SERGEANT 430787, HAROLD EDWARD KEMP, 4TH CANADIAN MOUNTED RIFLES, CANADIAN INFANTRY.
SERGEANT 430787, HAROLD EDWARD KEMP, 4TH CANADIAN MOUNTED
RIFLES, CANADIAN INFANTRY.
At the outbreak of the war, 31 year old Edward
Harold Kemp had been an officer in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, stationed
in the town Ladysmith on Vancouver Island. Known as Harold he had been a police
officer for 10 years when, on the 25th March 1915, he joined the the 48th
Infantry Battalion of the Canadian Army.
Harold and the rest of his battalion arrived in Britain later that year when, now promoted to sergeant, he transferred to the 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles (CMR). On June 2nd 1916 the 4th CMR where in the front line just west of Ypres on a hill known as Mount Sorrel. Harold was in charge of a machine gun section when the the position came under intense German artillery fire. The barrage reached a crescendo at 1.30pm when a number of German mines were exploded under Mount Sorrel. The position was obliterated and Harold was among the many Canadian soldiers who where reported missing. Three months later, the German Red Cross reported that Harold had been found badly wounded and had in fact died in captivity.
Harold Kemp was one of 11 children born to the Reverend John Kemp and his wife Ellen. John Kemp had been a missionary in Borneo and then vicar of Thorrington, Essex, where Harold was born. In 1904, Harold qualified as a 2nd mate in the merchant navy and had taken passage to Canada where he joined the Royal North Western Mounted Police. He had married Isabelle Affleck in Moosejaw, Saskatchewan and together they had two children. John Kemp had moved his family to 4 Westville Avenue, Ilkley before the war and in 1915 Harold's wife and children joined them in the town.
Sergeant Edward Harold Kemp has no known grave and is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing (photo courtesy Ian 4CMR.com). He is remembered on the Ilkley War Memorial as well as on the Creston, Victoria and Ladysmith war memorials in British Columbia
Harold and the rest of his battalion arrived in Britain later that year when, now promoted to sergeant, he transferred to the 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles (CMR). On June 2nd 1916 the 4th CMR where in the front line just west of Ypres on a hill known as Mount Sorrel. Harold was in charge of a machine gun section when the the position came under intense German artillery fire. The barrage reached a crescendo at 1.30pm when a number of German mines were exploded under Mount Sorrel. The position was obliterated and Harold was among the many Canadian soldiers who where reported missing. Three months later, the German Red Cross reported that Harold had been found badly wounded and had in fact died in captivity.
Harold Kemp was one of 11 children born to the Reverend John Kemp and his wife Ellen. John Kemp had been a missionary in Borneo and then vicar of Thorrington, Essex, where Harold was born. In 1904, Harold qualified as a 2nd mate in the merchant navy and had taken passage to Canada where he joined the Royal North Western Mounted Police. He had married Isabelle Affleck in Moosejaw, Saskatchewan and together they had two children. John Kemp had moved his family to 4 Westville Avenue, Ilkley before the war and in 1915 Harold's wife and children joined them in the town.
Sergeant Edward Harold Kemp has no known grave and is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing (photo courtesy Ian 4CMR.com). He is remembered on the Ilkley War Memorial as well as on the Creston, Victoria and Ladysmith war memorials in British Columbia
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