Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Son of William James KYNASTON, 15 Richardson Avenue, Claremont, Western Australia.

William, known as Bill, is a veteran of the Second World War. He enlisted in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in July 1943, aged 17. Bill underwent his initial training at HMAS Cerberus in Victoria where he qualified as a gunner. He was then posted to HMAS Leeuwin in WA where he had a stint sweeping for mines in the corvette HMAS Horsham. After retraining as a radar operator, Bill was posted to HMAS Medea, an old ferry converted into an auxiliary minesweeper. Bill spent the next 11 months clearing mines in the seas to the north and west of Australia. During this time, he was promoted to able seaman.

In May 1945, Bill was posted to the heavy cruiser HMAS Shropshire. After sailing to Borneo, Shropshire supported the Australian landings at Labuan and Balikpapan. Bill says that ‘one significant point was when we ran out of 8-inch (main guns) shells and had to rendezvous with a supply ship at sea’ — a complicated and dangerous task. At the end of the war, Shropshire sailed to Japan and Bill was onboard when Shropshire formed part of the Allied fleet assembled in Tokyo Bay for the surrender ceremony that formally ended the war.

Bill continued serving on HMAS Shropshire until March 1946 when his final posting was back to HMAS Leeuwin in Fremantle. In May 1946, he was discharged from the RAN. Bill says that he always knew what was expected of him while serving.

After the war, Bill worked as a senior executive for the ANZ Bank in NSW. He married Rona Louise McCrackan in January 1949 at Wickepin, WA. The couple went on to have two children. Sadly, Rona and both of their children have passed away. Bill has 4 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren.
When Bill was younger, he enjoyed crayfishing and travelling around the world.

Bill credits his long life to his genes, as his mum lived until the age of 99. He also enjoyed a brandy and dry every night just like his mum.