As we move closer to Anzac Day commemorations on April 25, it is timely to look back through the mists of time to remember some of the brave servicemen and women who served in all theatres of war.

Major Horace Frederick Kingsmill was a decorated officer who was born in Gunnedah in late December 1888, when his father was the Deputy District Court Registrar and Clerk of Petty Sessions at Gunnedah Court House.

John Johnson Kingsmill and his wife Amy Elizabeth raised a family of four boys (Horace, Nigel 1890, Colin 1891 and Kenneth Seymour 1895), who were all born in Gunnedah and all four served with distinction in World War I.

The Kingsmill family left Gunnedah in the 1890s when JJ Kingsmill was appointed to Muswellbrook. In 1907 he was transferred to Albury.

Horace Frederick Kingsmill attended Sydney Church of England Boys’ Grammar School (Shore) in Sydney in 1904-05 and was a member of the school cadets.

On graduating, he joined the staff of the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney in 1906 and signed up with the Army Reserve as a gunner in 1909, winning promotion to bombardier and then corporal before he passed his examinations for a commission in 1910.

Attached to the 2nd Battery in 1911, he presented himself at Victoria Barracks in Sydney on August 14, 1914, and applied for a commission with the Australian Expeditionary Force on August 17, only 13 days after war had broken out in Europe.

He was given a commission as a lieutenant in the 1st Artillery Brigade and was promoted to captain on October 18, the day his unit left Sydney on board the Argyllshire, bound for the war.

On the way over, the Australian soldiers had a front-row view of the battle in which one of the convoy warships, HMAS Sydney, destroyed the German cruiser Emden, which had been sinking Allied ships in the South Seas.

The 1st Field Artillery trained at Mena in Egypt for several weeks until embarking on April 5, 1915, for the Gallipoli Peninsula in the Dardanelles.

Because of the rugged terrain the AFA didn’t land at Gallipoli – instead redeployed to Cape Helles where it remained in action until eventually despatched to Gallipoli in October.

After service on Gallipoli until December 1915, the unit was sent to the Western Front in March 1916, just a few weeks after Captain Kingsmill had been promoted to major and appointed the commanding officer of his battery.

Involved in heavy fighting near Armentieres, Fromelles and Pozieres, Major Kingsmill was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his outstanding leadership and courage under fire from July 24 onwards.

Acting as the forward observer under constant heavy fire, his quick and clear information to his battery and to the divisional artillery was a key factor in the Allies’ success, according to his citation.

He was officially invested with his DSO at Buckingham Palace on September 23, 1916.

He was believed to be the first Australian artillery officer to receive the honour in France.

In January 1917 he was also mentioned in the despatches of Sir Douglas Haig, Commander-in-Chief of the British Armies in France, for distinguished and gallant services.

Granted the temporary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in January 1917 and in command of the 1st Artillery Brigade, he was again in the thick of battle for several months until tragedy struck and he was killed in action in August 1917 at Sanctuary Wood, in the Ypres salient, at the age of 28.

He was buried in Reninghelst Cemetery, Poperinghe, Belgium, near the town of Ypres.

Second-born Nigel Travers Kingsmill enlisted in September 1915, at the age of 25, and was attached to the 5th Field Artillery Brigade.

He rose to the rank of lieutenant and in April 1918 was mentioned, for conspicuous service, in the despatches of Allied Commander-in-Chief, Sir Douglas Haig.

He was also awarded the Military Cross for devotion to duty and bravery in the closing weeks of the war. On October 4, 1918, he established a forward post for his brigade at Joncourt and remained for 24 hours without any cover and under heavy shell fire.

During this period, he was able to direct artillery fire for his attacking troops.

On the night of October 8-9, at Ponchaux, the artillery brigade was subjected to continuous bomb attack but Lieutenant Kingsmill displayed a “wonderful disregard” for danger, remaining at his post and issuing orders, though without any protection from the bombs.

His devotion to duty and gallantry was “of the highest order” according to his citation.

Colin Kingsmill enlisted in August 1915, aged 23, and was appointed to the 14th Battery 5th Field Artillery Brigade.

He was mentioned in despatches for bravery on the Western Front in November 1916 and was promoted to second-lieutenant in March 1917 and lieutenant less than two months later.

He was gassed in early November 1917 and treated in England for several months before returning to action in Belgium.

Kenneth Kingsmill was 19 when he enlisted in September 1914, having previously served in the cadets.

Attached to the 3rd Army Field Artillery Brigade, he took part in the Dardanelles Campaign, landing at Cape Helles – his commanding officer at this time was his brother Horace.

In 1916 he was sent to the Western Front in Belgium and France and received several promotions.

In February 1917 he gained his commission as second-lieutenant and was promoted to lieutenant in August 1917.

Apart from a dislocated shoulder, received accidentally, he emerged from the war unscathed from more than two years of service on the Western Front.

After the war, Nigel Kingsmill joined the Bank of NSW, initially serving in Fiji.

He was later manager of the Katoomba and Chatswood branches. He died in Sydney on September 15, 1875, aged 85.

Colin Kingsmill joined the rural co-operative GRAZCOS, becoming chief accountant.

He retired early due to ill-health and died at Wahroonga on December 2, 1964, aged 73.

Ken Kingsmill had a small farmlet at Prospect (NSW) before joining the importing firm Cameron and Co.

In 1939 he joined the Department of Main Roads. He died on August 20, 1975.

Extract from Ron McLean’s book In The Line of Fire.

The Kingsmill brothers Nigel Travers Kingsmill, Colin Kingsmill and Kenneth Kingsmill, who all attained the rank of Lieutenant in the AIF on the Western Front.

Major Horace Kingsmill was one of four Gunnedah-born brothers who fought in the Great War. Major Kingsmill was a decorated soldier, receiving the Distinguished Service Order for bravery in action on the Western Front. He was killed in August 1917.