Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Kenneth Lancelot Milne (1915–1995), accountant, public servant, and politician, was born on 14 August 1915 at Kensington Gardens, Adelaide, only child of Frank Kenneth Milne, architect, and his wife Hazel Muir, née Fotheringham, both South Australian born. Several members of his family were prominent parliamentarians. A great-grandfather, Sir William Milne; a great-uncle, Sir Lancelot Stirling; and an uncle, (Sir) Walter Duncan, between them held the presidency of South Australia’s Legislative Council for over fifty-six years. Lance was educated at the Collegiate School of St Peter and the University of Adelaide (1934–35) but left without taking a degree. He was then articled to a practising accountant.

In 1937 Milne published Ostrich Heads, a small book that warned of the challenges of the coming war and encouraged young Australians to become more engaged in public life. By the late 1930s he was a member of the Young Liberal League. He enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force and began training as a pilot on 9 November 1940. On 3 May the next year he married Mary Hughes at St Peter’s College Chapel. Commissioned and sent to Britain in July, he flew with three Royal Air Force squadrons: No. 79 (October 1941-January 1942), No. 452 (January-May 1942), and No. 285 (June 1942-February 1943). As a result of eyesight problems, he performed administrative duties thereafter, rising to flight lieutenant (July 1944). He returned to Australia in March 1945 and was demobilised in October

Courtesy Extract (https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/milne-kenneth-lancelot-lance-23894)