Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Kenneth Alphonsus Crittenden was born at Wynter Street Taree on 25 March 1916, the eighth child of Thomas Crittenden and Annie Elizabeth Royan. He received his initial schooling at St Joseph’s School at Largs near Maitland, his secondary education at the Marist Brothers High School at Maitland, and then trained as a teacher at Armidale Teachers College. His first teaching appointment was to Binda Hall near Hillston in early 1937 but in April of that year he was transferred to Beargamil, near Parkes. In early 1939 Ken enlisted in the Australian Militia Forces and was allocated to the 20/54th Battalion, C Company, Parkes He was a member of this militia unit until he enlisted in the AIF in July 1940.

He enlisted at Paddington in Sydney on 3 July 1940. On 4 February 1941, Ken and about 5,750 other soldiers from 22 Brigade sailed out of Sydney Harbour on the Queen Mary, now refitted as a troop ship, heading for Singapore. They were in convoy with the Aquitania and the Nieuw Amsterdam, ships carrying over 6,000 troops bound for the Middle East, all escorted for the time by HMAS Hobart. Sydney Harbour was choked with all kinds of vessels laden with well wishers, and the headlands and other vantage points were all a mass of people waving farewell.

In the AIF Ken was given the service number of NX52579 and was allocated to the 2/19th Battalion in the 8th Division. He was appointed Lance-Corporal and a few months later, acting Corporal.

Ken wrote several letters from Malaya where he was stationed in 1941. In these he described the beauty of the country and related many of the customs that interested him. During a visit to Singapore he was billeted in a large home owned by a wealthy Chinese merchant and wrote about how well he was treated. In one of his letters he wrote about the heat and when they were on tactical stunts their steel helmets would become so hot that to touch them became almost impossible and their clothes would become drenched in perspiration. Their laundry was done by Dhobies at times. In his first letter to his brother soon after he reached Singapore he described the sea as they approached the island as “like glass”, the letter also contained a few photos of the Singapore scene. The next letter was to be one of congratulations on the birth of their baby daughter.

In late January 1942 came the telegram that parents with children at war dread, knowing without opening it what are the likely contents. This one read, “Corporal K. A. Crittenden missing believed wounded”. This news was very distressing for the whole family. Ken was the youngest son, the younger brother who went on trips with his older brothers, was much loved by his nieces and nephews and the older brother who took a special interest in his younger sisters, and all the family were deeply affected. His mother lived in the hope he would return.

Considerable information has become widely accessible, especially through the internet, and Lynette Ramsay Silver a noted war historian's book “The Bridge at Parit Sulong”, has given us some precise information on Ken.

Ken’s battalion, the 2/19, was involved in the Battle of Muar, a battle in which from about 18 January to 22 January a vastly outnumbered force of Australian, British, and Indian troops, were gradually driven south from Muar to Parit Sulong by a vast, well equipped and generally more experienced Japanese force.

This jungle battle was as fierce as any of the war but has received little recognition at the time and apparently little since. Some 500 Australians from the 2/19 and 2/29 Battalions died in these days in the fighting leading up to and including 22 January.

Ken’s battalion, the 2/19th, became highly involved on 18 January near Bakri where they were engaged in countering a strong Japanese offensive. At first light on 20 January, the 2/19th pulled out of Bakri and began to retreat towards Parit Sulong, some 24 kilometres away, the 2/29th having pulled back earlier at midnight. Early on 21 January, according to Silver, “Corporal Crittenden’s much depleted 10 platoon” (p. 134) and others from the 2/19th battalion were sent to a rear position to help a hard pressed company from the 2/29th battalion.

She believes that as night fell on 21 January, the Australians probably all knew they were very unlikely to survive the following day. They had not had a proper sleep for days, they had not eaten for 24 hours, and the wounded were being wounded a second and third time. She gives a graphic description of the scene as first light broke on the 22 January. "As the night shadows faded, the pre-dawn light revealed a scene of utter desolation.. At the rear, D Company had also suffered heavily. Corporal Crittenden’s 10 Platoon, caught in cross fire while successfully repelling an attack, was all but wiped out, with every single member killed or wounded. Crittenden was among the killed (p. 149) on morning of 22 January 1942.