Service Details
- Branch of Service
- Navy
- Conflict
- World War II (1939-1945)
- Date of Enlistment
- 23/11/1941
- Place of Enlistment
- Sydney NSW
Personal Details
- Gender
- Male
- Other Name(s)
- Nicknamed 'Bluey'
- Date of Birth
- 04/06/1923
- Place of Birth
- Pinnaroo, South Australia
- Address (at enlistment)
- Canberra ACT
- Occupation
- Clerk
- Next of Kin
- Son of Norman and Annetta Venning of Pinnaroo, South Australia
- Burial Place
Rookwood Civil Cemetery (Sydney), C of E Naval Section, 4, Grave 827.
Unit and Rank Details
- Service Number
- S6116
- Final Rank
- Ordinary Seaman
- Final Unit
- HMAS Kuttabul
Fate
Died 1 June 1942, Sydney Harbour
Commemoration
AWM Roll of Honour Memorial Panel 3, Canberra ACT
Notes
Venning was a South Australian who worked for the Treasury Department before the war as a clerk and played Australian Rules football for Manuka. He enlisted in the RAN in November 1941 and underwent training as a seaman at Garden Island in Sydney. Venning died in the early hours of 1 June 1942 when HMAS Kuttabul was sunk by the impact of a torpedo fired during the attack in Sydney Harbour by Japanese midget submarines. HMAS Kuttabul was used as sleeping accommodating for naval ratings; 20 other men also died.
Sources
WWII Nominal Roll http://www.ww2roll.gov.au
AWM Roll of Honour Database
AWM Roll of Honour Circular
Stories from the ACT Memorial, 'Dangerous Seas', ACT Heritage Library www.library.act.gov.au/find/history/stories_from_the_act_memorial
NAA RecordSearch - Series A6770 (Service Cards for Petty Officers and Men, 1911-1970)
The Canberra Times - 6 June 1942, 8 June 1942, 12 April 1943, 26 April 1946