22/09/2025
KENMARE to AUSTRALIA.....This story comes from our book sevearl years ago when we were researching Kenmare people in the second World War,.written by Charles William Brennan.
'' William Maybury Brennan migrated from County Kerry to Australia in the first decade of last century. He married my grandmother, Blanche Christiana Connolly, in the small north western New South Wales town of Bingara in 1912. Bill, as he was known, and his family lived in the town of Moree, which is about 60 miles north west of Bingara, until 1936. They had three children Elsie Jean Brennan born 1913, John Albert Brennan born 1915 and Charles David Brennan born 1921.
Charles David Brennan NX110392, pictured below, was born in Moree in 1919. He was a lieutenant in 2/31st Battalion of the Second AIF (service number NX110392 ) He was killed in action at Ballikpapan, Borneo, on 3 July 1945. In the war diary of the 2/31st Battalion and it records that he was killed at 1300 hours, while attacking a Japanese strongpoint referred to as: "NOBODY", it's ironic that he died attacking nobody!
3 July is a black day for my Brennan family.
Bill saved for years so he could go home to visit his family in Kenmare while his mother, Maria Elizabeth Maybury, was still living. As his ship approached Southampton he became ill. He was taken from the ship to Royal Southampton Hospital, where he died on 6 April 1936. He is buried in Southampton's Hollybrook Cemetery. Blanche moved from Sydney to Manly sometime between 1936 and 1940, presumably to be close to her daughter, who was a nurse at Manly Hospital. She lived in Manly until 1963.
Their two sons Charles David(Charlie) and John Albert (Jack) both fought with the Australian Forces during World War 2.
