The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (NX2875) Gunner Kevin George Dolahenty, 2/15th Field Regiment, Second World 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 Jennifer Surtees, the story for this day was on (NX2875) Gunner Kevin George Dolahenty, 2/15th Field Regiment, Second World War.

NX2875 Gunner Kevin George Dolahenty, 2/15th Field Regiment
Presumed 11 February 1942

Today we remember and pay tribute to Gunner Kevin George Dolahenty.

Kevin George Dolahenty was born on 11 August 1910, the youngest son of Michael and Sara Dolahenty of the Sydney suburb of Granville. He attended the Sisters of St. Joseph School in Penrith, and later the Marist Brothers College in Parramatta. Excelling on the sporting field, he won cups and trophies for success in tennis and cricket. He particularly loved cricket, especially fielding, and the Marist Brothers School at Parramatta now has an award named in his honour given to the best fielder in their First Eleven cricket side each year. After school, Dolahenty continued to play cricket for the Marist Old Boys Club, and worked as a porter.

Kevin Dolahenty enlisted into the Second Australian Imperial Force on 24 April 1941 at Paddington in Sydney. He was not the first of the Dolahenty children to serve in the Australian Armed Forces. His brother James, over ten years Kevin’s senior, had served on the Western Front in the First World War.

After enlisting and training, Kevin Dolahenty joined the 65th Battery of the 2/15th Australian Field Regiment. Dolahenty served with this artillery unit in Malaya and Singapore as it prepared defences for a likely Japanese invasion. Throughout late 1941, they trained in the hot and humid jungle conditions of south-east Asia, and got used to firing their newly arrived 25-pounder guns.

On 5 December 1941 they moved north from Singapore to the Kluang Rubber Estate, in the south of the Malaya peninsula, to relieve the 2/10th Field Regiment, which had been providing artillery support for the Australian 8th Division’s 22nd Brigade. It was while the 2/15th was in the process of transferring north that Japan declared war on the United States of America, Great Britain, and consequently, Australia.

Throughout December 1941 and January 1942, Japanese forces advanced rapidly southwards through Thailand and Malaya. On 5 January, Dolahenty and the 2/15th moved north from Kluang to reinforce Allied troops attempting to block the Japanese advance on Johore. The 65th Battery, of which Dolahenty was part, went to Muar on the west coast of Malaya to support the 45th Indian Brigade, and was in position by 13 January.

From this time on, Dolahenty and his unit faced almost constant battle as powerful Japanese forces rapidly advanced southwards towards Singapore. When providing support for Indian and Australian troops retreating from Muar to Parit Sulong, Dolahenty’s 65th Battery alone fire nearly 7,000 rounds in a matter of days. They also suffered heavy casualties. By the time they reached Yong Peng, 24 of the 98 troops were injured. By the end of January, the 2/15th Field Regiment had reached Singapore – and, along with other Allied troops, began preparing for the coming Japanese onslaught.

Dolahenty and the 2/15th Field Regiment were on the west of Singapore, providing support for the 22nd Brigade, when on the 8th of February the Japanese began their assault on Singapore. The outnumbered Australian troops were able to inflict heavy casualties on the attackers, and on 8–9 February the 2/15th Field Regiment alone fired nearly 5,000 rounds. They were, however, soon overwhelmed.

Dolahenty was killed in the chaos and confusion of the fighting over the next few days as Australian troops retreated in the face of the Japanese attack. Due to the chaotic nature of the fighting, the fate of many thousands of Australians was not known, and many families faced an agonising wait for years, not knowing if their loved ones had been killed or taken prisoner.

Dolahenty was originally reported missing, and it was not until 1946 that he was officially presumed to have died on 11 February 1942. He was 31 years old, and was survived by his mother and father, two brothers, and five sisters.
He is buried in the Kranji War Cemetery in Singapore, where more than 3,700 Commonwealth soldiers of the Second World War now lie.

His 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 Gunner Kevin George Dolahenty, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

David Sutton
Historian, Military History Section