ANZAC Day Pofile #1

[Raverdave]

Seeing as it is ANZAC day next week, I thought it would be a good idea to post a few profiles of the men who fought in the pacific. Here is the first one:

Veteran Biographies
KENNETH 'KEN' ALLEN
Middle Park, Queensland
Ken Allen was just 17 years of age and looking for adventure when he joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1938. He could see war coming and wanted to be a part of it. During the next two years he served ashore at HMAS Cerberus and Penguin and at sea in Australian waters and the Indian Ocean in HMAS Hobart, Canberra and Warrego.

In March 1942, Ken joined the destroyer HMAS Arunta and sailed for Papua New Guinea. Arunta was involved in convoy escort duties between Townsville and Port Moresby and around to Milne Bay. The ship escorted convoys in and out of Milne Bay under air cover in daylight, retiring south of the China Straits each night to take cover among islands to avoid attack from the Japanese. The ship also escorted transport ships around to Port Moresby if further unloading or loading was to take place there. On 29 August 1942, just outside Port Moresby's harbour, Arunta sank a Japanese submarine, RO33, shortly after it had torpedoed the transport ship MV Malaita.

Ken recalls that during the Battle of Milne Bay, Arunta met up with another convoy coming from Townsville and headed for Milne Bay. After holding south of the China Straits for Japanese warships to leave the bay, Arunta escorted the transport ship Anshun, carrying urgently needed supplies, into Milne Bay on the morning of 6 September 1942. It became clear that unloading would not be completed by nightfall and it was decided that Anshun would stay to complete the task by the following morning. Arunta left to screen two ships waiting to the south overnight then sailed back into Milne Bay in the morning. Ken recalled that normally the masts of ships at the dock were clearly visible from some distance but the Anshun's was not, so the crew of the Arunta knew something was wrong. They found Anshun lying on her side, having been sunk by gunfire from enemy warships that had entered the bay during the night. Two American gunners on the Anshun were killed and two others were wounded, but the rest of the crew made it ashore safely. Because Anshun was lying on her side away from the wharf, it was still possible to salvage much needed supplies.

The Arunta later supported operations forward of Milne Bay, transporting troops of the 2/12th Battalion to Goodenough Island in October 1942, and conducted further convoy escort duties. In July 1943, Ken was drafted from Arunta and sent to Sydney but on arrival he was promptly put on a troop train that same night bound for Queensland. From there it was back to Milne Bay, where he became part of a group of 10 men assigned to set up a Port Director Station at Buna. For almost a year, Ken served on land as part of this team, which seemed to be largely ignored by the navy, so long as they got their job done.

In April 1944, Ken was returned to Brisbane suffering malaria and convalesced there for six months. During this time he met and married his wife Joan, who was a Women's Royal Australian Naval Service telegraphist stationed in the area.

Ken stayed in the Navy until he was discharged in 1950, having spent 12 years in uniform. He then trained as a carpenter before spending the rest of his career as a building contractor. Joan and Ken have two children, five grandchildren and one great-grandchild. These days, Ken keeps busy with family and friends and is involved in many community activities.

http://www.dva.gov.au/commem/pngmb/bios/ken.htm