Bruce Kingsbury

He charged with a Bren gun to regain that ground at Isurava.

For two days, the 2/14th Australian Infantry Battalion had held its position at Isurava against repeated Japanese attacks along the Kokoda Track in Papua. On 29 August 1942, the Japanese broke through the battalion’s right flank, putting its headquarters and the rest of the position at risk. Private Bruce Steel Kingsbury, one of the few survivors of a platoon that had been overrun, volunteered to join another platoon’s counterattack.

Kingsbury rushed forward with a Bren light machine gun, firing from the hip through intense machine-gun fire. His advance opened a path through the Japanese positions and enabled the platoon to retake the lost ground. He continued forward, sweeping the enemy with fire, until a sniper shot him. His initiative helped save battalion headquarters and became an inspiration to the soldiers who continued the defence. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, the first Australian VC for an action on Australian territory.

Born in Melbourne in 1918, Kingsbury worked on farms in Victoria and New South Wales before returning to Melbourne to join his father’s real-estate business. He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in May 1940 and transferred to the 2/14th Battalion, serving with it in the Middle East and during the Syria-Lebanon campaign before returning to Australia in 1942. He is buried at Bomana War Cemetery in Port Moresby; the Australian War Memorial holds his Victoria Cross.

### Victoria Cross citation

“In New Guinea the Battalion to which Private Kingsbury belonged had been holding a position in the Isurava area for two days against continuous and fierce enemy attacks. On the 29th August, 1942, the enemy attacked in such force that they succeeded in breaking through the Battalion’s right flank, creating a serious threat both to the rest of the Battalion and to its Headquarters. To avoid the situation becoming more desperate, it was essential to regain immediately the lost ground on the right flank.

Private Kingsbury, who was one of the few survivors of a Platoon which had been overrun and severely cut about by the enemy, immediately volunteered to join a different platoon which had been ordered to counter-attack.

He rushed forward firing his Bren Gun from the hip through terrific machine-gun fire and succeeded in clearing a path through the enemy. Continuing to sweep the enemy positions with his fire and inflicting an extremely high number of casualties on them, Private Kingsbury was then seen to fall to the ground shot dead, by the bullet from a sniper hiding in the wood.

Private Kingsbury displayed a complete disregard for his own safety. His initiative and superb courage made possible the recapture of the position which undoubtedly saved Battalion Headquarters, as well as causing heavy casualties amongst the enemy. His coolness, determination and devotion to duty in the face of great odds was an inspiration to his comrades.”