Informationen zu Geburt

Geburtsdatum:
05/12/1892
Geburtsort:
Coolatai, New South Wales, Australia

Allgemeine Informationen

Beruf:
Miner

Informationen zum Armeedienst

Land:
Australia
Truppe:
Australian Imperial Force
Rang:
Private
Dienstnummer:
2938
Einberufung datum:
28/10/1916
Einberufung ort:
Inverell, New South Wales, Australia
Einheiten:
 —  Australian Infantry, 46th Bn.  (Letzte bekannte Einheit)

Informationen zu Tod

Sterbedatum:
01/10/1917
Sterbeort:
Tokio, Zonnebeke, Belgien
Todesursache:
Im Kampf gefallen
Alter:
24

Gedenkstätte

Auszeichnungen und Orden 2

British War Medal
Medaille
Victory Medal
Medaille

Punkte von Interesse 3

#1 Geburtsort
#2 Einberufung ort
#3 Ort des Todes (ungefähr)

Meine Geschichte

William Kennett was born in 1892 in Coolatai, New South Wales. He was the son of John Kennett and Mary Ann Mitchell. He had three sisters and two brothers. Before he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force he was a miner, like his father.

He enlisted in October 1916 and joined the 46th Battalion Australian Infantry, part of the 12th Brigade of the 4th Australian Division. The Division participated in the Battle of Polygon Wood, a phase of the Battle of Passchendaele. The attack started on the 26th of September 1917. The advance was to be carried out by the 4th and 13th Brigades of the 4th and the 5th Australian Divisions, while the 46th Battalion remained in reserve. William’s Battalion would not play a major role in the attacks until September 27th, when they moved into the frontline, between Tokio and Jabber House. The Broodseinde Ridge right in front of them.

The Battalion remained there, until the 1st of October 1917. “A” and “C” Companies were positioned in the front line, “D” Company was in close support and “B” Company was in reserve. The right half of the Battalion – near Jabber House - was relieved on the night of September 30th and October 1st. The left half – at Tokio - on the night of October 1st and 2nd of October 1917.

A diary entry from Private N. Pope, from the same Battalion as William, shows that on September 30th, 25 men of “B” Company were killed due to German shelling. On the 1st of October the 46th Battalion was heavily shelled for over two hours.

Twenty-Four year old William Kennett was killed on the 1st of October, while his Battalion held the line near Tokio. He has no known grave and is remembered on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, panel 27F.

Dateien 1

Quellen 8

AIF Project
https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=163009
Verwendete Quellen
Australian War Memorial
https://www.awm.gov.au/advanced-search/people?people_preferred_name=kennett&people_service_number=2938&people_unit=
Verwendete Quellen
CWGC
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/924668/kennett,-william/
Verwendete Quellen
Discovering Anzacs
https://discoveringanzacs.naa.gov.au/browse/person/226430
Verwendete Quellen
Polanksi, I.L., "We Were the 46th: the History of the 46th Battalion in the Great War of 1914-1918", Box Hill, Polanksi, 1999, pg. 56-57.
Verwendete Quellen
Service Files
https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=7363630&isAv=N
Verwendete Quellen
Trench Maps
https://maps.nls.uk/ww1/trenches/
Verwendete Quellen
War Diary
https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1339183
Verwendete Quellen