Tag: 5th cousin 1x removed

Biography of Leading Aircraftman Tich Kemsley

Frederick Charles “Tich” Kemsley, a Dover-born miner, served as Leading Aircraftman in the RAF’s Balloon Command during World War II. He died from a long illness on 21 February 1943 at age 24, and is buried in Dover. His service contributed to Britain’s aerial defense, highlighting the significance of Balloon Command.

Frederick Charles “Tich” Kemsley: A Detailed Biography

Leading Aircraftman Frederick Charles “Tich” Kemsley (service number 538183) was a Dover‑born miner who served in the Royal Air Force with Balloon Command during the Second World War. He died, after a long illness connected with his wartime service, at King Edward VII Emergency Hospital, Midhurst, Sussex, on 21 February 1943, aged 24, and is buried at Buckland, St Andrew, Dover. [1][2]

Early Life and Family

Frederick Charles Kemsley was born about December 1918 in Dover, Kent, his birth registered in the December quarter of 1918 in the Dover Registration District (Volume 02A, Page 1615). He was the son of Albert Valentine Kemsley and his wife Clara Ann, née Ballard, a Kentish family rooted in the Dover area. [1]

The 1921 census records the Kemsley family living at 19 Primrose Road, Dover, where Frederick appears as a two‑year‑old son in the household. This address, close to the town’s working‑class districts and its port, suggests a childhood shaped by Dover’s status as a Channel town still marked by the legacy of the First World War. [1]

By 1934, Frederick was employed as an underground engine driver at Snowdown Colliery, one of Kent’s main coal mines, while still resident at 19 Primrose Road. Working below ground in the colliery demanded both physical resilience and mechanical skill, qualities that would later translate well into technical work within the Royal Air Force. [1]

Military Service

At some point after 1934, Kemsley left the pits and joined the Royal Air Force, eventually holding the non‑commissioned rank of Leading Aircraftman (LAC), service number 538183. [1] LAC was the grade immediately above aircraftman, typically held by experienced ground crew and technical personnel whose skills were vital to day‑to‑day operations. [1][3]

His individual report places his RAF service at Manchester, Lancashire, within 10 Balloon Centre of No. 33 Group, Balloon Command, headquartered at Parkhead House, Abbey Lane, Sheffield, Yorkshire. [1][4][5][6] No. 33 Group was responsible for barrage balloon defence across parts of northern England, including key industrial and port cities such as Manchester and Sheffield. [4][5]

RAF Balloon Command, formed in 1938, controlled a network of balloon groups and centres that deployed barrage balloons over cities, docks and industrial targets to obstruct low‑level Luftwaffe attacks. By forcing enemy bombers to higher altitudes, the balloons reduced bombing accuracy and made the aircraft more vulnerable to anti‑aircraft guns and fighters. [4][7][8][9] Within this structure, 10 Balloon Centre—listed in wartime orders of battle at Bowlee, near Middleton, Manchester—controlled balloon squadrons protecting Manchester and surrounding areas. [5][6][10]

As a Leading Aircraftman in Balloon Command, Kemsley likely served on or in support of a barrage balloon site, handling the winching gear, cables and gas, maintaining equipment, and helping to raise and lower the balloons in response to weather and raids. Contemporary accounts describe balloon operating as physically demanding and often hazardous work, carried out in exposed conditions and at all hours to maintain Britain’s aerial shield. [1][7][8][11][9]

Circumstances of Death

Civil registration shows that Frederick Charles Kemsley died on 21 February 1943 at King Edward VII Emergency Hospital, Midhurst, Sussex, his death registered in the Midhurst district (Volume 2B, Page 745, line number 102). [1] A notice in the Dover Express of 26 February 1943 reported that L.A.C. Kemsley had died at this hospital “after nine months’ suffering, patiently borne,” indicating a long illness or injury period prior to death rather than a sudden operational fatality. [1]

The hospital at Midhurst functioned during the war as an emergency and military hospital, treating service personnel suffering from wounds, illness or conditions aggravated by service. Kemsley’s transfer there from his northern posting suggests that his condition was serious enough to warrant specialist or long‑term care away from his home unit. [1]

Four years later, on 21 February 1947, the Dover Express carried an “In Memoriam” notice from his parents and brother George, which read:

“KEMSLEY.—Loving thoughts and treasured memories of a dear son,
Frederick Charles Kemsley (Tich), who was called to higher service on Feb.
21st, 1943, aged 24 years.—From Mum, Dad and brother George.” [1]

The wording “called to higher service” reflects both the family’s Christian faith and the high regard in which they held his RAF service, emphasising that his death at 24 was seen as a sacrifice bound up with the wider war effort, even if not the result of a single dramatic incident. [1]

Burial and Commemoration

After his death, Frederick’s body was brought home to Dover for burial. He was laid to rest in Buckland, St Andrew churchyard, Dover, in Section B.G., Grave 9. [1] The Dover War Memorial Project notes that he was 24 and that representatives from RAF Headquarters at Dover attended his funeral, underlining the official recognition given to his service. [2]

His grave is recorded and maintained as a war grave, and his details appear on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s online database under the entry for Leading Aircraftman Frederick Charles Kemsley. The CWGC record confirms his full name, rank, service number 538183, unit as Royal Air Force, date of death as 21 February 1943, and place of burial at Buckland, St Andrew. [1][2]

A further memorial entry on Find a Grave (Memorial ID 33223819) also commemorates him in Buckland churchyard, providing a focal point for family members and researchers tracing the Kemsley family and Dover’s wartime casualties. [1] Together, these records ensure that his name remains part of the public roll of honour for Dover men who served and died in the Second World War.

Legacy

Frederick Charles “Tich” Kemsley’s life illustrates the journey of many working‑class young men from Britain’s industrial and mining communities into highly responsible technical roles within the wartime RAF. From underground engine driver at Snowdown Colliery to Leading Aircraftman in Balloon Command, his skills and labour shifted from fuelling the civilian economy to defending British cities and industry from aerial attack. [1][4][7][8]

Balloon Command’s work has sometimes been overshadowed by the more dramatic narratives of fighter and bomber operations, yet historians now stress its importance as a key layer in Britain’s air defences. Its barrage balloon screens, including those operated under No. 33 Group and 10 Balloon Centre at Manchester, significantly complicated German low‑level bombing and helped save lives and infrastructure in repeated raids. Kemsley’s role within this command formed part of that broader defensive shield. [4][5][7][8][9]

Within his own family, Frederick is remembered in memorial notices and genealogical research as “Tich,” a term of affection that hints at his personality and presence in the household at 19 Primrose Road. [1] In the wider community, he is one of the Dover casualties documented by the Dover War Memorial Project, which has helped restore individual identities to the names behind local war memorials. [2] For descendants and relatives, his story preserves the memory of a young Dover man whose quiet but vital service in Balloon Command contributed to the defence of his country and who bore his final illness with patience and courage.

Sources
[1] Individual-Report-for-Frederick-Charles-Kemsley.pdf
[2] World War Two – Service … – THE DOVER WAR MEMORIAL PROJECT https://doverwarmemorialproject.org.uk/Casualties/WWIInotinbook/SurnamesKandL.htm
[3] Leading aircraftman – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leading_aircraftman
[4] RAF Balloon Command – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Balloon_Command
[5] 1940 Status – Balloon Barrage Reunion Club http://www.bbrclub.org/1940%20Status.htm
[6] Balloon Command – Jan 1943 – rafweb.org http://rafweb.org/Members%20Pages/Orders%20of%20Battle/1943/1943_01_Balloon.htm
[7] RAF Balloon Command – the Second World War https://www.thesecondworldwar.org/western-front-1939-1940/battle-of-britain-1/the-raf-1/balloon-command
[8] RAF Balloon Command https://www.thesecondworldwar.org/western-front-1939-1940/battle-of-britain/raf-balloon-command
[9] Barrage Balloons: The RAF Squadrons That Defended WWII Britain https://www.forcesnews.com/news/aviation-history/barrage-balloons-what-were-raf-squadrons-which-defended-wwii-britain
[10] Barrage Balloon Organisations of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrage_Balloon_Organisations_of_the_Royal_Auxiliary_Air_Force
[11] WW2 People’s War – Balloon Command/Bomber Command – BBC https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/46/a1072946.shtml
[12] United Kingdom – Balloon Command – Nevington War Museum https://www.nevingtonwarmuseum.com/united-kingdom—balloon-command.html
[13] Balloon Units – rafweb.org https://www.rafweb.org/Members%20Pages/Unt%20Histories/Miscellaneous/Balloon.htm
[14] Balloon Command was the Royal Air Force command … – Facebook https://www.facebook.com/HistoryukEIRE/posts/balloon-command-was-the-royal-air-force-command-which-was-responsible-for-contro/1075303702591278/
[15] CMHS :: DLAW :: Category :: Fleet Air Arm – University of Exeter https://cmhs-data.exeter.ac.uk/cmhs-data/dlaw/category/69/
[16] Caribbean aircrew in the RAF during WW2 https://www.caribbeanaircrew-ww2.com/?page_id=108
[17] Elliott, James (Leading Aircraftman) – CASPIR https://caspir.warplane.com/personnel/unit-search/p/600030803
[18] Barrage Balloons at the Tower of London in the Second World War https://www.hrp.org.uk/blog/barrage-balloons-at-the-tower-of-london-in-the-second-world-war/
[19] Balloon Command – Jun 1942 – rafweb.org https://www.rafweb.org/Members%20Pages/Orders%20of%20Battle/1942/1942_06_Balloon.htm
[20] Rare WW2 British Commanding Officers No9 Balloon Command … https://www.militariazone.com/general-other/rare-ww2-british-commanding-officers-no9-balloon-command-signed-menu/itm77677
[21] Royal Air Force Balloon Command, 1939-1945 Royal … – Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/6124479674262184/posts/royal-air-force-balloon-command-1939-1945royal-air-force-balloon-command-1939-19/8934983439878446/

Lance Sergeant Hope Albert Kaufmann 2/22 Battalion AIF Soldier Killed at Rabaul, New Britain 1942

Geelong-born Lance Sergeant Hope Albert Kaufmann VX24108, 2/22 Battalion AIF, died on New Britain after the fall of Rabaul in February 1942. This article traces his family roots, marriage, war service and commemoration at Rabaul War Cemetery and Memorial in Papua New Guinea.

Hope Albert Kaufmann: A Detailed Biography

Early Life and Family

Hope Albert Kaufmann was born on 28 August 1909 in Geelong, Victoria, Australia, the younger son of Albert Isaac Louis Kaufmann and Mabel Fanny (Mabella Fanny) Johnston. [1] He grew up in a close-knit family with at least one older brother, Louis Robert Ernest “Lou” Kaufmann, who was born in Geelong in 1901. [1][2] The Kaufmann family had strong roots in the Geelong district, and this local connection would remain important throughout Hope’s life.

Hope’s mother, Mabel, died before his marriage, and his father continued to be described as “of Geelong” in later newspaper reports. [1] The family’s background was solidly middle-class, and the brothers’ later military service suggests a strong sense of duty and patriotism. Louis would also enlist in the Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF), serving as a Staff Sergeant in an Australian Port Detachment, indicating a family tradition of wartime service. [1][2]

As a young adult, Hope resided in the Newtown and Chilwell area of Corio, Victoria, close to central Geelong. [1] Electoral and residence data place him in Newtown and Chilwell in 1931 and again in 1942, showing continuity of residence and suggesting that he remained closely tied to his home district until he enlisted and embarked for overseas service. [1]

Early Life and Family (Marriage and Social Life)

On 19 August 1939, shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, Hope married Gloria Nancy Wallace at St Joseph’s Church, Malvern, Victoria. [1] A contemporary newspaper report described the wedding as being “quietly celebrated,” with the Reverend Father O’Hea officiating and Mr Douglas Wallace acting as best man. [1][3] Gloria was the youngest daughter of Mrs C. A. Wallace and the late Mr Wallace of Elwood, indicating that she too came from a respectable urban Melbourne family. [1]

The report gives a rare glimpse of the couple’s social world. Gloria wore an ensemble of magnolia fine wool with matching accessories and a single mauve orchid fastened to her coat, while the reception at the Hotel Windsor was decorated with pink carnations and pastel-shaded flowers. [1] This description suggests a tasteful, if modest, middle-class celebration on the eve of war. No children are recorded from the marriage, and the couple’s domestic life together appears to have been tragically brief, curtailed by Hope’s military service and subsequent death. [1]

Hope’s brother Louis followed a different wartime path, enlisting in 1940 while living at Skipton, Victoria, and later being discharged in April 1943 as a Staff Sergeant with an Australian Port Detachment in the 2nd AIF. [1][2] Louis returned to civilian life, dying at Geelong in 1974, and his wife Una Mary Allard died in 1984, underlining the contrast between the surviving brother’s post-war family life and Hope’s early death in 1942. [1][2]

Military Service

During the Second World War, Hope Albert Kaufmann enlisted in the Second Australian Imperial Force and served in the Australian Infantry. [1] His military rank was Lance Sergeant and his service number was VX24108, indicating enlistment in Victoria. [1] He was posted to the 2/22 Battalion, Second AIF, part of the Australian Army’s 8th Division units allocated to the defence of Australia’s northern approaches.

The 2/22 Battalion formed the bulk of “Lark Force,” a composite garrison sent to Rabaul, on the island of New Britain, then part of the Australian-mandated Territory of New Guinea. [4][5] The battalion, about 900 men strong, arrived in Rabaul around Anzac Day 1941 and was combined with local New Guinea Volunteer Rifles units, coastal and anti-aircraft batteries, and elements of the 2/10th Field Ambulance and 17th Anti-Tank Battery to form Lark Force. [6][7] Their role was to protect the key airfields at Lakunai and Vunakanau and the seaplane base at Simpson Harbour, providing early warning of Japanese movements through the islands to Australia’s north. [4][8]

Lark Force, including the 2/22 Battalion, was chronically under-resourced and significantly outnumbered by the Japanese forces that would confront them. [4][5] By December 1941, as war with Japan commenced, Rabaul’s garrison of roughly 1,400 Australian troops faced the prospect of a major enemy landing. [6] Nevertheless, the 2/22 Battalion spent months constructing defensive positions and acclimatising to tropical conditions, preparing as best they could for an anticipated Japanese assault. [7] As a Lance Sergeant in the battalion, Hope would have borne responsibility for leading and managing a small group of men under increasingly difficult and dangerous conditions.

Circumstances of Death

The Japanese invasion of Rabaul began on 23 January 1942, when some 5,000 Japanese troops landed, overwhelming Lark Force, which was outnumbered by nearly five to one. [5][8] In the face of overwhelming air and ground attacks, resistance collapsed, and the garrison commander, Colonel Scanlan, is recorded as issuing an “every man for himself” order. [5] The fall of Rabaul was one of the worst Australian defeats of the war, resulting in extensive casualties, mass surrender, and, over subsequent months, deaths in captivity and at sea. [9][10]

On 4 February 1942, groups of Australian soldiers and civilians from Rabaul who had been attempting to escape or had surrendered were captured by Japanese forces at Tol and Waitavalo plantations on New Britain. [11][9] Contemporary and later accounts describe how between 123 and 150 Australian soldiers and civilians were bayoneted, shot, or both, after surrendering, in what became known as the Tol and Waitavalo massacres. [11][9] Many of these victims were from 2/22 Battalion and attached units who had fled south from Rabaul following the invasion. [9][5]

The official record for Lance Sergeant Hope Albert Kaufmann gives his date of death as 4 February 1942 in Papua New Guinea, which aligns with the date of the Tol-Waitavalo massacres during the chaotic retreat from Rabaul. [1][3] While his exact fate is not individually documented in surviving records, it is highly likely that he died during or as a result of these massacres, along with many comrades from the 2/22 Battalion and associated units. [11][9] Overall, it is estimated that around 1,400 of the 1,700 Australian men present at Rabaul at the time of invasion died through combat, massacre, sinking (notably on the Montevideo Maru), disease, or hardship while attempting to escape. [9]

Burial and Commemoration

Hope Albert Kaufmann is commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) as a Lance Sergeant in the Australian Infantry, 2/22 Battalion, Second AIF, with service number VX24108. [1][4] His place of commemoration is the Rabaul (Bita Paka) War Cemetery and Rabaul Memorial, located near Kokopo, East New Britain, Papua New Guinea. [1] Within this cemetery and memorial complex, his name appears on Panel 16 of the Rabaul Memorial, which honours those who have no known grave but who died in the New Britain and New Ireland campaigns. [1][4]

The CWGC record confirms his date of death as 4 February 1942 and records him as the son of Albert Isaac Louis Kaufmann and Mabel Fanny Kaufmann, and the husband of Gloria Nancy Kaufmann of Elwood, Victoria. [1] This matches the family details found in genealogical and newspaper sources, linking the official commemoration to the personal story of his family in Geelong and Melbourne. [1][3] In addition to his CWGC commemoration, Hope is also remembered on a Find a Grave memorial (ID 23808242), which further records his service and sacrifice and provides a focal point for family and researchers unable to visit Papua New Guinea. [1]

The Rabaul (Bita Paka) War Cemetery and Rabaul Memorial collectively commemorate hundreds of Australian soldiers and airmen who died during the defence of New Britain and in subsequent captivity. [4][8] In this setting, Hope’s name stands among many of his comrades from the 2/22 Battalion and other elements of Lark Force, reflecting the scale of the losses suffered by this small garrison in early 1942. [9][5]

Legacy

Within his extended family, Hope Albert Kaufmann’s memory has been preserved through genealogical research and local historical work. The Mundarra and Mundarra Park Soldier Settlement history notes that his elder brother Louis’s younger brother “died on Rabaul in 1942 with the 2/22 Infantry Battalion, 2nd AIF,” explicitly linking Hope’s death to the Rabaul campaign. [1][2] This family-level remembrance keeps his story alive alongside that of Louis, who survived the war and returned to Geelong. [1]

More broadly, Hope’s service and death form part of the collective memory of Lark Force and the 2/22 Battalion. Modern accounts of the fall of Rabaul, the Tol and Waitavalo massacres, and the sinking of the Montevideo Maru stress the heavy price paid by Australian forces in New Britain, with casualty estimates suggesting an 82 per cent death rate among the 1,700 Australian men present at the time of the Japanese invasion. [9][10] The 2/22 Battalion is often described as having been “sacrificed” as part of a flawed strategy of deploying small, isolated forces (“penny packeting”) in the path of a far stronger enemy. [5] In this context, Lance Sergeant Hope Albert Kaufmann’s story illustrates both the courage and the vulnerability of those sent to defend Australia’s northern approaches in 1941–42.

Today, Hope is remembered not only on official memorials but also within online communities and local histories that honour the men of the 2/22 Battalion and Lark Force. [5][12] His life story—rooted in Geelong and Newtown and Chilwell, crowned by marriage to Gloria Nancy Wallace in Malvern, and cut short in the desperate retreat from Rabaul—embodies the personal cost of a campaign that remains one of the most tragic chapters in Australia’s wartime history. [1][4]

Sources
[1] Individual-Report-for-Hope-Albert-Kaufmann.pdf
[2] Mundarra & Mundarra Park Soldier Settlement (WW2), Edenhope https://www.swvic.au/casterton/mundarra-soldier-settlement-WW2.htm
[3] 18 Mar 1946 – Family Notices – Trove – National Library of Australia https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/22234835
[4] Fall of Rabaul – Australian War Memorial https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/fallofrabaul
[5] 2nd/22nd Infantry Battalion – Virtual War Memorial Australia https://vwma.org.au/explore/units/542
[6] Fall of Rabaul – Anzac Portal – DVA https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/world-war-ii-1939-1945/events/japanese-advance-december-1941-march-1942/fall-rabaul
[7] A R Tolmer – 22nd Battalion (Lark Force) https://www.soldierspng.com/?page_id=5505
[8] Battle for Australia Association Fall of Rabaul – January 1942 https://www.battleforaustralia.asn.au/Rabaul.php
[9] Montevideo Maru – pngvr https://pngvr.weebly.com/montevideo-maru1.html
[10] Antimalarial Drug Supply Issues during the Second World War – JMVH https://jmvh.org/article/antimalarial-drug-supply-issues-during-world-war-ii/
[11] ARTHUR GULLIDGE & THE BAND OF THE 2/22ND BATTALION https://rusinsw.org.au/Monographs/Monograph10.pdf
[12] 2/22nd Battalion 2nd AIF – Facebook https://www.facebook.com/222ndBattalion2ndAif/
[13] Japanese march on Rabaul, New Britain 1942 – Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/492497106546332/posts/854514700344569/
[14] [PDF] Memorial News 18 https://montevideo-maru.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/18September10.pdf
[15] 2/2nd Battalion (Australia) – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2/2nd_Battalion_(Australia)
[16] https://artilleryocshistory.org/uploads/1/4/5/9/145902858/faocs_ww_ii_kia_a-e_book_1.pdf
[17] A Regiment in Action https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/234781277.pdf
[18] On this day 23 January 1942 Rabaul was invaded by Japanese … https://www.facebook.com/SalvosMuseums/posts/on-this-day-23-january-1942-rabaul-was-invaded-by-japanese-military-forces-the-2/2363945240464709/
[19] [PDF] Homages from Monthly Meetings AUSTRALIAN MILITARY HISTORY https://northbeach-rsl.asn.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/HOMAGE-History-Book-V2-2024-08-12.pdf
[20] What’s the story? [49th Armored Infantry Battalion] https://worldwartwoveterans.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Whats-the-story-Company-B-49th-Armored-Infantry-Battalion.pdf
[21] HEADQUARTERS https://29thdivisionassociation.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/AAR-42-Historical-Record-1942.pdf

Percy Victor Kent: A Soldier Lost at Sea

Percy Victor Kent, a Craftsman in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, was onboard the troopship SS Benalbanach when it was sunk by a German U-boat on January 7, 1943. Commemorated on the Brookwood Memorial, Percy’s legacy highlights the sacrifices of support personnel in World War II, while his family mourned his loss.

Percy Victor Kent: A Detailed Biography

Craftsman Percy Victor Kent [1] of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) was one of the many British soldiers lost at sea during the Second World War when the troopship SS Benalbanach was sunk en route to North Africa on 7 January 1943. A married motor driver from South East London, he served with 12 Base Workshops REME and is today commemorated on the Brookwood 1939–1945 Memorial in Surrey for those with no known grave [1][2][3].

Early Life and Family

Percy Victor Kent was born on 23 June 1909 in Camberwell, Surrey (now South East London), his birth registered in the September Quarter of 1909 (Camberwell, Volume 1D, Page 779) [1]. He was the son of Herbert Sidney Kent and Elizabeth (Eliza) Kent, née Mount, a family rooted in the rapidly expanding London suburbs [1]. By the 1911 Census, the Kent family lived at 130 Landcroft Road, Dulwich, where one-year-old Percy appeared as the youngest child in the household [1].

By 1921 the family had moved to 23 Nunhead Crescent, Camberwell, where 12-year-old Percy was recorded as a school-age son, reflecting the steady, lower-middle-class stability of many London families between the wars [1]. Electoral registers show Percy still at 23 Nunhead Crescent in 1934, suggesting a close-knit household and limited social mobility typical of interwar London [1].

On the eve of the Second World War, the 1939 Register lists Percy V. Kent, born 23 June 1909, living at 36 Linden Grove, Camberwell, employed as a motor driver for a fishmonger [1]. This occupation demanded early starts and familiarity with London’s markets and roads, skills that would later translate naturally into the mechanical and transport roles of REME. In about June 1938, Percy married Vera M. Timms in Camberwell Registration District (Volume 1D, Page 1700) [1]. The couple settled in South East London, and later records describe Vera as living in Peckham, London [1]. No children are recorded from this marriage, and Percy’s death left Vera a young war widow.

Military Service

Percy enlisted in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME), the corps created in 1942 to centralise the Army’s technical maintenance and repair services. He served as a Craftsman, the REME equivalent of a private but denoting a skilled tradesman, under Service Number 10567554 [1]. His civilian experience as a motor driver almost certainly influenced his allocation to REME, whose role was to keep the Army’s vehicles, weapons and equipment operational in the field [1][4].

Within REME, Percy was posted to 12 Base Workshops, a large static repair and overhaul facility supporting field forces overseas [1]. Base Workshops were major industrial complexes, often established in rear areas such as Egypt, Algeria or later Italy, where heavy repairs beyond the capacity of field units were undertaken [5]. Technicians like Percy dealt with everything from trucks and tanks to artillery and specialist machinery, essential to sustaining large-scale operations in the Western Desert and Mediterranean theatres [4][5].

War Office casualty lists record Percy as “Missing” following an incident at sea on 7 January 1943, his fate first reported to the Casualty Section for the 48 hours ending 09:00 on 1 February 1943 (Casualty List No. 1047) [1]. Later, on Casualty List No. 1227 dated 1 September 1943, his status was updated to “Presumed Killed in Action”, still with duty location given as “At Sea” [1]. This pattern is typical for soldiers lost in major maritime disasters, where confirmation of death could be delayed for many months.

Circumstances of Death

Further evidence from naval wreck records identifies Percy as one of the casualties of the SS Benalbanach. The wreck database entry for this ship lists: “KENT, PERCY VICTOR (33), Craftsman (no. 10567554), Benalbanach SS, †07/01/1943, 12 Base Workshops. Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers” [2].

SS Benalbanach was a British passenger/cargo ship built in 1940 and employed as a troop transport during the war. On 7 January 1943, while carrying troops and equipment to support the Allied campaign in North Africa following Operation Torch, she was torpedoed and sunk off the coast of Algeria by a German U-boat (U-406) in the Mediterranean [2][6]. The attack caused catastrophic loss of life; many soldiers and crew drowned or were lost in the explosion and sinking.

Percy’s official record simply notes that he died “At Sea” on 7 January 1943, aged 33, with his fate initially recorded as Missing and later Presumed Killed in Action [1]. Given the match of date, duty location, regiment, and the wreck-site listing, it is clear that he was aboard SS Benalbanach when she was sunk [2]. Like many of those on board, his body was never recovered, which explains his commemoration on a memorial rather than a known grave.

Burial and Commemoration

Because his remains were never found, Craftsman Percy Victor Kent is commemorated on the Brookwood 1939–1945 Memorial in Surrey, United Kingdom, rather than in a cemetery plot [1]. The memorial stands within Brookwood Military Cemetery, near Woking, and commemorates nearly 3,500 men and women of the land forces of the Commonwealth who died during the Second World War and have no known grave [3][7]. Many of these, like Percy, were lost at sea when troopships were sunk, or died in aircraft and other accidents where no remains could be identified [3].

His CWGC entry records him as:
“Craftsman PERCY VICTOR KENT, 10567554, 12 Base Workshops, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, 7 January 1943, age 33; son of Herbert Sidney and Eliza Kent; husband of Vera Kent, of Peckham, London.” [1]. His name is carved on Panel 20, Column 1 of the Brookwood 1939–1945 Memorial [1].

Percy is also commemorated on Find a Grave – Brookwood 1939–1945 Memorial, where his details are preserved for family historians and visitors [1][7]. The Brookwood memorial itself has become a focal point for those researching relatives lost in obscure ship losses, crashes, and other untold wartime tragedies [3].

Legacy

In civilian life, Percy was a South East London tradesman—a motor driver and fishmonger’s employee—who married Vera Timms shortly before the war and built a modest life in Peckham and Camberwell [1]. In uniform, he became a skilled Craftsman of REME, part of the corps that kept the mechanised British Army functioning in demanding theatres from North Africa to Italy [1][4]. His transition from fishmonger’s van to military workshops reflects the wider mobilisation of British industry and labour into technical service roles during the conflict.

For his wartime service, Percy qualified for the 1939–45 Star and the War Medal 1939–1945 [1]. As 5th cousin once removed to modern descendants, his story links family genealogy with global events, illustrating how a distant cousin’s name on a memorial connects personal ancestry with the history of the Mediterranean war [1].

The sinking of SS Benalbanach, which claimed the lives of Percy and many comrades, underscores the peril faced not only by front-line combat troops but also by the technicians, drivers, and support personnel essential to Allied victory [2][3]. Through records preserved by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, wreck databases, and the Brookwood memorial, Percy’s name and sacrifice remain publicly honoured. His widow Vera, and his parents Herbert and Eliza, would have carried the private grief of his loss; today, his memory endures in both local London history and the wider story of REME’s contribution to the war.

Sources:

  • [1] Individual Report for Percy Victor Kent (PDF)
  • [2] SS Benalbanach – Wrecksite entry (lists Percy Victor Kent, 12 Base Workshops REME)
  • [5] REME 12 Base Workshop – Maple Leaf Up forum discussion
  • [3] The Brookwood Memorial 1939–1945 – Researching WW2
  • [6] List of shipwrecks in January 1943 – overview of Mediterranean losses
  • CWGC: Percy Victor Kent
  • Find a Grave: Percy Victor Kent

Sources
[1] Individual-Report-for-Percy-Victor-Kent.pdf
[2] BENALBANACH PASSENGER/CARGO SHIP 1940-1943 – Wreck Site https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?32106
[3] The Brookwood Memorial 1939-1945 https://www.researchingww2.co.uk/the-brookwood-memorial-1939-1945/
[4] REME History – Major Buckby MC – REME Museum https://www.rememuseum.org.uk/blog/reme-history-major-buckby
[5] REME 12 Base workshop – MLU FORUM http://www.mapleleafup.net/forums/showthread.php?t=10499
[6] List of shipwrecks in January 1943 – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_shipwrecks_in_January_1943
[7] Brookwood 1939-1945 Memorial – Find a Grave https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2261488/brookwood-1939-1945-memorial
[8] No 1 Advanced Base Workshop REME War Diary – 1943 – WW2Talk https://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads%2Fno-1-advanced-base-workshop-reme-war-diary-1943.28513%2F
[9] WW2 People’s War – With REME – BBC https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/76/a4462076.shtml
[10] No 1 Combined Training Centre, Inveraray – HMS Quebec https://www.combinedops.com/Training%20No1%20CTC.htm
[11] RNPS Memorial by vessel name http://www.rnpsa.co.uk/cms/memorial/mem_vessel.htm
[12] The Pioneer Corps, British Army of the Rhine 1943-46 https://www.britishbadgeforum.com/the-pioneer-corps-british-army-of-the-rhine-1943-46/
[13] Chronological List of U.S. Ships Sunk or Damaged during 1943 http://www.usmm.org/sunk43.html
[14] SS Banalbanach sunk 7 Jan 1943 | Page 2 – WW2Talk https://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads%2Fss-banalbanach-sunk-7-jan-1943.18701%2Fpage-2
[15] Headquarters, 1st Airborne Division – The Pegasus Archive https://www.pegasusarchive.org/sicily/war_divhq.htm
[16] Martin James Jennings – The Canadian Virtual War Memorial https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/2667231
[17] [PDF] Canada’s Craftsmen at 50! – rceme/gemrc https://rcemecorpsgemrc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Canadas_Craftsmen_at_50_Feb2010.pdf
[18] Brookwood Military Cemetery (CWG) Near Woking, Surrey ,UK … https://www.facebook.com/groups/2626189084317964/posts/2725952504341621/
[19] 1st (Airborne) Division Workshops REME https://paradata.org.uk/content/4634518-1st-airborne-division-workshops-reme
[20] mapsterman https://ww2sunkenships.ca/author/mapsterman/page/2/
[21] the british army during the campaign in italy, september 1943 https://www.facebook.com/groups/WWIIHistory/posts/2006313093159748/

Thomas John Keelan: Merchant Navy Hero

Thomas John Keelan (1909-1943), Liverpool Merchant Navy fireman, lost at sea during WWII Battle of the Atlantic. Survived U-boat torpedo on SS Empire Shackleton but drowned on rescue ship Janvan. Commemorated on Tower Hill Memorial, honoring 24,000 seamen with no grave but the ocean.

Thomas John Keelan: A Detailed Biography

Early Life and Family

Thomas John Keelan was born on 3 October 1909 in Liverpool, Lancashire, England, the son of James Patrick Keelan and Dora Pilcher [1]. Growing up in the industrial heart of north-west England during the Edwardian era and the Great War, young Thomas would have witnessed the profound social changes reshaping British society. By 1911, the Keelan family were residing at 28 Maria Road, Walton-on-the-Hill, Lancashire [1], an area that housed many working-class families employed in Liverpool’s bustling docks and maritime industries. The family’s proximity to the Mersey estuary would prove formative; maritime employment was the lifeblood of the region, and by his teen years, Thomas had chosen a seafaring career [1].

In the inter-war period, whilst many of his contemporaries sought work in other industries, Thomas followed the maritime tradition. By 1921, at eleven years old, he was recorded as a scholar at his school in Walton-on-the-Hill [1]. However, the economic uncertainties of the 1920s and 1930s would have shaped his early adulthood. On approximately October 1931, Thomas married Mary Cusack in West Derby, Lancashire [1]. The young couple settled in the Bootle area of Liverpool, establishing their home at 37 Brasenose Road, where Mary remained during the Second World War [1].

By September 1939, when the National Register was compiled, Thomas was employed as a wharf labourer in Bootle [1], but his career at sea was about to accelerate dramatically. In a nation mobilized for total war, experienced seafarers became invaluable assets. His physical description from official merchant marine records shows he stood 5 feet 8 inches tall, with blue eyes and dark brown hair, bearing a dark complexion [1].

Military Service and Merchant Navy Career

Like so many British working men of his generation, Thomas John Keelan answered the call to service, joining the Merchant Navy during the Second World War. He held the rank of Fireman and Trimmer, a position of considerable responsibility aboard cargo vessels [1]. Fireman and Trimmers were essential crew members responsible for maintaining the ship’s boilers and engines—demanding, dangerous work that required skill, vigilance, and nerves of steel. The role was particularly hazardous during wartime, as these men worked deep within the ship’s engine rooms, often unaware of external threats until catastrophe struck [2].

Thomas’s service record indicates he held a Seaman’s Certificate and was registered with the Prudential Health Society [1]. His continuous discharge certificate, produced on 12 December 1942 at Liverpool, shows he had completed a P.T. (Passage Transport) voyage, gaining valuable experience in the dangerous waters of the Atlantic [1]. In December 1942, Thomas was assigned to the SS Empire Shackleton, a cargo steamer of 7,068 gross tons registered at Greenock, Scotland, with official number 169666 [1].

The Empire Shackleton was one of the standardized “Empire” class vessels built during the Second World War to replace merchant ships lost to enemy action [3]. These workhorses carried vital supplies and cargo across the world’s oceans, but they remained vulnerable to submarine attack and other hazards of wartime maritime commerce.

Circumstances of Death

In late December 1942, the SS Empire Shackleton departed on what would prove to be a fatal voyage. The ship was proceeding northward across the Atlantic, carrying supplies and cargo vital to the Allied war effort. On 1 January 1943 (some records indicating 29 December 1942, with discrepancies in documentation being common in wartime), the Empire Shackleton was attacked and struck by a German U-boat torpedo [4], [5]. The torpedo found its mark, and the vessel began to sink. Thomas John Keelan and the other crew members were forced to abandon ship, taking to the lifeboats in the icy waters north of the Azores [5].

The survivors, numbering approximately 43 from the Empire Shackleton’s complement, were rescued from the lifeboats by the rescue ship Janvan [1], [6]. However, the tragedy did not end with the sinking of the cargo vessel. Whilst attempting to bring the survivors to safety, the rescue ship Janvan herself was lost at sea, overwhelmed by the very same hostile conditions that had claimed the Empire Shackleton [1]. Thomas John Keelan, having survived the initial torpedo attack and the ordeal in the lifeboat, perished when the Janvan went down. According to the official record of the death of merchant seamen maintained by the National Maritime Museum, Thomas suffered a fractured injury during the emergency and subsequently drowned on 11 January 1943 during the loss of the rescue ship Janvan [1]. He was thirty-three years old.

The Liverpool Evening Express reported on 26 February 1943 that “Mrs. T. J. Keelan, of 37, Brasenose-road, Bootle, Liverpool 20, has received information that her husband, Thomas J. Keelan, fireman, Merchant Navy, is reported missing at sea. He is an old boy of St. Francis de Sales School, Walton” [1]. The newspaper notice reflects the anguished uncertainty that characterised the experience of merchant seamen’s families during the war—the waiting, the hope for rescue, and ultimately, the grim confirmation of loss.

Burial and Commemoration

Thomas John Keelan has no conventional grave. Those lost at sea during the Second World War are remembered not by headstones in cemeteries, but through memorial structures erected by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC). Thomas is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial, which stands in London as a testament to the 24,192 merchant seamen and fishing fleet personnel who died in the Second World War and have no other grave than the sea [1].

The Tower Hill Memorial, unveiled in 1928 and dedicated to all merchant seamen lost during the Great War, was subsequently enlarged to accommodate those who fell in the Second World War. Its inscription reads: “Here are recorded the names of those of the Merchant Navy and fishing fleet who died in the Second World War and have no other grave than the sea.” Thomas’s name appears on Part VIII of the memorial, a lasting tribute to his sacrifice [1].

Additionally, Thomas John Keelan is recorded in the Find a Grave database (Memorial ID: 15236242), ensuring that his memory is preserved in the digital age and accessible to genealogists, historians, and descendants seeking to honour his memory [1].

Legacy

The loss of Thomas John Keelan represents one small tragedy within the vast tapestry of suffering that was the Second World War. Yet it exemplifies the extraordinary sacrifice made by British merchant seamen, men who served with the same courage and commitment as those in the armed forces, yet often without the recognition or memorialization that fell to their military counterparts. Merchant seamen faced the constant threat of torpedo attack, mine, and storm whilst carrying the supplies without which Britain could not have survived, let alone fought.

Thomas’s death occurred during the darkest period of the Battle of the Atlantic, when German U-boats sank an average of one Allied merchant ship per day [7]. Between 1939 and 1945, approximately 30,248 British merchant seamen died in service, many of them like Thomas, lost at sea [8]. The losses among rescue vessels such as the Janvan testify to the hazards faced not only by crews bringing cargo to Britain, but by those engaged in the desperate work of rescue and salvage.

Thomas John Keelan, a Liverpool-born wharf labourer and merchant seaman, gave his life to the cause of Allied victory. His widow, Mary Cusack Keelan, was left to mourn a husband lost to the sea at the age of thirty-three, their marriage of barely a dozen years ending in tragedy. Today, his name is inscribed upon the Tower Hill Memorial, where it will remain in perpetuity, a permanent record of a life given in service to his country during its darkest hour.

Sources & External Links

Sources
[1] Individual-Report-for-Thomas-John-Keelan.pdf
[2] Battle of the Atlantic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Atlantic
[3] Merchant Navy Losses WWII – Battleships-Cruisers.co.uk https://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/merchant_navy_losses.htm
[4] IVAN FRANK GARNHAM – Ipswich War Memorial https://www.ipswichwarmemorial.co.uk/ivan-frank-garnham/
[5] Surnames J-L – The Radio Officers Association https://radioofficers.com/in-memoriam/ww2-radio-officers-killed-at-sea-1939-1945/ww2-radio-officers-killed-at-sea-1939-1945-j-l/
[6] Submarine Torpedo Man Experience in the Pacific during WWII https://www.facebook.com/groups/ddayoverlord/posts/2756713327821926/
[7] Battle of the Atlantic – Naval History and Heritage Command https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/wars-conflicts-and-operations/world-war-ii/1942/atlantic.html
[8] Battle of the Atlantic Statistics – American Merchant Marine at War http://www.usmm.org/battleatlantic.html
[9] List of maritime disasters in World War II – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_maritime_disasters_in_World_War_II
[10] List of shipwrecks in January 1943 – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_shipwrecks_in_January_1943
[11] List of shipwrecks in December 1943 – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_shipwrecks_in_December_1943
[12] Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Trans-Antarctic_Expedition
[13] June 17th 1943 – SS Yoma torpedoed – 451 troops lost – Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/754427714964136/posts/1969295853477310/
[14] Stories from the past – Company of Master Mariners of Australia http://www.mastermariners.org.au/news-and-articles/stories-from-the-past
[15] List of shipwrecks in January 1943 – Military Wiki – Fandom https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_shipwrecks_in_January_1943
[16] Canadian Merchant Ship Losses, 1939-1945 – Family Heritage.ca http://www.familyheritage.ca/Articles/merchant1.html
[17] Willwatch sinking and its history – Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/135506831182/posts/10163822057496183/
[18] H-022-2 Loss of HMT Rohna – Naval History and Heritage Command https://www.history.navy.mil/about-us/leadership/director/directors-corner/h-grams/h-gram-022/h-022-2.html
[19] Battle of the Atlantic Statistics – American Merchant Marine at War http://usmm.org/battleatlantic.html
[20] [PDF] ROYAL NAVY LOSS LIST COMPLETE DATABASE http://www.thisismast.org/assets/downloads/rn-loss-list-2023-02-27.pdf
[21] List of Empire ships (Sa–Sh) – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Empire_ships_(Sa%E2%80%93Sh)