BEHAN, Kenneth Hollywood
| Service Number: | QX22834 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 18 August 1941, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/29th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Jericho, Queensland, Australia, 30 January 1902 |
| Home Town: | Kelvin Grove, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | St Josephs Nudgee College |
| Occupation: | Station Overseer |
| Died: | Died of Illness (POW of Japan - Beri Beri), Thailand, 4 August 1943, aged 41 years |
| Cemetery: |
Kanchanaburi War Cemetery Collective grave 10, Row F 2-10, Grave L4, |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 18 Aug 1941: | Enlisted Private, QX22834, Brisbane, Queensland | |
|---|---|---|
| 18 Aug 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, QX22834, 2nd/26th Infantry Battalion | |
| 19 Aug 1941: | Involvement Private, QX22834 | |
| 10 Jan 1942: | Embarked Private, QX22834, 2nd/26th Infantry Battalion, Embarked HMT M82 | |
| 26 Jan 1942: | Involvement Private, QX22834, 2nd/29th Infantry Battalion, Malaya/Singapore | |
| 26 Jan 1942: | Transferred Private, 2nd/29th Infantry Battalion, Transferred from 2/26th to 2/29th Infantry Battalion | |
| 15 Feb 1942: | Imprisoned Malaya/Singapore | |
| 4 Aug 1943: | Involvement Private, QX22834, 2nd/29th Infantry Battalion, Prisoners of War, Died of illness whilst a PoW |
Help us honour Kenneth Hollywood Behan's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Elizabeth Allen
Kenneth Hollywood BEHAN was born on 30th January, 1902 in Jericho, Queensland to Thomas BEVAN and Mary Beatrice RANDY
On 16th June, 1929 at Garfield Station he married Gladys FURBER in a double wedding with his sister Cecily Margaret (Pegg) - they were divorced in 1941
The BEHAN family were early pioneers at Jericho - after his father Thomas died, Kenneth was elected as a member of Jericho Shire Council to replace his Father
He enlisted on 18th August 1941 in Brisbane with the 26th Battalion re-inforcements and was transferred to the 2/29th Australian Infantry Battalion which had suffered huge losses at the Battle of Gemas.
He was taken as a prisoner of war on 15th February, 1942. He was a member of H Force working in the Kannyu area and died of Beri Beri on 4th August, 1943 at Kanchanaburi, Thailand as a Thai Burma Railway Casualty
Kenneth was first buried in Grave 52 at Kannyu Jungle Camp and in 1946 his body was exhumed and reburied at Kanchanaburi War Cemetery - his name is memorialised on the Australian War Memorial , the Ex POWs Memorial in Ballarat in Victoria & the Honour Roll at St Josephs Nudgee College, Brisbane
Biography contributed by Elizabeth Allen
Kenneth is also listed on the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery Roll of Honour in Thailand
The inscription on his headstone reads
"age 41, His duty fearlessly & nobly done - Ever Remembered
Rest in Peace"
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From the Ex POW Memorial in Ballarat, Victoria
"When you go home, tell them of us and say,
for your tomorrow, we gave our today"
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On the AMF Prisoners of War & Missing in the Far East and South West Pacific Islands index on the Australian War Memorial, Kenneth is listed as Serial No. 947
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