Anzac Day 2023: The brave boys who claimed to be men so they could enlist

They were the bold young Aussies who couldn’t wait to come of age, instead convincing authorities they were old enough to ship out to war. But don’t call them heroes, writes Emily Kowal.

There’s one four-letter word Don Kennedy hates. Hero. The 96-year-old WWII veteran shudders as the word crosses his lips.

But what else is there to call a man who enlisted in the war effort at the age of 16?

“Don’t confuse this with bravery or courage, stupidity is what it was.

“We used to say, ‘never volunteer, because you won’t get a medal, you’ll get killed’,” he recalls.

“But it was a different era. At the time, the Japanese were very much on the move, and they were barbaric … everybody wanted to volunteer.”

Including young Don.

There’s a twinkle in Mr Kennedy’s eye as he describes the way he “put on his best tie” and pestered his way onto a Norwegian merchant ship.

Donald Kennedy, 96, and his wife Wynn. Picture: David Swift

The Kennedys on their wedding day.

“I’d never seen a ship before in my life. I just walked right on,” he said.

“At this point, I was terrified. I knocked on the door, and there were six pairs of white trousers in front of me with a loud Nordic voice saying, ‘vot you want!”. I handed him my slip of paper, and he looked me up and down and then said ‘come back tomorrow at 8am with your gear’.”

Mr Kennedy enlisted in the Merchant Navy when he was just 16 years old.

Mrs Kennedy was a nurse with the army during the war.

Don was one of the hundreds of young men and women who lied about their age during WWI and WWII in order to enlist.

While there were age limits on enlisting — generally starting at 18 years old, with parents’ consent — many gave false ages in order to join the war.

Though he speaks freely about his time in the war, smiling at his wife Wynn, Mr Kennedy said there was a lot of fear there as well.

“It had nothing to do with courage. I wouldn’t complain about it, but to tell you the truth, like many other young soldiers, I was scared to death at times,” he said.

According to historian Meghan Adams, the true number of child fighters is almost impossible to know.

“We know of 235 underage soldiers who died in WWI and 61 who died during the second, but that’s just the boys who were killed … So there may be others that we don‘t know about,” she said.

“As historians, we obviously rely on documented information about the past, and so, because a lot of these documents have been falsified, it’s kind of hard for us to know who was a boy soldier.”

Ms Adams said many were inspired to enlist for the chance of adventure.

“The First World War in particular was marketed as an adventure to young men, you know, go on fight with your mates and, you know, do the brave and honourable thing.

“A sense of duty was part of it as well.

“Even though they’re a lot younger than they should be the idea of you know, fighting for country and protecting their homeland is something that still appeals to young men and that they want to go.”

Bob Ward with a picture of his father and grandfather — both of whom lied about their age so they could enlist. Picture: David Swift

Mr Ward’s grandfather Edward (third from left) and his father Steve (right) served together.

She said it was quite simple for a boy or girl to change their age.

“In the First World War you didn’t have to provide proof of identity or anything to enlist.

“So it was quite easy for people to enlist under a pseudonym or to falsify the age.”

Among those willing to change their appearance and age were father and son duo Edward and Steve Ward, who both changed their ages during WWII.

Nineteen-year-old Steve pushed his age up, while 51-year-old Edward dyed his grey hair brown and pushed his age down.

Both ended up on the same ship headed to Egypt.

Steve Ward’s son, Bob, speaks proudly of this father and grandfather.

“There is an incredible photo of them riding camels next to each other. My grandfather was determined to stay with his son.”

The 77-year-old said he has incredible respect for “the fellas who went to war to try and save our country and make it a better place to live in”.

Mr Ward said his father’s love of country continued long after the war.

When he left the military, he joined ASIO and continued to protect Australia.

Don Kennedy might be 96 now, but he can still vividly remember that 16-year-old boy.

When he is asked if he would do it again, he pauses, looks at his wife and speaks.

“I don’t want you to get the idea that I think I was brave ‘going off to war to save the country’, because I was a bit immature to tell you the truth.

“At the time it was just the thing to do.”

These days, it seems the only thing that could scare Don is the H word.

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Originally published as Anzac Day 2023: The brave boys who claimed to be men so they could enlist