CURRAN, Kevin Stanley
| Service Numbers: | VX47342, VX47342 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 23 July 1940, Caulfield, Victoria |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/2nd Independent Company |
| Born: | Traralgon, Victoria, Australia, 10 December 1920 |
| Home Town: | Traralgon, Latrobe, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 23 Jul 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Lieutenant, VX47342 | |
|---|---|---|
| 23 Jul 1940: | Enlisted Private, VX47342, Caulfield, Victoria | |
| 15 Jan 1941: | Promoted Australian Army (Post WW2), Corporal | |
| 8 Dec 1941: | Embarked Australian Army (Post WW2), Corporal, VX47342, 2nd/2nd Independent Company | |
| 15 Dec 1942: | Promoted Australian Army (Post WW2), Sergeant, 2nd/2nd Independent Company | |
| 24 Dec 1942: | Promoted Australian Army (Post WW2), Lieutenant, 2nd/2nd Independent Company | |
| 29 May 1943: | Honoured Mention in Dispatches, 'for exceptional services in the field in the South West Pacific Area during the period 7 December 1941 - 30 September 1942' | |
| 27 Aug 1943: | Embarked Australian Army (Post WW2), Lieutenant, VX47342, 2nd/2nd Independent Company, per Katoomba for New Guinea | |
| 22 Oct 1945: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Lieutenant, VX47342 | |
| 22 Oct 1945: | Discharged Lieutenant, VX47342, 2nd/2nd Independent Company |
Help us honour Kevin Stanley Curran's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
source - wikipedia
Kevin was also an Australian Rules footballer who played for Hawthorn for the VFL in the 1940s. Recruited to Hawthorn from Traralgon, Victoria, he played his first game as a Rover in 1940 and then enlisted in WWII. He rejoined Hawthorn in 1946 and represented Victoria at the Hobart Festival - the first of nine interstate appearances. He won Hawthorn;s 'best and fairest; in 1948 and the Simpson Medal for his performance against Western Australia. He was Captain in 1950, and in 1952 wqas captain- coach of the Sandhurst Football Club in Bendigo.
Biography contributed by Chris Buckley
Kevin was the sixth of seven children born to John Curran (born 1889 in Traralgon, Gippsland in Victoria - aka Jack) and Julia Eugenie Parke (born 1888 in Warragul, Victoria). John and Julia married in 1909 and raised their family in Traralgon where John was a Stud Groom. John had enlisted in the AIF in 1916, but was Discharged in 1917 as Medically Unfit.
Kevin was a nineteen year old Labourer when he enlisted in the Australian Army in 1940 (Service No: VX47342). He served with 2/14th Training as a Corporal and then as a Lieutenant with 2.2 Australian Commando Squadron. In June 1943 'His Excellency the Governor General has received advice that His Majesty the King has approved of the following Award for exceptional services in the field in the South West Pacific Area during the period 7 December 1941 - 30 September 1942' Mention in Despatches. VX42342 Cpl (since Lieut) Curran Kevin Stanley 2 Independent Coy'
Kevin's older brother Gordon (Service No: VX47360) was KiA in Timor in 1942. Brothers in Law - Charles Thomas Watson (Service No: VX73886); William George Alexander Tomlinson (VX35448); and Charles Thomas Watson (Service No: VX73886) also served in WWII.
Kevin married Gladys in 1945 in Glenferrie in Victoria, and following his Discharge in October 1945, lived Hawthorn in Melbourne. By 1954 the couple had moved to Bendigo where they ran the Fleece Inn Hotel. Kevin died in 1978 and Gladys died in 1991 in Melbourne, Victoria
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