WARD, Keith St Clair
| Service Number: | 23367 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 7 July 1939 |
| Last Rank: | Petty Officer |
| Last Unit: | HMAS Penguin (IV) 1939-1940/HMAS Brisbane 1940-1942/HMAS Moreton (I) 1942-1994 (Depot) |
| Born: | Carlisle, Western Australia, 5 April 1922 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia, 4 October 1994, aged 72 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Hogbin Drive Crematorium & Memorial Gardens, Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia. |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 7 Jul 1939: | Enlisted Royal Australian Navy, Petty Officer, 23367, HMAS Penguin (IV) 1939-1940/HMAS Brisbane 1940-1942/HMAS Moreton (I) 1942-1994 (Depot) | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 Apr 1952: | Discharged Royal Australian Navy, Petty Officer, 23367, HMAS Penguin (IV) 1939-1940/HMAS Brisbane 1940-1942/HMAS Moreton (I) 1942-1994 (Depot) |
Help us honour Keith St Clair Ward's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Keith was the youngest of three children of Leslie (Les) St Clair Ward (1900 in Perth, WA) and Sophia (Sis) Louisa May Otway (b1898 in Beverley, WA). Les (a Teamster) and Sis married in Perth WA in 1919 following Les' return from WWI (Trooper/Driver; Service No3377). Les and Sis lived in carlisle, Canning WA where Les was a Labourer until their divorce in 1930. Sis remarried and Les travelled around the country looking for work before enlisting in the Army in 1940 (Private; Service No:NX26031). Les returned to Perth in 1942.
Keith was working as a Labourer in 1939 when he enlisted in the RAN (Ordinary Seaman; Service No:23367) and was a Petty Officer attached to HMAS Penguin when he was Discharged in April 1952. Brother Fred (Able Seaman: Service No:24049) also served in WWII and was one of the 645 men who perished when HMAS Sydney III was sunk by the German cruiser Cormoran in 1941.
In 1945 Keith married Eulie Ball (b1922) in Hurstville, NSW and they lived in Punchbowl, Sydney NSW until Keith 1954 (the 'St Clair' became 'Sinclair').Keith worked as an Electrical Mechanic following his Discharge and he and Eulie were in Joondanna WA in 1958, before returning to Sydney - Kingsgrove - NSW that year. The couple had settled in Kirrawee by 1963, where Keith worked as an Electrical Mechanic. Keith died in 1994.