Bernard George Kelly (1919 - 1942)

Born 3 Jul 1919 in South Grafton, New South Wales, Australia

Ancestors

Died 1 Jul 1942 at age 22 in At Sea

Biography

Bernard Kelly was a Prisoner of War during World War II.

Bernard Kelly died as a prisoner of war on the Montevideo Maru during the Second World War.

Bernard was born in 1919 at South Grafton, NSW, the son of Edward Mountford Kelly and Florence Jane McMenemy.^[1]

Bernard was educated at St Mary's College, Grafton.^[2]

He enlisted in the Australian Army for overseas service at Newcastle, NSW on 05 Sep 1940 as a Private (NX47922). At the time he was single and a clerk. He had dark brown hair and brown eyes.

After training he was transferred to No. 1 Independent Coy (a commando unit) on 10 May 1941.

He embarked on HMAT "Zealandia" on 12 Jul 1941 for Kavieng, New Ireland in the Territory of New Guinea, disembarking there on 29 Jul 1941.

When the Japanese invaded New Ireland on 23 Jan 1942 he was probably with the bulk of the Coy who escaped overland to Kaut on the south coast and boarded the "Induna Star" on 29 Jan 1942 before making their way along the coast of New Ireland heading to Rabaul. When they learned that Rabaul had fallen and hearing that the Japanese had landed to the east of them (false) the ship sailed south. It was spotted by a Japanese aircraft, bombed and taken under tow by a Japanese destroyer on 02 Feb 1942 and entered Rabaul on 03 Feb 1942 where he became a Prisoner of War, initially held at Rabaul.

He died on board the "Montevideo Maru" when it was torpedoed and sunk off the coast of the Philippines on 01 Jul 1942, en route from Rabaul to Hainan where he was destined for forced labour.

Sources

1. ↑ NSW Government. Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages (accessed 01 May 2022). Marriage Index, Index entry for EDWARD M KELLY and FLORENCE J MCMENEMY; District: GRAFTON; Registration Number: 8169/1914
2. ↑ COMMERCIAL EXAMS. (1934, August 25). Daily Examiner (Grafton, NSW : 1915 - 1954), p. 4. Retrieved February 25, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article194431343

• Birth - NSW BDM Birth index - KELLY BERNARD G; 33910/1919; EDWARD M; FLORENCE J; GRAFTON

• WW2 Australian Army Service File - National Archives of Australia - KELLY BERNARD GEORGE : Service Number - NX47922 : Date of birth - 03 Jul 1919 : Place of birth - STH GRAFTON NSW : Place of enlistment - NEWCASTLE NSW : Next of Kin - KELLY EDWARD - http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/AutoSearch.asp?O=I&Number=4635167

• Missing, Believed POW - PERSONAL (1942, August 4). Daily Examiner (Grafton, NSW : 1915 - 1954), p. 2. Retrieved February 25, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article194065403

• Death Notification - PERSONAL (1945, October 26). Daily Examiner (Grafton, NSW : 1915 - 1954), p. 2. Retrieved February 25, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article195743257

• Roll of Honour - Australian War Memorial - https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1688413

• Commonwealth War Graves Commission - https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2615871/kelly,-bernard-george/