MCKIE, Kenneth Clinton
| Service Number: | Officer |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 15 November 1915, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Last Rank: | Second Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 49th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 15 December 1889 |
| Home Town: | Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Wooloongabba and East Brisbane State Schools, Brisbane Grammar School |
| Occupation: | Bank Clerk |
| Died: | Died of wounds, Steenwerck, France, 9 June 1917, aged 27 years |
| Cemetery: |
Trois Arbres Cemetery, Steenwerck, Nord Pas de Calais I P 2 |
| Memorials: | Bank of New South Wales Roll of Honour Book, Brisbane Grammar School Memorial Library WW1 Honour Board 2, East Brisbane War Memorial |
Biography
"...Second Lieutenant Kenneth Clinton McKie, 49th Battalion, of Brisbane, Qld. A bank clerk before enlisting in November 1915, 2nd Lt McKie left Australia for England with the 4th Reinforcements in August 1916. Arriving in France in March 1917, he received multiple gun shot wounds during the Battle of Messines on 7 June 1917. He was evacuated to the 2nd Australian Casualty Clearance Station at Steenwerck where he died two days later, aged 27." - SOURCE (www.awm.gov.au)
Biography contributed by Faithe Jones
TILL THE DAY BREAKS AND THE SHADOWS FLEE AWAY
Kenneth Clinton McKie, son of Mr. Robert and Mrs. Maria McKie, was born at South Brisbane on 15th December, 1889. He was educated at the Woolloongabba and East Brisbane State Schools, and later at the Brisbane Grammar School.
He joined the service of the Bank at Warwick on 23rd July, 1906, and his subsequent transfers were to Roma in May, 1910; Longreach in October, 1911; and Brisbane in May, 1913.
Enlisting in October, 1915, he quickly reached the ranks of corporal and sergeant, and entered the School of Instruction at Enoggera, where he gained his commission as second-lieutenant, and left with the 4th Reinforcements of the 49th Battalion on 16th August, 1916. He fell ill soon after reaching England, and having spent several weeks in hospital, did not reach France until the first week in March, 1917.
He was soon in the firing line, and served continuously till the Battle of Messines Ridge. On the morning of 7th June the Canadians had attacked early and the Australians were to go over at 3 p.m. In the meantime enemy snipers were very active, and Lieutenant McKie, anxious lest the morale of the men should be affected, went over the top and located four snipers in a shell-hole. Disregarding his own safety he exposed himself almost to the waist and shot three. He was wounded by the fourth. The Australians went over about an hour later, but Lieutenant McKie died of the wounds he had received.
Source - Bank of NSW Roll of Honour
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