Alan Grainger Kerr was born in Dunstan, Otago, New Zealand in September 1891.Alan Grainger Kerr was born in September 1891 at Crookston, Otago, New Zealand.
He was born one of twelve children to John Grainger Kerr and Cecelia Kerr (nee Buttars), both parents were born in Scotland.
The first seven years of Alan's life were spent on the family farm in Crookston, Otago. The family then moved to the North Island of New Zealand settling first at Waihau Bay and then Opotiki in the Bay Of Plenty.
 

Alan's father, John, died in 1901 of Brights disease ( a disease of the kidneys). His mother, Cecelia opened the first registered maternity home in Opotiki, named the "Strathallen" after the ship that bought her and her family from Scotland to New Zealand.
Alan was a blacksmith by trade, he had learnt the trade in Opotiki in a blacksmith shop at the back of the Royal Hotel. He also worked as a blacksmith along the coast of Opotiki at Ohaewai. He was very athletic in his younger days and was in the Opotiki Representative Rugby team in 1913 and had won medals in swimming and cycling.
He passed his love of Cycling down to his son, grandson and great grandson.

Alan joined up with the NZ Army on the 2nd of January 1915 at Ohaewai, Bay of Plenty. Alan was 23 years old and was a Blacksmith / Farrier employed by a Mr Templeton in Ohaewai.

On his medical examination at the time of enlistment he was described by the Medical Officer, a P.H. Buck, as being:

“Well developed physically.Used to the hard open air life, should make first class soldier.”

Alan was enlisted with the 4th reinforcements of the Wellington Mounted Rifles.
Alan's two brothers, Stanly Forbes Kerr and Alfred Buttars Kerr were already enlisted. Alfred with the Australian Forces and Stan was with the Wellington Infantry Battalion, all three were on Gallipoli and Stan was at the landing of Gallipoli.

Alan enlisted with his horse and saddle as so many of the Mounteds did. A horse that he had trained and would lay down on command. While overseas a high ranking officer had taken a liking to Alan's horse and claimed it as his. I believe the army reimbursed the men for the horses and they therefore became army property.
Alan did tell of massaging the horses legs on the journey over, and the landing at Alexandria when the horses were disembarked, he related, " After being cooped up for weeks with no exercise they went crazy, running along the beach and rolling around in the sand and water making such a racket it was a sheer delight to see."

Alan was part of the first lot of reinforcements sent to Gallipoli and would have arrived at ANZAC cove in the heat of the war on Gallipoli around mid to late May
He was on Gallipoli from then until the last evacuations and saw the dreaded Quinns Post and climbed the hill of Chunuk Bair with the Wellington Mounteds.

CHUNUK BAIR

It all started on the 6th of August 1915. The Australians began fighting the Turks above ANZAC Cove in an attempt to lure them away from where the New Zealanders were. Nearly 3,000 Australians died that day.
20,000 British troops were landing at Suvla Bay, they were to reinforce the Kiwis at Chunuk Bair. At Night 1600 men of the Wellington Mounted Rifles and 500 men of the Maori Contingent started clearing the foothills beneath Chunuk Bair, known as ‘Table Top’, using their bayonets.

My father recalls Alan telling him:

“ The hill was steep, we had to use our bayonets to get up it by digging into the ground and pulling ourselves up.”

By morning they had cleared the way for the capture of Chunuk Bair. The New ZealandInfantry took over. By dawn the 7th ofAugust 1915 the New Zealand Infantry Brigade were at the Apex, 500 metres from the crest of Chunuk Bair. The commander waited for his scattered troops to reinforce their positions, meanwhile the Turks gathered. At 11am the Auckland Infantry attacked and lost 300 men in 20 minutes. The Wellington Infantry were ordered to attack, but Malone refused to send his men to ‘Commit Suicide’. It has been said by Malone’s men that General Godley threatened him with court martial - Malone stood firm.

The attack was delayed until before dawn on the 8th of August. In the early morning of 8th August Malones Wellingtons attacked. They occupied the Turkish Trench on the crest of Chunuk Bair. Men dug trenches as it filled with dead and wounded. The Jam Tin Bombs had all been thrown and dead and wounded stripped of ammunitions. Turkish grenades were thrown back and as a last ditch effort even stones were hurled.

The British had landed at Suvla Bay and were supposed to reinforce the ANZACs, but they remained where they had landed. No help was forthcoming. The Australians were being slaughtered on both sides. The Kiwis were on their own. The British Navy’s shells fell short of the Turk lines and added to the New Zealand death toll.
By nightfall of the 8th of August, Malone was dead.

Alan's total service was 1 yr and 221 days of which 1 year and 43 days were spent overseas. Alan was invalided home aboard the S.S. Willochra and arrived at Port Chalmers on the 14th of May 1916.
His brother Stan returned minus a leg, Alfred eventually settled in Sydney, for a time he worked for International Harvesters, he married in 1939 to Nora Johnson, in his later years around 1952 he worked and lived in Bayview Road, Bayview, NSW as a caretaker/gardener for a couple who travelled overseas alot. As far as we know Stan never married.

After the War Alan had helped his brother Jack with the pier on White Island, and had worked around Opotiki as a bushman.
 
 

This page is maintained by Marlene Foley: email me.