Orders, Decorations & Medals - Australian Singles

Lot 2384    SESSION 14 (2.30PM THURSDAY 28TH NOVEMBER)    Orders, Decorations & Medals - Australian Singles

Estimate $100
Bid at live.noble.com.au

BRITISH WAR MEDAL 1914-18. 14598 Spr. A.F.Kyle. 4 Sig.Coy A.I.F. Impressed. No ribbon, a few minor edge marks, otherwise good very fine.

Together with unrelated items including damaged riband for Military Medal, 1914-15 Star with silver rosette, British War Medal 1914-18, Victory Medal 1914-19; damaged Victory Medal 1914-19 ribbon; also Imperial Service badge as issued to men of the Territorial Army who had volunteered to serve overseas.
Alan Fairlie Kyle, clerk, age 18, born at Toowoomba, Qld; WWI: Enl.07Feb1916 at Sydney, NSW with previous service of 3 years in Senior Cadets; to Sapper and Emb.11Jul1916; to Engrs Tng Depot (Sig Section) 22Jan1917; to France 13Feb1917; TOS 4 Aust Div Sig Coy 07Apr1917; to hospital sick with anaemia 25Jun1917; RTA 26Sep1917; Disch.29Jan1918 Medically Unfit.
WWII: Alan Fairlie Kyle, known as Bill, had served in World War 1 as a Sapper in the 4th Division Signal Company. He enlisted on 7th February 1916 and was discharged for medical unfitness (heart condition) on 29th January 1918. When the Japanese invaded Rabaul in World War 2, Alan Fairlie Kyle and Gregory Wade Benham were Assistant District Officer and Patrol Officer respectively at Namatanai on New Ireland some forty miles from Rabaul. After the Japanese seizure of Rabaul, they both moved down the east coast collecting planters and the odd missionary in the hope of reaching safety. Alan Kyle arranged for a boat to evacuate the group to safety. He was asked to remain and carry out duties as a coast watcher. Greg Benham although very ill refused to leave and insisted on remaining with Alan Kyle. They were both still civilians and had no obligation to remain in such a perilous position. Both were well aware that capture would result in torture and death. Four weeks after the fall of Rabaul, the men were joined by another ten refugees from Rabaul. Six weeks later Kyle and Benham managed to radio that they had the soldiers with them and had been joined by another party of men who escaped from Kavieng. Kyle and Benham were notified that they had been appointed Lieutenant and Sub Lieutenant in the Royal Australian Navy Volunteer Reserve respectively on 2nd April 1942 and allocated to the Special Intelligence Service.
A boat was arranged to take the now twenty-three men to safety. Kyle and Benham again elected to stay and perform coast watching duties and to keep the natives at Namatanai loyal. The Japanese established civil administration in the area and subsequently Kyle and Benham were betrayed by natives and Chinese. An attempt by an American submarine to rescue them prior to their capture was unsuccessful. It was later learnt that Kyle and Benham were captured just eighteen hours before they were to be picked up and the fact that the submarine had not been attacked at the rendezvous location shows that they had kept silent despite Japanese questioning. After being held captive for four months, the Japanese decided to execute Alan Kyle and Greg Benham. A villager named Tulen witnessed the last moments of Alan Kyle and Greg Benham and several other captured coastwatchers. He reported that the men blindfolded and with their hands tied behind them, were taken in two separate groups, about two months apart, by a Japanese barge from Kavieng wharf to Nago Island. The barge later returned empty on both occasions. No doubt, they were all executed on the Nago Island by the Japanese Military Police (Kempei Tai). After the war and acting on reports received from natives, a party of Australians proceeded to Nago Island and found the bodies of Alan Kyle, Greg Benham and an elderly planter named Jack Talmadge buried together. The remains were collected and buried in a common grave at the Bita Paka War Cemetery at Rabaul. Alan Kyle and Greg Benham were both awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for their bravery. Alan Kyle's award was promulgated in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette on 13th November 1945. The award was presented to his widowed wife by the Governor of New South Wales at Government House in Sydney on 26th February 1947.