To commemorate 100 years since the Armistice, we would like to introduce you to 100 members of Caulfield RSL over the next 100 days
William Kinsey Bolton
Born in England, William Kinsey Bolton was one of the founding member of the Returned Sailors' and Soldiers' Imperial League, and became its first national president on 3 June 1916.
He migrated with his parents in 1868 to Victoria where his father was a storekeeper at Camperdown, Darlington and Mortlake.
Bolton completed an apprenticeship as a carpenter in Mortlake, then in 1879 went to Sydney, where he studied architecture. In 1884 he set up as a builder in Warragul, Gippsland. From 1890 he was Inspector of Works in the Victorian Public Works Department, employed in the Bendigo and Ballarat districts.
In 1878 he had joined the Southern Rifles and was commissioned Lieutenant in the 3rd Battalion, Victoria, on 12 December 1891; he was promoted Captain in 1897, Major in the 7th Australian Infantry Regiment in 1903 and Lieutenant-Colonel in 1910.
In 1912 Bolton took command of the 70th Regiment. On 19 August 1914 he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force and was sent to command the Queenscliff Fort, but was soon back in Melbourne mobilizing the 8th Battalion, which sailed for Egypt on 19 October. They landed on Gallipoli on 25 April 1915 and Cape Helles on 9 May. After the gruelling Battle of Krithia (7-8 May) and brief command of the 2nd Infantry Brigade, Bolton's age and collapsing health led to his repatriation in the hospital ship Ballarat. He retired as honorary Brigadier General in 1920.
He had been a founder of the Returned Sailors' and Soldiers' Imperial League, and became its first national president on 3 June 1916. Soon he was embroiled in the conscription debate and he attended the inaugural meeting of the National Party in January 1917. At the invitation of W.M. Hughes, Bolton ran for the Senate and was elected on 5 May 1917.
His Senate duties saw him criticized for his inability to devote enough time to league affairs, and he was defeated as president on 15 July 1919.
Bolton occupied himself as partner in a building firm and in other business concerns. Living in various locations around Melbourne, he was living in Caulfield by 1924. He contested the Federal seat of Henty unsuccessfully in 1929. He died of cancer at Brighton on 8 September 1941
Read more about William Kinsey Bolton here - http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/bolton-william-kinsey-5283
Quick fact: Bolton has a hill and ridge named after him at Gallipoli
Lest we forget