Kendall Eric Hilton McLennan (Ken) BATES

BATES, Kendall Eric Hilton McLennan

Service Numbers: 16449, N177013
Enlisted: 12 September 1916, Bathurst, New South Wales
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: 1st Australian Wireless Squadron
Born: Trangie, New South Wales, 6 June 1897
Home Town: Trangie, Narromine, New South Wales
Schooling: Not yet discovered
Occupation: Telegraphist
Died: Gum infection complications, Katoomba, New South Wales, 13 January 1946, aged 48 years
Cemetery: Katoomba General Cemetery
Memorials:
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World War 1 Service

12 Sep 1916: Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 16449, Bathurst, New South Wales
11 Nov 1916: Involvement AIF WW1, Sapper, 16449, 1st Australian Wireless Squadron, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '6' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: RMS Mongolia embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: ''
11 Nov 1916: Embarked AIF WW1, Sapper, 16449, 1st Australian Wireless Squadron, RMS Mongolia, Sydney
31 May 1919: Discharged AIF WW1, Driver, 16449, 1st Australian Wireless Squadron

World War 2 Service

13 May 1942: Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, N177013

Ken Bates - my grandfather.

Ken married Violet Amelia Plummer at Wagga NSW in the early 1920s. They had three children - Nell, Nola and Bill. I understand he met my mother who lived on a farm at nearby Marrar when she visited the post office a Wagga one day. As she left he said to another clerk "who is that girl". She heard, popped her head back in the door and replied "my name is Vi Plummer. " And their fate was sealed.

As a postal and later postmaster the family travelled or moved every three years. In those days Ken was also a Morse code specialist and also telegraphist from his post office days - sending telegrams.

Ken was postmaster at Adelong in 1940 then a suburb of Sydney and finally Leura in the Blue Mountains. He loved the outdoors and shooting, mostly with .22 rifles including a Remington and Browning. Mostly foxes and rabbits.
He had been raised near Trangie NSW and was at Bathurst post office when he enlisted in World War I.

Ken never fully recovered from WWI and had bad nerves and health. At one stage in the Middle East he had his appendix taken out in a tent in a middle of a sandstorm by a Harley Street (English) specialist.

He also slept in swamps with only his saddle as a pillow to keep their head above the water. This may have been around Iraq which in those days was Mesopotamia (land between the rivers).

On returning home from war Ken's hands often shook when taking cups of tea and he had constant night mares which necessitated he and his wife sleeping in separate beds.

Ken also enlisted in WWII as most postmasters did but was not required to leave his premises and place of work. Both his daughters, Nola and Nell, served in the army in World War II. His son Bill did National Service in the 1950s.

In late 1945 Ken was having trouble with aching teeth while based at Leura NSW. Apparently when the local dentist went to remove a few he found infection in the gums. Osteomyelitis I think as an infection in the jaw.

It is possible that that tried to treat him with the wonder drug then penicillin which I am assured would have cured the condition. Not believing such a miracle drug was possible my father told me he failed to take them, put them in flower pots etc., and consequently died. How sad.

Ken is buried at Katoomba cemetery. There a plans for a new grave marker in the near future.

The writer is Nola's eldest son, Robert Kendall Piper, a Canberra based military and aviation historian for 40 years. It is a privilege to be able to submit the story and photo of a fine man.

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Biography

"BATES.- January 13, 1946, at Katoomba, Kendall E. H. McL., formerly Postmaster, Leura and Trangie, dearly beloved husband of Violet Bates, and fond father of Nell, Nola, and Ken, aged 48 years.

BATES.- January 13, 1946, at Katoomba, Kendall E. H. McL. Bates, beloved brother of Annie (Mrs. W. C. Russ), Arthur F., and Hedley L., aged 48 years." - from the Sydney Morning Herald 14 Jan 1946 (nla.gov.au)

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