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Remembering Ken Clark, Killed at the Battle of Balikpapan

The First World War claimed the lives of several members of the Phelan and Atkin family trees, however not as many suffered the same fate in the Second World War - in fact it may have only been one: Dad's first cousin George Kennett Charles Gilbert Clark, known as Ken. The name 'Kennett' was likely bestowed in honour of Ken's (and Dad's) uncle Harry Kennett Cowan, who was one of those to be tragically killed in the preceding war. Harry, also known as Ken, and his brother Charles Cowan both paid the ultimate sacrifice in the First World War; I will write about their wartime experience in a future post.

Ken Clark was the son of Harold and Essie Clark (nee Cowan) and was employed as a window dresser at the time of his enlistment, on 20 May 1940 at Brighton, a month after his 25th birthday. His initial posting was to the 2/14th Battalion and he embarked at Sydney on 19 October on the Aquitania, arriving in the Middle East on 25 November. He spent over a year there, but I can't glean from his war record whether he saw action there. He was transferred to the 2/5 Field Ambulance on 27 Sep 1941 and promoted to Corporal on 18 October. 

By 1942 many Australian troops were required much closer to home so in January 1942 Ken was returned to Australia. As Australia's need to defend itself grew, Ken was sent to Port Moresby from Brisbane, arriving 12 August. However by December he was struck down with malaria (and sinusitis) and was sent back to Australia where he spent time at the military's general hospital in Heidelberg. By June 1943 he was healthy again and embarked from Townsville for Port Moresby on 6 August. In November he was back with the 2/14th, but was again afflicted with malaria - and a 'furuncle' (boil) on the knee - however this time he recovered quickly. 

In March 1944 Ken was posted back to Brisbane and it appears that he remained in Australia until 2 June 1945 when he embarked at Townsville, this time for Morotai, one of the Maluku Islands in the Dutch East Indies (today's Indonesia), where US and Australian forces were planning an attack on Balikpapan, as part of the operation to liberate 'Dutch Borneo' from the occupying Japanese. On 21 June Ken's brigade left Morotai as part of the Australian fleet taking up positions in preparation for the attack. On 1 July, the attack began and while the amphibious landings that day were a success, the following day, 2 July, would be Ken's last as he became a casualty of the Japanese' resistance. He was 30 years old.


George Kennett 'Ken' Clark

I don't know whether Dad and Ken were that close, but I wonder what impact Ken's death might have had on Dad, given that he was himself enlisted in the RAAF at the time and hoping to serve his country in some way or another. It was certainly tragic for Ken, who having served for over five years, lost his life just two months before the war ended. It is worth noting that Ken was not the only member of his family to serve in the Second World War. In fact all three of Harold and Essie's Clark's children 'did their bit': Ken's younger brother Ross served from July 1942 in the 22nd Battalion, and his older sister Jean served in the Australian Women's Army Service from October 1942. 

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