Born at Kenthurst in 1896, to James and Emma (nee Hobson) McKenna, Victor was the youngest of 8 children.
Working as a labourer, Victor enlisted in Newcastle on the 16th of August 1915 giving his age as 21 years and 3 months. He gave his next of kin as his father of Erina via Gosford. He was actually only 19 years old on enlistment.
His training commenced with ‘C’ Coy 8th Battalion on the 30th of August before being transferred to the 13th Reinforcements, 3rd Battalion on the 16th of October 1915. The 13th Reinforcements embarked from Sydney aboard the ‘HMAT A60 Aeneus’ on the 20th of December, sailing for Egypt. On arrival in Egypt, Victor was transferred to the 14th Reinforcements ‘C’ Coy, 1 Training Battalion, Zeitoun.
The 45th Battalion was originally raised on the 2nd of March 1916 as part of the expansion of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in Egypt, which was undertaken following the completion of the Gallipoli campaign. As part of this process, new battalions were formed from an experienced cadre of personnel that were drawn from the veteran battalions of the 1st Division and the New Zealand and Australian Division, along with freshly trained recruits that were transferred from Australia. Due to its association with the 13th Battalion, which provided the majority of the 45ths experienced personnel. Victor was taken on strength with the 45th Battalion at Tel el Kebir on the 6th of March, after which they embarked at Alexandria on the 2nd of June to join the BEF, disembarking at Marseilles on the 8th of June.
The Battle of Pozières took place between the 23rd of July and the 3rd of September 1916 in northern France around the village of Pozières, during the Battle of the Somme. The costly fighting ended with the British in possession of the plateau north and east of the village, in a position to menace the German bastion of Thiepval from the rear. The Australian official historian Charles Bean wrote that Pozières ridge “is more densely sown with Australian sacrifice than any other place on earth”. The 45th Battalion’s first major battle came at Pozières in August, where it undertook a defensive role to hold ground that had been captured by the Australian 2nd Division earlier in the fighting from the German final counterattack.
By the 5th of August the brigades of the 2nd Australian Division were exhausted and were to be relieved by the 4th Australian Division. While the relief was underway on the night of the 5/6th of August the Australians were subjected to an extreme bombardment, because the salient they occupied could be shelled by the Germans from all directions, including from Thiepval which lay to the rear. On the morning of the 6th of August, a German counterattack tried to approach the O.G. Lines but they were met by machine gun fire and forced to dig in. The bombardment continued through the day, by the end of which most of the 2nd Division had been relieved. From its twelve days in the line, the division had suffered 6,848 casualties. At 4:00 a.m. on the 7th of August, shortly before dawn, the Germans launched their final counterattack. On a front of 400 yards (370 m) they overran the thinly occupied O.G. Lines, catching most of the Australians in shelters in the old German dugouts and advanced towards Pozières. For the Australians, the crisis had arrived. At this moment, Lieutenant Albert Jacka, who had won the Victoria Cross at Gallipoli, emerged from a dugout where he and seven men of his platoon had been isolated, and charged the German line from the rear. His example inspired other Australians scattered across the plateau to join the action and a fierce, hand-to-hand fight developed. Jacka was badly wounded but as support arrived from the flanks, the Australians gained the advantage and most of the surviving Germans were captured. While no more attempts to retake Pozières were made, at the tail end of this action Victor was ‘Killed in Action’ on the 8th of August 1916.
Victor’s father James received his personal effects consisting of: Identity Disks (2) Wallet, Cards, Photos, Hymn Book at their home at Erina. The family later moved to 4 Chapel St Marrickville. Sadly, James died later in 1916 and after a time Victor’s mother moved to 52 Wellington St. Newtown, Sydney where in July 1917 she was notified her war pension would be 40 shillings per fortnight.
