Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Kenneth contributed several stories to "Soldiering On" which was a book published for the soldiers of the Australian Army and was made up of contributions by them while they were in active service. The stories cover the troops serving in Libya, Greece, Crete, Tobruk and Syria during 1942 mostly with a little from 1941.
Kenneth’s first story was:“Star Over Bethlehem” where he described being at the Church of the Nativity on Christmas Eve.
Here are some quotes:
“Indelibly implanted in my memories of the Middle East will always be that service at the Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, at Christmas…
“In the teeth of rain, hail, and a cold, penetrating wind, we drove from Jerusalem through the ancient Jaffa Gate, across the five and a half miles of Judean valley and hill to Bethlehem…
“In the quiet of the church I was about to see the spot that marked the birthplace of Christ and later listen to the world-famous service that would begin in the Roman Catholic church of Saint Catherine at midnight…
“There was hardly standing room in Saint Catherine Church as the midnight hour approached. Outnumbering civilians in the congregation were uniformed soldiers of all nationalities, men who were fighting for their democratic rights, and their right to worship as free Christians…
“returning later on Christmas morning, we took part in the services especially arranged by the Chruch of England. The singing of carols was broadcast in many countries. British and Australian nurses mingled with the officers and men of the Allied armies and helped with the singing.”
His second contribution was “Prisoner’s Song” which was a small humorous tale about a prison guard complaining about some Italian prisoners of war coming back to camp late and making quite a bit of noise. He was threatening to punish them by leaving them locked out in the desert for the night.
For Kenneth’s third contribution, he wrote a funny piece about Australians and Americans having a quiz night on each other’s countries.