West Australians Killed in the Korean War

  Private King was a World War II veteran who volunteered for the Australian ground force for Korea, (K-force), in August 1950.  King was quick to volunteer for service in Korea despite spending several years as a Prisoner of War (POW) after the fall of Singapore. As a POW he was sent to work on the Burma Railway and was then transported to mainland Japan to provide labour for the Japanese war effort. Photo of Private King (Left) from the Western Mail Newspaper 17 August 1950  Alfred Victor King came to Western Australia in May 1932 as a Child Migrant. On the ship’s passenger list there are three King boys listed, Alfred who was about 10 years old and Herbert and Albert who were both about 12 years old. [1 ]   Were Herbert and Albert King Alfred’s twin brothers or was Albert King from another family altogether? Herbert King has an entry on Fremantle’s Welcome Wall that says Herbert came to Australia with his brother Alfred and joined their older brother George at Fairbridge Farm School

  Private Castle’s photo is on display near the main entrance gate of the UN Memorial Cemetery, (UNMCK), in Korea. On my visit to UNMCK in late 2022, my first thought was that his family must have paid a visit to this Cemetery, and I found out from my research that his sister, Dawn, and her daughter visited there in 2007.  Photo of Brian Edward Castle (Right) on display at UNMCK- Personal Photo December 2022 Castle was born on 18 April 1929 in Narembeen but did his schooling in Kalgoorlie. After leaving school he worked on farms and became a skilled sheep judge. There is an engagement notice in the Perth newspapers for Castle in July 1950, but his father is listed as his Next of Kin on his AWM circular so he must not have married prior to going to Korea.     Castle joined the army in November 1951 when he heard the UN were fighting to keep South Korea as an independent country. Following his basic training he was posted to the First Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment, (1RAR).