Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Son of Joseph Keenan and Kate Keenan of the Bingara Hotel,  of Bingara, NSW. Brother of James Aloysius Keenan who returned to Australia during 1916 having served with the 20th Battalion

Commenced return to Australia on 5 March 1919 aboard HT Nevasa disembarking on the 26 April 1919

Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal

Husband of Olive Leonora Keenan of 2A Marion Place, Prosepct, SA.

Austin (Oscar) Henry Keenan was born in 1884 in Bingara New South Wales. Before enlisting to the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) Oscar was a carpenter. He was the eldest son to Joseph and Kate Keenan who ran the Bingara hotel. He had a younger brother named James who worked with Oscar.

On the 20th of March 1915 at the age of 23 Oscar enlisted in the AIF just 9 days after his brother James as he may have wanted to be with him throughout the war, however, that didn’t happen as they ended up in separate Battalions being the 10th and the 1st. James was later discharged for being medically unfit because of arthritis. They both trained at the Liverpool military training camp training in the poorest conditions, they often joked that the camp next door for alienated German Australia’s had better living conditions than them. Oscar and James were both trained in the basic military skills.

After a few months of training Oscar then enlisted in the 1st Battalion, 8th reinforcement and left on the HMT (Her Majesty’s Transport) Runic to the Gallipoli Peninsula on the 9th of August 1915. Once he arrived, he officially joined the battalion and entered the fight against the Turkish troops. However, at that point the 1st battalion had fought in the last battle of the Campaign, the August Offensive. From September till December 1915 the 1st battalion stayed alert in their camps waiting for a possible attack from the Turkish troops. Finally, after the campaign was deemed a failure, the Australian forces were evacuated from the Peninsula and taken to Alexandrina, Egypt for further training as most troops were undertrained. Once this further training was completed Oscar was taken on strength to the 53rd battalion and embarked to join the B.E.F (British Expeditionary Force) on the 19th of June 1916, then disembarking Alexandrina on the 26th of June heading for France. The 53rd Battalion arrived in early July of that year and made its way to Fromelles. This is the first battle the 53rd are a part of.

The Battle of Fromelles was considered by the AIF to be the worst 24 hours in Australia’s Military history for its strategic blunders and the sheer amount of bloodshed in 24 hours. It commenced at 11am on the 19th of July 1916 with artillery barrages from the German trenches which continued throughout the day. It wasn’t until 6pm that evening that the true battle started with AIF’s 5th division and Britain’s 61st division attacking through the gaps in German defences, the Australia’s 5th division is then split into their sperate brigades. From here the 14th brigade (the brigade the 53rd battalion was under) manages along with the 8th brigade to penetrate through and capture 800m of enemy frontline trench. They continued towards what they thought was a second line of trenches, in reality it was a string of muddy ditches. The brigades then become over-extended and enfiladed with their flanks exposed to direct enemy fire and had the risk of being cut off because of the inability of the 15th brigade or the British 61st division to neutralize the Sugar Loaf (a key point in obtaining victory for British and Australian forces). By 2am that night General Haking (a senior British Army officer who is the commander for the British and Australian forces during the battle) had withdrawn all the troops back to the old frontlines to renew their attack plan for the next day. It wasn’t until the forward commander of the 14th brigade realized that the brigade’s right flank was exposed to the enemy. The Germans attacked again and forced themselves in further behind the 14th Brigade, now finding that the Australians were being fired upon from both the front and rear. It’s at this point in time Oscar sustains an injury in the leg from a gunshot on 19th of July 1916, he is subsequently then captured by the German soldiers, he is reported by the 53rd battalion as wounded on the 28th and “captured/prisoner of war” on the 23rd of August that year along with the many other soldiers in the aftermath battle of Fromelles.

Oscar along with many other ANZACS were taken to Germany and sent to many different POW (Prisoner of War) camps spread across the region including Dülmen, Limberg, Heilsburg, Merseburg, Lamsdorf etc. From 1915 soldiers captured interned in these camps were put to work to aid in Germany’s war efforts, often doing jobs in agriculture, mining, quarrying, and the construction of military equipment. Captured soldiers also would be sent to work outside of the camps. The conditions of most POW of the camps were generally poor, with overcrowding, forced labour, multiple disease outbreaks and inadequate rations. Once Oscar arrived as the POW in Dülmen he was interrogated by German officers about any information he had on Australia’s war plans, or information that could aid in Germany’s war efforts. Oscar was then given a set of clothes and put to work in a nearby forest felling trees. The Dülmen camp compared to the other camps in Germany was not as harsh on their prisoners, so most of the time Oscar got breaks in between his work to rest or eat food. Dülmen also allowed Oscar to send letters home to his family where he asked his aunt for cigarettes. He was also sometimes allowed to have beer and cigarettes provided by the Germans if behaved. Oscar remained in Dülmen for the rest of the War, and was released the 29th of November 1918 and was sent to Britain, arriving on the 14th of January 1919. While in Brittan Oscar went AWOL (absent without leave) for 2 days from the 14th to the 16th. As punishment he was docked 4 days of pay. After Oscar’s drunken fun he went through the Red Cross missing and wounded in London to find a way back home to Australia which he did aboard the HMT Hevasa arriving in Portland Victoria on the 26th of April 1919.

Oscar was discharged from the AIF on the 18th of June 1919. Once Oscar was discharged, he ended up in Beltana in the north of the state, as a boundary rider where he would ride along the station fence lines checking the fences. He then met his future wife Olive, who was caring for her sister at Angorichina, for tuberculosis.

Oscar and Olive then married and had 3 children. Their names were Jock, Muriel, and Blanche. they moved to Rhynie in the mid-north of the state and then Dulwich. Oscar died on the 25th of September 1957 from the effects of war with mustard gas effecting his lungs. Oscar is also memorialised in the Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial. Some years later his wife Olive was told that Oscar was entitled to the Gallipoli medallion for his service in Gallipoli, after 2 attempts of filling out forms and sending them her forms were accepted, and she was given the medal in honour of Oscar.

This research was done by Harry Whatson who is the great Grandson of Oscar Keenan. Oscar Keenan is the grandfather of Harry's Dad. 

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