Branch of Service

Army

Conflict

World War II (1939-1945)

Date of Enlistment

20/12/1938

Date of Discharge

21/05/1946

Place of Enlistment

Canberra ACT

Gender

Male

Date of Birth

29/08/1921

Place of Birth

Nathalia, Victoria

Address (at enlistment)

Acton Guest House, Canberra ACT

Occupation

Public servant

Next of Kin

Henry Kennedy (father), Swan Hill, Victoria

Service Number

NX190472

Final Rank

Sergeant

Final Unit

36 Australian Infantry Battalion

Kennedy was born in Nathalia, Victoria and went to school in Swan Hill. He arrived in Canberra in 1938 to work in the public service. He joined the 3rd Battalion militia (the Werriwa Regiment) and served with the unit on the Kokoda track at Ioribaiwa and Imita, Templeton's Crossing, Oivi and Gona. In 1943 the 3rd Battalion was disbanded and Kennedy joined the 36th Battalion, spending the last years of the war on New Britain.

He returned to Canberra after the war, married and lived in Turner. In 1991 he compiled a history of the 3rd Battalion's time in Papua in 1942 called 'Port Moresby to Gona Beach'. He died on 7 April 2011 and is buried in the ex-services section of Gungahlin Cemetery.

WWII Nominal Roll http://www.ww2roll.gov.au
ACT Electoral Rolls 1916 to 1967
Colin Kennedy, 'Port Moresby to Gona Beach 3rd Australian Infantry Battalion 1942', 1992
Ken Laycock, 'Memories of a Militiaman', 1995
Michael Hall, 'Canberrans in the Papuan Campaign, 1942: Kokoda Track and Gona', Canberra Historical Journal (March 2022), Canberra & District Historical Society
NAA RecordSearch - Series 883
The Canberra Times - 3 May 1945, 9 April 2011