The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (VX29109) Private Kenneth Charles von Bibra, 2/14th Australian Infantry Battalion, Second Wolrd War.

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Meleah Hampton, the story for this day was on (VX29109) Private Kenneth Charles von Bibra, 2/14th Australian Infantry Battalion, Second Wolrd War.

VX29109 Private Kenneth Charles von Bibra, 2/14th Australian Infantry Battalion
KIA: 24 June 1941

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Kenneth Charles von Bibra.

Kenneth von Bibra was born in Launceston, Tasmania, on 13 December 1910, the second of two sons born to prominent Tasmanian pastoralist and businessman William von Bibra, and Daisy Reed. Von Bibra grew up on the family farm, and married Joan Arthur in St. John’s Church on Melbourne’s Latrobe Street on 4 April 1938. The couple split their time between Launceston, where the family farm was located, and Melbourne, where von Bibra worked as a journalist.

On 19 June 1940, von Bibra enlisted in the second Australian Imperial Force in Melbourne. As a journalist, von Bibra was qualified to serve as an officer in a non-combatant role. However, on enlisting he chose to remain at the rank of private so as to be able to take part in active fighting.

He was soon posted to the 21st Infantry Brigade, part of the newly formed 7th Australian Division, and assigned to the Brigade’s Anti-Tank Company. He received training at the Puckapunyal base in central Victoria. After completing this stage of his training, von Bibra and the rest of the 21st Brigade embarked for the Middle East aboard RMS Aquitania on 20 October 1940. Sailing from Sydney, the Brigade disembarked on the 25th of November at Kantara, Egypt. From there, the brigade headed to Julis camp in Palestine to complete its training. In early April, von Bibra transferred from anti-tank duties to the 2/14th Infantry Battalion.

Von Bibra and the 7th Division played a significant role in operations in the Middle East. Its 18th Brigade was heavily involved in the successful defence of Tobruk, and in June 1941 the rest of the division made up over half of the force assigned to a major campaign against pro-Axis Vichy French forces in Syria and Lebanon. This campaign was launched to prevent Syria and Lebanon from being used as bases for Axis forces, as well as to protect Allied oil supplies in the Middle East.

Von Bibra and the 2/14th Battalion attacked along the coast towards Beirut, before moving inland to attack the Vichy French fort at Merdjayoun, and eventually pushing on to Damascus. Von Bibra was known to all members of the battalion at this time for his determination to keep up morale by exchanging insults with the enemy in French, which he had learned during a period he spent in Paris.

On 24 June 1941, during the fighting around Damascus, von Bibra and four others were involved in an attack on an enemy machine-gun strong post located high in the mountains; von Bibra was killed by enemy machine-gun fire. In the confusion of the battle he was originally reported “missing, believed wounded”, and his body was not recovered until five months later. Australia’s Official Historian of the Second World War, Gavin Long, described him as displaying “outstanding courage” during the events that led to his death.

In his last letter to his wife Joan, von Bibra wrote: “You have all my love and thoughts. The thought of us being together again is everything to me.” By the time Joan read this letter in July, her husband had already died. He was survived by his grieving wife, his mother Daisy, and his elder brother Donald Dean von Bibra, who volunteered for the AIF after Kenneth’s death, and served with the 12th Infantry Brigade in Australia.

Kenneth von Bibra is buried in Beirut War Cemetery in Lebanon, alongside over 1,000 graves of Commonwealth service people who lost their lives while serving in the First and Second World Wars.

Kenneth Charles von Bibra’s name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, among almost 40,000 Australians who died while serving in the Second World War.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Private Kenneth Charles von Bibra, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Daniel Seaton
Summer Scholar, Military History Section