1918. Following a medical board review Kemp was struck off strength and returned to Australia aboard the troopship City of Karachi on 28 August 1918, arriving in Australia in October 1918. Kemp’s appointment was terminated on 4 June 1919.

Kemp announced his engagement to Alice Monckton Duncan at Toowoomba, Queensland, on 2 August 1921 and the couple were married on 12 November 1923. The couple had 5 children, three sons and two daughters. The surname Duncan-Kemp was used by Kemp’s wife and for their children.

Following his discharge Kemp resumed working for the Bank of Australasia and is recorded as a bank manager at various locations in Queensland, including Moreton in 1928, Richmond in 1930, Toogoolawah from 1934 to 1937, Oakey in 1943 and Jondaryan in 1949. Alice Kemp was an author and published five books including her first, Our sandhill country (1933), all set in phases of her early life on an outback Queensland cattle station, Mooraberrie near Windorah; her books included detailed descriptions of Aboriginal cultural practices. The couple retained interests in pastoral properties in Queensland, and in 1950 as Duncan Kemp & Co they purchased Donald Downs station at Winton, Queensland.

Frederick Clifford Kemp died at Winton, Queensland on 12 June 1958 at the age of 71. Alice Duncan-Kemp died at Oakey, Queensland on 4 January 1988 at the age of 86.