SOLDIERS PAY BOOK 3

This soldiers pay book is a part of the Kerrison collection donated by Constance Teague. Corneliuss father built a brick home in Jull Street as mentioned in the book First Stage South. Cornelius was born in Armadale on the 17th of February 1906 and died in Bunbury on the 29th of September 1979. The wallet was owned and used by Cornelius Kerrison when he was serving with Australian forces during World War II.

He enlisted age 33 on the 9th of November 1939 and served with the 2/11th Australian Infantry Battalion. The 2/11th served in North Africa and Cornelius saw action at Bardia (5th of January 1941), Tobruk (21st and 22nd January 1941) and part of the advance on Benghazi when on the 7th of February 1941 the Italian forces in North Africa surrendered. An inguinal hernia saw Cornelius hospitalised and missed out of the 2/11th being part of the Crete campaign, which saw a large contingent of the unit captured.
In February 1942 the remains of the 2/11 was sent back to Western Australia where they engaged in defensive duties before being transferred to Queensland in 1943. In November 1944 the 2/11th was sent to New Guinea where Cornelius fell seriously ill again and was eventually discharged from the army on the 25th of September 1945. Cornelius spent the rest of his life in Bunbury.