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Excerpt from Blood Sweat and Fears: Medical Practitioners and Medical Students of South Australian who Served in World War 1. Courtesy of the Authors

Raphael Leo ‘Ken’ Kenihan was born on the 23rd October 1890 at O’Halloran Hill, South Australia. He was the youngest of the ten children of Michael Joseph Kenihan, a farmer, and his wife Elizabeth, nee Pearson. He was educated at the Christian Brothers College where he was a keen athlete maintaining interest in all sporting activities. He studied medicine at the University of Adelaide graduating in 1915. He completed his residency at the Adelaide Hospital.

Kenihan enlisted in the AIF in November 1915. He was, single, aged 25 years, and his mother of “The Brae” Reynella was named as his next of kin. He was 5ft 9ins tall, weighed 10st and of fair complexion and hair with blue eyes. He had previous military experience of 3 years as a lieutenant in the cadets and could ride a horse. Kenihan was commissioned as a captain in the AAMC for general duty. He sailed from Adelaide in July 1916 and reached Plymouth in September. After training at the AAMC Depot at Parkhouse he was attached to 13 Trg Bn at Rollestone until he was sent to France in January 1917. He was attached to 9 FdAmb at first, then in February posted as RMO of 44 Bn. He was awarded a Military Cross at the Battle of Messines. ‘During the attack on the Green Line he established the most forward RAP in the Division, and although under heavy shell fire he carried on attending to the wounded. He had to move his RAP on two occasions on account of having been shelled out of his former places. He himself was wounded but would not relinquish his work.’  Kenihan was gassed in October 1917 during the Third Battle of Ypres, and was away from the Bn recovering until December. He was transferred to 9 FdAmb in September 1918, but also detached to 3 San Section and 11 FdAmb for short periods. He was granted study leave for three months in March 1919 and went to the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin for post-graduate training. His appointment was terminated on the 13th November 1919 after he had returned to Australia in July 1919. Kenihan was issued with the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

After the war Kenihan had a general practice in Millswood, Adelaide; he also held hospital appointments. He was appointed as an honorary anaesthetist at the Repatriation General Hospital Keswick in 1921 and at the Adelaide Hospital where he was a tutor in anaesthetics from 1923 to 1933.  He married Glen Hewitt, the daughter of IT Hewitt. Miss Glen Hewitt featured in the local Adelaide newspapers as a singer and piano player, giving many charitable performances. Kenihan had a long association with the Repatriation Hospital at Keswick in turn anaesthetist, physician and pathologist before his appointment as physician in charge of outpatients in 1946 which he held until his retirement. Kenihan continued to serve in the CMF; he was CO of 6 Cav FdAmb from 1926 to 1930 with the rank of lieutenant colonel, and from 1930 to 1932 was Assistant Director of Hygiene. In 1939 he was CO of 10 ACCS at Warradale. Kenihan served from 1940 to 1942 as OC Troops on 2/2 AHS, the Wanganella, which carried casualties from the Middle East and New Guinea. He was a regular attendee at the Adelaide Oval; he enjoyed gardening, the stock market and the company of his children and grandchildren. He returned to practice at Millswood in 1942 and continued to work until ill health over took him. Raphael Leo Kenihan died at Reynella on the 20th October 1964.

Sources:

http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/Imagine.asp?B=7369000

Photo: AWM E01500

Son, Robert Kenihan’s RACP article, and Michael Kenihan.

The Mail Adelaide 8th July 1916

Captain Kenihan was presented with his Military Cross by General Birdwood on 6 March 1920.