KINGSBURY, Bruce Steel
| Service Number: | VX19139 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 16 May 1940, Caulfield, Victoria |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/14th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 29 May 1918 |
| Home Town: | Preston, Darebin, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Windsor State School & Melbourne Technical College, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Clerk |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Isurava, Papua New Guinea, 29 August 1942, aged 24 years |
| Cemetery: |
Port Moresby (Bomana) War Cemetery, Papua New Guinea Grave Ref. C 6 E 1 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Keith Payne VC Memorial Park, Marulan Private Bruce Kingsbury VC Memorial Rest Area, North Bondi War Memorial, Windsor Stonnington Primary School Private Bruce Steel Kingsbury VC Memorial Plaque |
World War 2 Service
| 16 May 1940: | Enlisted Caulfield, Victoria | |
|---|---|---|
| 29 May 1940: | Involvement Private, VX19139, 2nd/14th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW2 | |
| 29 May 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, VX19139, 2nd/14th Infantry Battalion | |
| 25 Nov 1940: | Involvement Private, VX19139, 2nd/14th Infantry Battalion, Middle East / Mediterranean Theatre | |
| 29 Aug 1942: | Involvement Private, VX19139, 2nd/14th Infantry Battalion, Kokoda - Papua |
Article from the Newcastle Herald & Miners Advocate -1oth Feb. 1943
Second V.C. for Heroism in New Guinea
CANBERRA, Tuesday.-The Victoria Cross has been awarded posthumously to Private Bruce Steel Kingsbury VX19139. of West Preston, Victoria, for most conspicuous bravery in operation, in New Guinea. This is the second V.C. to be awarded in the New Guinea campaign and the eleventh to be won by Australians in the present war. "This second V.C.," said tile Prime Minister (Mr. Curtin)." is an indication to the world of the deathless heroism of all the men who have taken part in the New Guinea campaign.
The family of the late Private Kingsbury will, I am sure, find solace in the knowledge that all Australians join with them in their proud grief." Advice that the King had approved the award was received by the Governor-General (Lord Gowrie) today. Firing a Bren gun from the hip, Kingsbury, during a counter-attack, rushed the enemy under terrific machine-gun fire, cleared a path through the enemy for his platoon, and was continuing to sweep the enemy position when he was shot dead by a sniper hiding in the woods. The citation giving details of this heroic action says Kingsbury's battalion had been holding a position in the Isurava area for two days against continuous and fierce enemy attack. On August 29, 1942, the enemy attacked in such force that they broke through the battalion's right flank, creating a serious threat to the battalion and its headquarters. To prevent the situation becoming more desperate it was essential to regain this lost ground. Immediately Kingsbury, one of the few survivors of a platoon which had been over- run by the enemy, immediately volunteered to join another platoon which had been ordered to counter- attack.
Submitted 29 August 2015 by Elizabeth Allen
Biography contributed by VWM Australia
Kingsbury, Bruce Steel (1918–1942)
by James C. McAllester
Bruce Steel Kingsbury, soldier and real-estate agent, was born on 8 January 1918 in Melbourne, second child of English-born parents Philip Blencowe Kingsbury, estate agent, and his wife Florence Annie, née Steel. Bruce was educated at Windsor State School and (on a scholarship) at Melbourne Technical College. At the outset of his career he preferred life in the bush and left the city for a job as caretaker on a farm at Boundary Bend by the Murray River. He and his boyhood friend Alan Avery later worked on sheep stations in New South Wales. Kingsbury returned to Melbourne, entered his father's real-estate business at Northcote and played in the Jika Cricket Association.
Enlisting in the Australian Imperial Force on 16 May 1940, Kingsbury was posted to the 2nd/2nd Pioneer Battalion before obtaining a transfer to Avery's unit, the 2nd/14th Battalion. The two young men were assigned to No.9 Platoon and formed a close friendship with Harry Saunders, brother of the Aboriginal soldier Captain Reg Saunders. The battalion embarked for the Middle East in October. After training in Palestine and garrisoning Mersa Matruh, Egypt, the unit took part in the invasion of Syria which began on 8 June 1941. On the 24th, at Jezzine in the Lebanese mountains, Kingsbury's platoon attacked a rocky peak, known as Hill 1284, which was held by the Vichy French. Although the assault failed, the French commander was to describe the courage and endurance of the Australian infantrymen that day as 'incomparable'.
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https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/kingsbury-bruce-steel-10745 (adb.anu.edu.au)
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