KERSWELL, Richard Edward
| Service Number: | QX39244 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 17 December 1941, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Last Rank: | Craftsman |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/122nd Independent Brigade Workshop |
| Born: | Camooweal, Queensland, 20 May 1907 |
| Home Town: | Home Hill, Burdekin, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Camooweal State School and Inkerman State School |
| Occupation: | Cane cutter |
| Died: | Died of wounds, New Guinea, 26 November 1943, aged 36 years |
| Cemetery: |
Lae War Cemetery |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Home Hill Roll of Honour |
World War 2 Service
| 17 Dec 1941: | Enlisted Private, QX39244, Brisbane, Queensland | |
|---|---|---|
| 17 Dec 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, QX39244 | |
| 18 Dec 1941: | Involvement Private, QX39244 | |
| 26 Nov 1943: | Involvement Craftsman, QX39244, 2nd/122nd Independent Brigade Workshop, New Guinea - Huon Peninsula / Markham and Ramu Valley /Finisterre Ranges Campaigns |
My Uncle Dick
My mother's older brother...
He was born on Gundaria, a station my grandparents owned just outside Camooweal in North Western Queensland, Australia in 1907... Dick was the second child for Richard Edwards Kerswell and Florence Mary Jones and his birth would be followed by four more brothers and one sister, all born at home on the station... His sister and one brother died before the family left Gundaria in 1915 and moved to a farm at the small town of Inkerman, a few miles from Home Hill...
The family soon increased by the births of five sisters and two more brothers...
When his father died in 1937, he became head of the household, his older brother having married two years beforehand...
The Inkerman property had failed quite badly over the years, despite the hard work put into it, so the decision was made to move into Home Hill... Uncle Dick lived at home, supporting the remaining family and never married...
He enlisted in December 1941, eventually embarked for New Guinea from Cairns on H.T. Allen in August 1943, died of wounds on 26th November, 1943... He was initially buried at Sattelberg, re-buried at Finschhaffen and finally at Lae in 1946...
Having been born in Home Hill, one month and one day before his death, I didn't have the opportunity to ever know him...
Submitted 26 November 2017 by Dawn Davies
Biography contributed by Elizabeth Allen
Richard Edward KERSWELL was born on 20th May, 1907 at Camooweal, Queensland
His parents were Richard Edward KERSWELL & Florence Mary JONES
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