1

GREENBANK NAA NEWSLETTER GREY FUNNEL DITS

Disclaimer The material contained in this publication is in the nature of entertainment for the members Contributions are acknowledged with thanks from service organisations The editor expressly Disclaims all and any liability to any person whether an

association member or not Views expressed may not necessary be those held by the Executive or the members

Editor Tony Holliday tonyholliday13gmaiulcom 0403026916

Series No 1 Date NOVEMBER 2018 Issue No5

GREENBANK SUB SECTIONhellipNEWS AND EVENTShellipNOVEMBER DECEMBER 2018 Tuesday 06 November 2018 1930 - 2100 Normal Meeting RSL rooms Sunday 11 November 2018 1045 ndash 1400 Remembrance Day Service Sunday 25 November 2018 1000 ndash 1400 Christmas Lunch RSL Rooms December 2018 - no organised events meetings or functions

========================================================================================= Editors Request

Articles for the newsletter can be handed in at meetings or by email articles may be edited to fit the newsletter

The contents of this edition of the newsletter have been obtained from information provided from Len Kingston-Kerr whom I thank greatly

various publication publications and NAA information emailed in

2

ROYAL AUSTRALIAN NAVY ADMIRALS Rear Admiral Neil Ralph AO DSC

Rear Admiral Neil Ralph was born at Carlton Melbourne on 25 June 1932 into a family of eight children His family resided in Ararat where he undertook his education and after completing high school he worked as a teller for the Bank of New South Wales He joined the RAN on 12 May 1952 as a Probationary Naval Airman (Observer) and undertook three months basic naval training at HMAS Cerberus before being sent to England for training as an observer Following his training as an observer in the UK he was selected for a seven year short service commission and was promoted to acting sub-lieutenant in July 1953 He returned to

Australia in November 1953 and undertook further training including three months general service in the corvette HMAS Gladstone in April ndash July 1954 He was then posted as an observer to the Naval Air Station (HMAS Albatross) for service in 817 Squadron which operated the Fairey Firefly as an anti-submarine aircraft This also included periods embarked in the aircraft carrier HMAS Sydney In late 1954 he was selected for conversion to the newly acquired Sea Venom fighter and returned to England for training Neil Ralph was promoted to lieutenant in July 1955 while serving in the UK He returned to Australia in the newly commissioned aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne and then joined 808 Squadron at Albatross Over the next two years the squadron was frequently embarked in Melbourne for exercises and deployments Lieutenant Ralph was selected for pilot training in late 1958 and upon successful completion of his training he was posted in late 1959 to 724 Squadron which operated the Sea Venom and Sea Vampire fighters In 1960 he transferred to 805 Squadron which also operated the Sea Venom fighter Again these squadrons were embarked in Melbourne as required for exercises and deployments The early 1960rsquos was an uncertain period for naval aviation due to resource issues and there was concern that fixed wing aviation would be discontinued and Melbourne decommissioned Lieutenant Ralph joined 723 Squadron operating Sycamore Helicopters in early 1961 for some brief familiarisation training before proceeding to England for training as a helicopter pilot Upon return to Australia in 1962 he was posted to 725 Squadron flying the Westland Wessex anti- submarine warfare helicopter In 1963-64 he served in 817 Squadron which also flew the Wessex and was promoted to lieutenant commander in July 1963 In 1965 lieutenant Commander Ralph took command of 725 Squadron which continued to operate the Wessex helicopter Throughout this period the squadrons were regularly embarked in the aircraft carrier Melbourne for training exercises and deployments to South East Asia In March 1967 Ralph took command of 723 Squadron which was now operating the new Iroquois helicopter and in June ndash August 1967 he served briefly in the destroyer HMAS Anzac gaining bridge watch keeping skills Lieutenant Commander Ralph was selected to command the first contingent of the RAN Helicopter Flight ndash Vietnam (RANHFV) in late July 1967 The contingent was formed at Nowra in August 1967 using 50 personnel from various squadrons and following training arrived in Vietnam on 16 October 1967 They operated eight Iroquois helicopters and were integrated into the US Army 135th Aviation Company at Vung Tau but later moved to Camp Blackhorse in Long Khanh province in December 1967 The Australian unit was also known as the EMUrsquos for Experimental Military Unit

3

Neil Ralph was the also the second in command of the US Army 135th Aviation Company as well as commanding the RANHFV Operations in Vietnam consisted mainly of inserting and extracting US and South Vietnamese troops into landing zones often under heavy enemy fire During his time in command of the RANHFV three of his personnel were killed and several others injured A number of aircraft were also destroyed or badly damaged due to enemy fire or crashed during bad weather Lieutenant Commander Ralph took a very active part in flying operations and was subsequently awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) on 10 December 1968 in recognition of his services as the Commanding Officer of the RAN Helicopter Flight Vietnam The first contingent of the RANHFV was relieved in September 1968 and returned to Australia Neil Ralph undertook more familiarisation training at sea in October ndashNovember 1968 in the frigate HMAS Yarra and was subsequently awarded his bridge watch keeping certificate that year He was promoted to commander in December 1968 and the following year completed the No 23 RAAF Staff Course at Fairbairn in Canberra Commander Ralph was appointed as the executive officer of the fast troop transport (former aircraft carrier) HMAS Sydney in early 1970 During his time onboard the troop transport conducted five logistics re-supply deployments to Vietnam In August 1971 he was posted to the UK to serve on the staff of the Royal Naval College at Greenwich Upon return to Australia he became Commander (Air) at Albatross in December 1973 He was promoted to captain in December 1974 and became the Director of Naval Training at Navy Office in Canberra This was followed by his appointment as the commanding officer of the frigate HMAS Torrens in June 1977 During his time in command the frigate operated in Australian and South East Asian waters Captain Ralph was selected in October 1978 to become the inaugural Director of the newly created RAN Staff College at HMAS Penguin which commenced courses in 1979 He was subsequently made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in June 1980 for services in establishing the Royal Australian Naval Staff College Ralph was also promoted to commodore in June 1980 and attended the Royal College of Defence Studies in London in 1981 Upon return to Australia in 1982 commodore Ralph was posted as the Chief of Staff to the Fleet Commander in Sydney Commodore Ralph then became the commanding officer of the Naval Air Station (HMAS Albatross) in April 1984 A year later in April 1985 he was promoted to rear admiral and commenced duties as the Deputy Chief of Naval Staff Rear Admiral Ralph was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) on Australia Day 1987 for exceptional service and performance of duty in the Royal Australian Navy particularly as the Deputy Chief of Naval Staff Rear Admiral Ralph retired from the RAN in early 1989 He was then appointed as Commissioner for Veterans Affairs and held the position for six years before retiring in 1995 During this time he was also the Commissioner for the Australia Remembers 1945-1995 project

commemorating the end of World War II Following his retirement he took up farming in the Nowra area Rear Admiral Ralph also has a keen interest in Australian military history and has led a number of battlefield tours He is currently the patron of the Fleet Air Arm Association of Australia (Victoria Division) and the Vietnam Veterans of Australia Inc

4

Battle Stations On Wednesday the 3rd of February 2016 Neil Ralph suffered a morningrsquos break-in and altercation with a male intruder Neil Ralph has never been one to back down from a challenge and that was the case when the 83-year-old found an intruder in his Nowra home early Wednesday morning The 37-year naval veteran was getting ready to go for his morning walk at about 545am when he found a man inside his bedroom Ralph challenged the intruder but also knew he had to ldquocontrol the situationrdquo ldquoHe [the intruder] crossed the bed and tried to get past me in the doorway but I picked up a chair and whacked himrdquo he said Unfortunately the blow didnrsquot stop the offender with the chair breaking After a short struggle the man pushed past the admiral who fell to the floor He said the offender closed the door and held it shut blocking him in the room He then came back into the room and said he wanted my wallet At which point the admiral picked up a piece of the broken chair and again struck the intruder who also armed himself with a piece of wood and struck the veteran causing a nasty gash to his forehead which later required four stitches grazes and bruising The intruder made his way out to the kitchen attempting to search a number of cupboards with Ralph in pursuit The intruder managed to steal a box file containing instruction books for various appliances in the home and made his way into the dining and lounge room area before attempting to go out through the front door which was deadlocked He finally escaped through a front window he had climbed in through While initially angry at the break-in and invasion of his privacy the admiral said he felt sympathy for the intruder Despite being at the scene quickly and establishing a perimeter police were not able to locate the alleged offender It has been a tough couple of weeks for Admiral Ralph whose wife of 57 years Judy passed away last week

=============================================================================

NAVAL DISASTERS - HMS THETISTHUNDERBOLT

HMS Thetis (N25) was a Group 1 T-class submarine of the Royal Navy which served under two names Under her first identity HMS Thetis she commenced sea trials on 4 March 1939 She sank during trials on 1 June 1939 with the loss of 99 lives She was salvaged repaired and recommissioned as HMS Thunderbolt serving in the Atlantic and Mediterranean theatres until she was lost with all hands on

14 March 1943 This makes Thetis one of the few military vessels that have been lost twice with her crew in their service history

United Kingdom

HMS Thetis

Builder Cammell Laird amp Co Ltd Birkenhead

Laid Down 21 December 1936

Launched 29 June 1938

Commissioned 26 October 1940

Fate Sunk during trial dive

Refit Raised and refitted

Renamed HMS Thunderbolt

3

Neil Ralph was the also the second in command of the US Army 135th Aviation Company as well as commanding the RANHFV Operations in Vietnam consisted mainly of inserting and extracting US and South Vietnamese troops into landing zones often under heavy enemy fire During his time in command of the RANHFV three of his personnel were killed and several others injured A number of aircraft were also destroyed or badly damaged due to enemy fire or crashed during bad weather Lieutenant Commander Ralph took a very active part in flying operations and was subsequently awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) on 10 December 1968 in recognition of his services as the Commanding Officer of the RAN Helicopter Flight Vietnam The first contingent of the RANHFV was relieved in September 1968 and returned to Australia Neil Ralph undertook more familiarisation training at sea in October ndashNovember 1968 in the frigate HMAS Yarra and was subsequently awarded his bridge watch keeping certificate that year He was promoted to commander in December 1968 and the following year completed the No 23 RAAF Staff Course at Fairbairn in Canberra Commander Ralph was appointed as the executive officer of the fast troop transport (former aircraft carrier) HMAS Sydney in early 1970 During his time onboard the troop transport conducted five logistics re-supply deployments to Vietnam In August 1971 he was posted to the UK to serve on the staff of the Royal Naval College at Greenwich Upon return to Australia he became Commander (Air) at Albatross in December 1973 He was promoted to captain in December 1974 and became the Director of Naval Training at Navy Office in Canberra This was followed by his appointment as the commanding officer of the frigate HMAS Torrens in June 1977 During his time in command the frigate operated in Australian and South East Asian waters Captain Ralph was selected in October 1978 to become the inaugural Director of the newly created RAN Staff College at HMAS Penguin which commenced courses in 1979 He was subsequently made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in June 1980 for services in establishing the Royal Australian Naval Staff College Ralph was also promoted to commodore in June 1980 and attended the Royal College of Defence Studies in London in 1981 Upon return to Australia in 1982 commodore Ralph was posted as the Chief of Staff to the Fleet Commander in Sydney Commodore Ralph then became the commanding officer of the Naval Air Station (HMAS Albatross) in April 1984 A year later in April 1985 he was promoted to rear admiral and commenced duties as the Deputy Chief of Naval Staff Rear Admiral Ralph was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) on Australia Day 1987 for exceptional service and performance of duty in the Royal Australian Navy particularly as the Deputy Chief of Naval Staff Rear Admiral Ralph retired from the RAN in early 1989 He was then appointed as Commissioner for Veterans Affairs and held the position for six years before retiring in 1995 During this time he was also the Commissioner for the Australia Remembers 1945-1995 project

commemorating the end of World War II Following his retirement he took up farming in the Nowra area Rear Admiral Ralph also has a keen interest in Australian military history and has led a number of battlefield tours He is currently the patron of the Fleet Air Arm Association of Australia (Victoria Division) and the Vietnam Veterans of Australia Inc

4

Battle Stations On Wednesday the 3rd of February 2016 Neil Ralph suffered a morningrsquos break-in and altercation with a male intruder Neil Ralph has never been one to back down from a challenge and that was the case when the 83-year-old found an intruder in his Nowra home early Wednesday morning The 37-year naval veteran was getting ready to go for his morning walk at about 545am when he found a man inside his bedroom Ralph challenged the intruder but also knew he had to ldquocontrol the situationrdquo ldquoHe [the intruder] crossed the bed and tried to get past me in the doorway but I picked up a chair and whacked himrdquo he said Unfortunately the blow didnrsquot stop the offender with the chair breaking After a short struggle the man pushed past the admiral who fell to the floor He said the offender closed the door and held it shut blocking him in the room He then came back into the room and said he wanted my wallet At which point the admiral picked up a piece of the broken chair and again struck the intruder who also armed himself with a piece of wood and struck the veteran causing a nasty gash to his forehead which later required four stitches grazes and bruising The intruder made his way out to the kitchen attempting to search a number of cupboards with Ralph in pursuit The intruder managed to steal a box file containing instruction books for various appliances in the home and made his way into the dining and lounge room area before attempting to go out through the front door which was deadlocked He finally escaped through a front window he had climbed in through While initially angry at the break-in and invasion of his privacy the admiral said he felt sympathy for the intruder Despite being at the scene quickly and establishing a perimeter police were not able to locate the alleged offender It has been a tough couple of weeks for Admiral Ralph whose wife of 57 years Judy passed away last week

=============================================================================

NAVAL DISASTERS - HMS THETISTHUNDERBOLT

HMS Thetis (N25) was a Group 1 T-class submarine of the Royal Navy which served under two names Under her first identity HMS Thetis she commenced sea trials on 4 March 1939 She sank during trials on 1 June 1939 with the loss of 99 lives She was salvaged repaired and recommissioned as HMS Thunderbolt serving in the Atlantic and Mediterranean theatres until she was lost with all hands on

14 March 1943 This makes Thetis one of the few military vessels that have been lost twice with her crew in their service history

United Kingdom

HMS Thetis

Builder Cammell Laird amp Co Ltd Birkenhead

Laid Down 21 December 1936

Launched 29 June 1938

Commissioned 26 October 1940

Fate Sunk during trial dive

Refit Raised and refitted

Renamed HMS Thunderbolt

4

Battle Stations On Wednesday the 3rd of February 2016 Neil Ralph suffered a morningrsquos break-in and altercation with a male intruder Neil Ralph has never been one to back down from a challenge and that was the case when the 83-year-old found an intruder in his Nowra home early Wednesday morning The 37-year naval veteran was getting ready to go for his morning walk at about 545am when he found a man inside his bedroom Ralph challenged the intruder but also knew he had to ldquocontrol the situationrdquo ldquoHe [the intruder] crossed the bed and tried to get past me in the doorway but I picked up a chair and whacked himrdquo he said Unfortunately the blow didnrsquot stop the offender with the chair breaking After a short struggle the man pushed past the admiral who fell to the floor He said the offender closed the door and held it shut blocking him in the room He then came back into the room and said he wanted my wallet At which point the admiral picked up a piece of the broken chair and again struck the intruder who also armed himself with a piece of wood and struck the veteran causing a nasty gash to his forehead which later required four stitches grazes and bruising The intruder made his way out to the kitchen attempting to search a number of cupboards with Ralph in pursuit The intruder managed to steal a box file containing instruction books for various appliances in the home and made his way into the dining and lounge room area before attempting to go out through the front door which was deadlocked He finally escaped through a front window he had climbed in through While initially angry at the break-in and invasion of his privacy the admiral said he felt sympathy for the intruder Despite being at the scene quickly and establishing a perimeter police were not able to locate the alleged offender It has been a tough couple of weeks for Admiral Ralph whose wife of 57 years Judy passed away last week

=============================================================================

NAVAL DISASTERS - HMS THETISTHUNDERBOLT

HMS Thetis (N25) was a Group 1 T-class submarine of the Royal Navy which served under two names Under her first identity HMS Thetis she commenced sea trials on 4 March 1939 She sank during trials on 1 June 1939 with the loss of 99 lives She was salvaged repaired and recommissioned as HMS Thunderbolt serving in the Atlantic and Mediterranean theatres until she was lost with all hands on

14 March 1943 This makes Thetis one of the few military vessels that have been lost twice with her crew in their service history

United Kingdom

HMS Thetis

Builder Cammell Laird amp Co Ltd Birkenhead

Laid Down 21 December 1936

Launched 29 June 1938

Commissioned 26 October 1940

Fate Sunk during trial dive

Refit Raised and refitted

Renamed HMS Thunderbolt

5

HMS Thetis was built by Cammell Laird in Birkenhead England and launched on 29 June 1938 After completion trials were delayed because the forward hydroplanes jammed but eventually started in Liverpool Bay under Lieutenant Commander Guy Bolus Thetis left Birkenhead for Liverpool Bay to conduct her final diving trials accompanied by the tug Grebe Cock As well as her normal complement of 59 men she was carrying technical observers from Cammell Laird and other naval personnel a total of 103 men The first dive was attempted at about 1400 on 1 June 1939 The submarine was too light to dive so a survey of the water in the various tanks on board was made One of the checks was whether the internal torpedo tubes were flooded Lieutenant Frederick Woods the torpedo officer opened the test cocks on the tubes Unfortunately the test cock on tube number 5 was blocked by some enamel paint so no water flowed out even though the bow cap was open Prickers to clear the test cocks had been provided but they were not used This combined with a confusing layout of the bow cap indicators mdash they were arranged in a vertical line with 5 at the bottom (2 1436 and then 5) and the Shut position for tube 5 on the dial was the mirror image of tube 6 above it led to the inner door of the tube being opened The inrush of water caused the bow of the submarine to sink to the seabed 150 ft (46 m) below the surface How the outer door (bow cap) to Tube 5 became open to the sea is a question that will probably never be answered Woods maintained that until at least 10 minutes before he opened the tube all the indicators were at Shut An indicator buoy was released and smoke candle fired By 1600 Grebe Cock was becoming concerned for the safety of Thetis and radioed HMS Dolphin submarine base at Gosport A search was immediately instigated Although the stern remained on the surface the crew waited before abandoning the vessel until it had been discovered by the destroyer Brazen which had been sent to search for it and which indicated her presence by dropping small explosive charges into the water In order to affect an escape from the stricken vessel the escaping crew was required to enter the submarinersquos only escape chamber which can only accommodate one person at a time As the pressure outside the submarine is greater than the pressure inside this must be equalised before the outer door of the escape chamber is opened The escape chamber is flooded with the occupant having to wait until the chamber is completely full of water Only then will the pressure within the escape chamber be equal to the outside sea pressure In the case of HMS Thetis 4 members of the shiprsquos company three RN personnel (Lieutenant Woods Captain Oram and Leading Stoker Arnold) and one Cammell Lairdrsquos employee (Fitter Shaw) successfully used the escape chamber During the 5th attempt to escape the occupant of the chamber panicked and tried to open the outer escape hatch before the chamber had completely flooded As a result the increased pressure outside the submarine caused an in-rush of sea water thus drowning the escapee Because the outer escape hatch remained partially open it rendered the escape chamber inoperative preventing the escape of any other crew members which were overcome by carbon dioxide poisoning caused by the crowded conditions the increased atmospheric pressure and a delay of 20 hours before the evacuation started Ninety-nine lives were lost in the incident 51 crew members 26 Cammell Laird employees 8 other naval officers 7 Admiralty overseeing officers 4 Vickers-Armstrong employees 2 caterers and a Mersey pilot The incident attracted legal action from one of the widows who brought a claim of negligence against the shipbuilders for not removing the material blocking the valve Unfortunately for her the Admiralty successfully invoked Crown Privilege (now termed Public Interest Immunity) and blocked the disclosure of amongst other items the contract for the hull and machinery of Thetis as evidence in court on the basis that to do so would be injurious to the public interest

6

The case is one of interest English law as the judges in this case accepted the Admiraltys claim on face value with no scrutiny a ruling later overturned The Liverpool amp Glasgow Salvage Association were commissioned to salvage the sunken submarine On completion of the salvage operation the bell from Thetis was presented to the Liverpool amp Glasgow Salvage Association by the Admiralty One further fatality occurred during salvage operations when Diver Petty Officer Henry Otho Perdue died from the bends on 23 August 1939 On Sunday 3 September Thetis was intentionally grounded ashore at Traeth Bychan Anglesey It was the same day that war was declared Human remains that had not already been removed by the salvage team were now brought out to a naval funeral with full honours The loss went beyond that of a submarines crew Among the dead were two naval constructors and several of the submarine team from Cammell-Laird experienced designers and builders of submarines who would have been needed during the war Frederick Woods remained in the Royal Navy as an officer in the surface fleet He was killed in a car accident in 1947

HMS Thunderbolt

United Kingdom

HMS Thunderbolt

Class and Type T ndash Class Submarine

Displacement 1090 long tons (surface) 1560 long tons (submerged)

Length 275 ft

Beam 26ft 6in

Draught 12ft 9in (fwd) 14ft 7in (aft)

Installed Power 5000 hp via 2 x Diesel engines 2900 hp via 2 x Electric motors 2 x shafts

Speed 1525 knots 2824 kmh surfaced 9 kmh submerged

Crew 59 Officers and ratings

Armament 6 x internal forward 21 in torpedo tubes 4 x external forward 21 in torpedo tubes 6 x reload torpedoes 1 x 4in deck gun

HMS Thetis was successfully salvaged and repaired being commissioned in 1940 as HMS Thunderbolt under the command of Lt Cdr Richard Crouch During the next 18 months she saw service in the Atlantic In December 1940 she was on patrol in the Bay of Biscay and on 15 December she encountered and sank the Italian submarine Capitano Raffaele Tarantini In the autumn of 1942 Thunderbolt was converted with her sister ships Trooper and P311 to carry two Chariots (a type of manned torpedo) and their crews for operations against Axis shipping in harbour and was transferred with them to the Mediterranean in December 1942

7

Their first mission Operation Principal was undertaken in December 1942 the three boats taking their charges to targets around the Mediterranean Thunderbolts objective was shipping in Cagliari but the operation was not a success and P311 was lost at La Maddalena her intended target A second operation against Palermo harbour in January 1943 was more successful On 2ndash3 January the manned torpedoes entered the harbour and mined the ships there sinking the cruiser Ulpio Traiano and the freighter SS Viminale A further mission to Tripoli harbour took place on 18 January This was to prevent the Axis using blockships to neutralize Tripoli harbour which was about to be occupied by the British Eighth Army Thunderbolt was sunk on 14 March 1943 off Sicily by the Italian corvette Cicogna which had detected her and attacked with depth charges All hands were lost and Thunderbolt settled to the bottom in 1350 m of water The Thetis clip The torpedo tubes on British and Australian submarines were afterwards equipped with a Thetis clip one of the modifications introduced as a result of the accident This is a latch which allows a torpedo tube door to be opened no more than a small amount in case it is open to the sea at the bow end Once it is clear that no flooding will occur the latch can be released and the door fully opened Appearance in the media

In 1997 BBC Radio 4 broadcast a radio play about the Thetis disaster The play was called

Close Enough to Touch and was written by Liverpool writer Fred Lawless The play was also broadcast on BBC Radio Merseyside and the BBC World Service In 1999 a play entitled HMS Thetis by Mark Gee in association with David Roberts was performed at the Liverpool Bluecoat Chambers and at Birkenheadrsquos Pacific Road Theatre The play starred John McArdle and also the newly employed First Year Apprentices from Cammell Laird Shipyard (Paul Gillies Dave Gill Alan Lane Chris Motley Mike Jebb Steve Taylor Ollie Dodson Stuie Dicken Mark Poland Ben McDonald Tony Cummins Barry Hayes Chris Hall Martin King Graham Crilly Billy Coburn Matty Brassey) The cause of the loss of Thetis was also used in the 1968 film Ice Station Zebra where the character played by Patrick McGoohan describes a method of sabotaging a submarine by blocking the tube test cocks allowing the inner door to be opened with the outer door also open The loss of the Thetis was the inspiration for part of the Railway station episode (episode 2) of British dark science fiction television series Sapphire amp Steel In 2000 the documentary Death in the Bay produced by BBC Northwest was broadcast in the UK It covered the loss of the Thetis and the subsequent enquiry together with interviews with relatives of two of the men lost in the tragedy and the son of a survivor Leading Stoker Arnold

8

ROYAL AUSTRALIAN NAVY

SHIP HISTORY HMAS Kanimbla (1)

The twin screw motor vessel Kanimbla was built for McIlwraith McEachern Limited and from May 1936 until September 1939 she operated a passenger service between Cairns and Fremantle Upon the outbreak of war she was requisitioned on 5 September 1939 and converted to an Armed Merchant Cruiser at Sydney She commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Kanimbla on 6 October 1939 Armed Merchant Cruisers were employed in long ocean patrols for enemy raiders and blockade runners supplementing built for purpose cruisers and allowing them to be released for the more arduous fleet duties

Type Armed Merchant CruiserLanding ship

Draught 244 ft

Builder Harland amp Wolff Ltd Belfast Speed 19 knots

Launched 15 December 1935 crew 345 Officers and Ratings

Commissioned 6 October 1939 Machinery 2 x Diesel engines twin shafts

Displacement 10985 tons Horsepower 10000

Length 4688 ft Armament 7 x 6in guns 2 x 3in anti-aircraft guns 2 x Lewis light machine guns 1 x 4in gun (later) 2 x 40mm Bofor anti-aircraft guns 2 x 2 pounder guns (later) 12 x 20mm Oelikon guns(later)

Beam 663 ft Decommissioned 25 March 1949 Under the command of Commander Frank E Getting RAN and with a complement drawn almost entirely from the Royal Australian Navy she departed Sydney on 13 December 1939 for Hong Kong

9

The first half of 1940 was spent patrolling off the Chinese and Japanese coasts in the course of which she intercepted and took in charge the Russian vessel V Mayakovsky known to be carrying contraband This ship was boarded and searched and suspicious cargo being found was eventually handed over to a French cruiser to be escorted to Saigon for investigation As European countries were occupied by Germany Kanimbla was involved in attempting to ensure that their ships in the Far East came under Allied control o this end she boarded ten Norwegian and a Danish ship off the mouth of the Yangtse River during April 1940 and sent them to Hong Kong In June 1940 she was detached to Singapore and en route visited Saigon in an unsuccessful attempt to convince the French warships there to join the Free French forces After moving to the Singapore area Kanimbla undertook patrol and escort duties around Malaya and the East Indies eventually extending out into the Indian Ocean On 25 March 1941 Getting now promoted to Captain was relieved by Captain WLG Adams RN On the night of 24 August 1941 Kanimbla with 300 Indian troops embarked led a heterogeneous flotilla in a surprise attack on the Iranian port of Bandar Shahpur capturing eight German and Italian merchant vessels with valuable cargoes two Iranian gunboats and a floating dock Kanimbla went alongside the burning Italian tanker Bronte and fought the fires while engaging a train with her main armament and aircraft with her 3-inch guns She remained in the area until 11 October supervising the port and carrying out salvage work on the captured vessels including a major effort on the German freighter Hohenfels After further work in Indian waters during the latter part of October and November Kanimbla proceeded to Singapore and escorted the first convoy out of that city after the Japanese attack on Malaya She arrived in Port Melbourne on Christmas Day She carried out further convoy work off the Australian coast and in the Indian and Pacific Oceans Captain Adams was relieved by Acting Commander FR James RAN on 2 February 1943 On 2 April Kanimbla arrived in Sydney to be converted to a Landing Ship Infantry (LSI) for operations in the Pacific HMAS Kanimbla entering Brisbane in 1944 The conversion involved the removal of her 6-inch guns and the augmentation of her anti-aircraft armament by the addition of a 4-inch gun and 2-pounder and 20mm close range weapons Radar was also added She was fitted to carry 16 to 24 landing craft which were raised and lowered by davits fitted to either side of her superstructure Scrambling nets were fitted to enable troops to quickly enter the landing craft after they had been lowered The ships interior wood panelling was replaced by steel sheets and all available space was converted for the carriage of 1280 troops although more were carried on occasion On 1 June 1943 she recommissioned as HMAS Kanimbla On 30 July Commander James was relieved by Commander NH Shaw RAN Kanimbla departed Sydney for Brisbane on 22 October 1943 and remained in that area until January 1944 when she undertook a voyage to New Guinea The next month she was involved in exercises in Trinity Bay near Cairns After proceeding again to New Guinea she carried out exercises with elements of the United States 24th Infantry Division at Goodenough Island in early April in preparation for the landings at Hollandia On 22 April in company with HMAS Manoora five other transports 16 Landing Craft Infantry and seven Landing Ships Tank Kanimbla landed her troops at Tanahmerah Bay without incident Subsequent to this operation Kanimbla was involved in training and transport duties in New Guinea waters CMDR Shaw was temporarily relieved by Lieutenant Commander SH Crawford on 18 June until the arrival of Commander AV Bunyan RANR(S) on 10 August Arriving at Aitape on 1 September Kanimbla began preparations for the Morotai landings and on 9 September embarked 1215 officers and men

10

On 10 September with 36 other landing ships and supporting vessels of the White Beach Attack Group she departed for Morotai The landings took place on 15 September with little opposition and few casualties to Allied forces On 16 September in company with Manoora Kanimbla departed for Humboldt Bay arriving on 18 September At Humboldt Bay in company with Manoora and Westralia Kanimbla overhauled equipment and embarked troops and supplies for the landings on Leyte A full scale rehearsal was carried out at Tanahmerah Bay on 10 October On 13 October the three Australian LSIs departed for Leyte as part of a large assault convoy escorted by a covering force of American and Australian cruisers and destroyers The Australian landing ships were part of the Panaon Attack Group which detached from the main group at 200am on the morning of 20 October and arrived off Panaon at 845am Again no Japanese resistance was encountered Cargo was discharged by 400pm and the ships sailed for Humboldt Bay arriving on 25 October Kanimbla returned to Leyte on 14 November transporting troops as part of a 26 ship convoy On 30 November she arrived at Torokina and with Manoora and Westralia and 15 other ships of Landing Group A commenced embarking 1320 troops and stores for the Lingayen landings Kanimbla and the rest of Landing Group A then proceeded to Lae where in company with Landing Group B practice landings were carried out The ships then sailed for Manus On 31 December they departed Manus to execute Assault Mike I on Luzon Island in Lingayen Gulf As part of Task Force 79 the Lingayen Attack Force Kanimbla passed through Surigao Strait and proceeded up the western side of the Philippine Archipelago to Lingayen Gulf arriving on 8 January 1945 As the ships made their final approach to the gulf they came under air attack Kanimbla being near missed by a Zero fighter bomber which was shot down The troops were landed on the 9th supported by a heavy bombardment Kanimbla and her consorts discharged their cargoes rapidly and left the area that evening to avoid further air attack returning via Leyte to Morotai After further transport duties in the New Guinea area Kanimbla was back in Sydney on 7 March after an absence of nearly 17 months Kanimbla s next operation was the invasion of Brunei Departing from Morotai on 4 June again in company with Manoora and Westralia and a large group of American vessels mostly landing ships and landing craft she arrived off Brunei on 10 June She commenced landing her troops on Green Beach just before 900am with little or no opposition She unloaded her cargo that day and set sail for Morotai on 11 June arriving on 14 June

HMAS Kanimblas crew on the upper decks as she pulls into Brisbane after her deployment to Borneo

The final amphibious landing of the Pacific War was at Balikpapan and Kanimbla and her two sister LSIs took part On 25 June at Morotai she completed the embarkation of 1267 officers and men mostly from the 29 Battalion as well as 361 tons of cargo She sailed for Balikpapan the next day arriving on 1 July

11

That day was spent disembarking her troops and unloading the cargo and she sailed for Morotai at 730pm She arrived on 4 July embarked reinforcements and departed the same day returning to Balikpapan on 7 July She sailed the next day and spent the remainder of the war on transport duties around New Guinea the Philippines and Borneo After the cessation of hostilities Kanimbla was engaged in repatriating Australian servicemen from the Pacific Islands and returning Dutch dependents to the East Indies ommander Crawford again became her Commanding Officer from 6 September 1945 until 18 January 1948 when he was relieved by Captain AP Cousin RANR(S) who remained in command until she was decommissioned Between October 1946 and June 1948 she made a number of voyages between Sydney and Japan transporting members of the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces In the course of these voyages she also called at various Pacific Island ports transporting persons and cargo caught up in the post war adjustments in the Pacific In 1948 Kanimbla took personnel and stores to the United Kingdom to commission HMAS Sydney returning with British personnel who had enlisted in the Royal Australian Navy as well as 432 displaced persons After one more voyage to Japan she was decommissioned in Sydney on 25 March 1949 and after refitting returned to her owners on 13 December 1950 In 1961 she was sold to the Pacific Transport Company and renamed Oriental Queen Chartered by the Indonesian Government she was employed for three years transporting pilgrims from Indonesia to Jeddah She was later chartered and then purchased outright by a Japanese shipping company for service between Guam and Yokohama She completed her final voyage in 1973 and was shortly thereafter sold for scrap and broken up in Taiwan

12

THE DEMISE OF JACK TAR (Author unknown)

The traditional male sailor was not defined by his looks He was defined by his attitude His name was Jack Tar He was a happy go lucky sort of bloke He took the good times with the bad He didnt cry victimisation bastardisation discrimination or for his mum when things didnt go his way He took responsibility for his own sometimes self-destructive actions He loved a laugh at anything or anybody Rank gender race creed or behaviour it didnt matter to Jack He would take the piss out of anyone including himself If someone took it out of him he didnt get offended It was a natural part of life If he offended someone else so be it Free from many of the rules of a polite society Jackrsquos manners were somewhat rough

His ability to swear was legendary Jackrsquos favourite drink was beer and he could drink it like a fish His actions when inebriated would on occasion land him in trouble But he took it on the chin did his punishment and then

went and did it all again Jack loved his job He took an immense pride in what he did His radar was always the best in the fleet His engines always worked better than anyone elses His eyes could spot a contact before anyone elses and shoot at it first It was a matter of personal pride Jack was the consummate professional when he was at work and sober He was a bit like a mischievous child He had a gleam in his eye and a larger than life outlook He was as rough as guts You had to be pig headed and thick skinned to survive He worked hard and played hard His masters tut-tutted at some of his more exuberant expressions of joie de vivre and the occasional bout of number 9s or stoppage let him know where his limits were

Jacks favourite drink was beer and he could drink it like a fish His actions when inebriated would on occasion land him in trouble But he took it on the chin did his punishment and then went and did it all again Jack loved his job He took an immense pride in what he did His radar was always the best in the fleet His engines always worked better than anyone elses His eyes could spot a contact before anyone elses and shoot at it first

It was a matter of personal pride Jack was the consummate professional when he was at work and sober He was a bit like a mischievous child He had a gleam in his eye and a larger than life outlook

9

The first half of 1940 was spent patrolling off the Chinese and Japanese coasts in the course of which she intercepted and took in charge the Russian vessel V Mayakovsky known to be carrying contraband This ship was boarded and searched and suspicious cargo being found was eventually handed over to a French cruiser to be escorted to Saigon for investigation As European countries were occupied by Germany Kanimbla was involved in attempting to ensure that their ships in the Far East came under Allied control o this end she boarded ten Norwegian and a Danish ship off the mouth of the Yangtse River during April 1940 and sent them to Hong Kong In June 1940 she was detached to Singapore and en route visited Saigon in an unsuccessful attempt to convince the French warships there to join the Free French forces After moving to the Singapore area Kanimbla undertook patrol and escort duties around Malaya and the East Indies eventually extending out into the Indian Ocean On 25 March 1941 Getting now promoted to Captain was relieved by Captain WLG Adams RN On the night of 24 August 1941 Kanimbla with 300 Indian troops embarked led a heterogeneous flotilla in a surprise attack on the Iranian port of Bandar Shahpur capturing eight German and Italian merchant vessels with valuable cargoes two Iranian gunboats and a floating dock Kanimbla went alongside the burning Italian tanker Bronte and fought the fires while engaging a train with her main armament and aircraft with her 3-inch guns She remained in the area until 11 October supervising the port and carrying out salvage work on the captured vessels including a major effort on the German freighter Hohenfels After further work in Indian waters during the latter part of October and November Kanimbla proceeded to Singapore and escorted the first convoy out of that city after the Japanese attack on Malaya She arrived in Port Melbourne on Christmas Day She carried out further convoy work off the Australian coast and in the Indian and Pacific Oceans Captain Adams was relieved by Acting Commander FR James RAN on 2 February 1943 On 2 April Kanimbla arrived in Sydney to be converted to a Landing Ship Infantry (LSI) for operations in the Pacific HMAS Kanimbla entering Brisbane in 1944 The conversion involved the removal of her 6-inch guns and the augmentation of her anti-aircraft armament by the addition of a 4-inch gun and 2-pounder and 20mm close range weapons Radar was also added She was fitted to carry 16 to 24 landing craft which were raised and lowered by davits fitted to either side of her superstructure Scrambling nets were fitted to enable troops to quickly enter the landing craft after they had been lowered The ships interior wood panelling was replaced by steel sheets and all available space was converted for the carriage of 1280 troops although more were carried on occasion On 1 June 1943 she recommissioned as HMAS Kanimbla On 30 July Commander James was relieved by Commander NH Shaw RAN Kanimbla departed Sydney for Brisbane on 22 October 1943 and remained in that area until January 1944 when she undertook a voyage to New Guinea The next month she was involved in exercises in Trinity Bay near Cairns After proceeding again to New Guinea she carried out exercises with elements of the United States 24th Infantry Division at Goodenough Island in early April in preparation for the landings at Hollandia On 22 April in company with HMAS Manoora five other transports 16 Landing Craft Infantry and seven Landing Ships Tank Kanimbla landed her troops at Tanahmerah Bay without incident Subsequent to this operation Kanimbla was involved in training and transport duties in New Guinea waters CMDR Shaw was temporarily relieved by Lieutenant Commander SH Crawford on 18 June until the arrival of Commander AV Bunyan RANR(S) on 10 August Arriving at Aitape on 1 September Kanimbla began preparations for the Morotai landings and on 9 September embarked 1215 officers and men

10

On 10 September with 36 other landing ships and supporting vessels of the White Beach Attack Group she departed for Morotai The landings took place on 15 September with little opposition and few casualties to Allied forces On 16 September in company with Manoora Kanimbla departed for Humboldt Bay arriving on 18 September At Humboldt Bay in company with Manoora and Westralia Kanimbla overhauled equipment and embarked troops and supplies for the landings on Leyte A full scale rehearsal was carried out at Tanahmerah Bay on 10 October On 13 October the three Australian LSIs departed for Leyte as part of a large assault convoy escorted by a covering force of American and Australian cruisers and destroyers The Australian landing ships were part of the Panaon Attack Group which detached from the main group at 200am on the morning of 20 October and arrived off Panaon at 845am Again no Japanese resistance was encountered Cargo was discharged by 400pm and the ships sailed for Humboldt Bay arriving on 25 October Kanimbla returned to Leyte on 14 November transporting troops as part of a 26 ship convoy On 30 November she arrived at Torokina and with Manoora and Westralia and 15 other ships of Landing Group A commenced embarking 1320 troops and stores for the Lingayen landings Kanimbla and the rest of Landing Group A then proceeded to Lae where in company with Landing Group B practice landings were carried out The ships then sailed for Manus On 31 December they departed Manus to execute Assault Mike I on Luzon Island in Lingayen Gulf As part of Task Force 79 the Lingayen Attack Force Kanimbla passed through Surigao Strait and proceeded up the western side of the Philippine Archipelago to Lingayen Gulf arriving on 8 January 1945 As the ships made their final approach to the gulf they came under air attack Kanimbla being near missed by a Zero fighter bomber which was shot down The troops were landed on the 9th supported by a heavy bombardment Kanimbla and her consorts discharged their cargoes rapidly and left the area that evening to avoid further air attack returning via Leyte to Morotai After further transport duties in the New Guinea area Kanimbla was back in Sydney on 7 March after an absence of nearly 17 months Kanimbla s next operation was the invasion of Brunei Departing from Morotai on 4 June again in company with Manoora and Westralia and a large group of American vessels mostly landing ships and landing craft she arrived off Brunei on 10 June She commenced landing her troops on Green Beach just before 900am with little or no opposition She unloaded her cargo that day and set sail for Morotai on 11 June arriving on 14 June

HMAS Kanimblas crew on the upper decks as she pulls into Brisbane after her deployment to Borneo

The final amphibious landing of the Pacific War was at Balikpapan and Kanimbla and her two sister LSIs took part On 25 June at Morotai she completed the embarkation of 1267 officers and men mostly from the 29 Battalion as well as 361 tons of cargo She sailed for Balikpapan the next day arriving on 1 July

11

That day was spent disembarking her troops and unloading the cargo and she sailed for Morotai at 730pm She arrived on 4 July embarked reinforcements and departed the same day returning to Balikpapan on 7 July She sailed the next day and spent the remainder of the war on transport duties around New Guinea the Philippines and Borneo After the cessation of hostilities Kanimbla was engaged in repatriating Australian servicemen from the Pacific Islands and returning Dutch dependents to the East Indies ommander Crawford again became her Commanding Officer from 6 September 1945 until 18 January 1948 when he was relieved by Captain AP Cousin RANR(S) who remained in command until she was decommissioned Between October 1946 and June 1948 she made a number of voyages between Sydney and Japan transporting members of the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces In the course of these voyages she also called at various Pacific Island ports transporting persons and cargo caught up in the post war adjustments in the Pacific In 1948 Kanimbla took personnel and stores to the United Kingdom to commission HMAS Sydney returning with British personnel who had enlisted in the Royal Australian Navy as well as 432 displaced persons After one more voyage to Japan she was decommissioned in Sydney on 25 March 1949 and after refitting returned to her owners on 13 December 1950 In 1961 she was sold to the Pacific Transport Company and renamed Oriental Queen Chartered by the Indonesian Government she was employed for three years transporting pilgrims from Indonesia to Jeddah She was later chartered and then purchased outright by a Japanese shipping company for service between Guam and Yokohama She completed her final voyage in 1973 and was shortly thereafter sold for scrap and broken up in Taiwan

12

THE DEMISE OF JACK TAR (Author unknown)

The traditional male sailor was not defined by his looks He was defined by his attitude His name was Jack Tar He was a happy go lucky sort of bloke He took the good times with the bad He didnt cry victimisation bastardisation discrimination or for his mum when things didnt go his way He took responsibility for his own sometimes self-destructive actions He loved a laugh at anything or anybody Rank gender race creed or behaviour it didnt matter to Jack He would take the piss out of anyone including himself If someone took it out of him he didnt get offended It was a natural part of life If he offended someone else so be it Free from many of the rules of a polite society Jackrsquos manners were somewhat rough

His ability to swear was legendary Jackrsquos favourite drink was beer and he could drink it like a fish His actions when inebriated would on occasion land him in trouble But he took it on the chin did his punishment and then

went and did it all again Jack loved his job He took an immense pride in what he did His radar was always the best in the fleet His engines always worked better than anyone elses His eyes could spot a contact before anyone elses and shoot at it first It was a matter of personal pride Jack was the consummate professional when he was at work and sober He was a bit like a mischievous child He had a gleam in his eye and a larger than life outlook He was as rough as guts You had to be pig headed and thick skinned to survive He worked hard and played hard His masters tut-tutted at some of his more exuberant expressions of joie de vivre and the occasional bout of number 9s or stoppage let him know where his limits were

Jacks favourite drink was beer and he could drink it like a fish His actions when inebriated would on occasion land him in trouble But he took it on the chin did his punishment and then went and did it all again Jack loved his job He took an immense pride in what he did His radar was always the best in the fleet His engines always worked better than anyone elses His eyes could spot a contact before anyone elses and shoot at it first

It was a matter of personal pride Jack was the consummate professional when he was at work and sober He was a bit like a mischievous child He had a gleam in his eye and a larger than life outlook

10

On 10 September with 36 other landing ships and supporting vessels of the White Beach Attack Group she departed for Morotai The landings took place on 15 September with little opposition and few casualties to Allied forces On 16 September in company with Manoora Kanimbla departed for Humboldt Bay arriving on 18 September At Humboldt Bay in company with Manoora and Westralia Kanimbla overhauled equipment and embarked troops and supplies for the landings on Leyte A full scale rehearsal was carried out at Tanahmerah Bay on 10 October On 13 October the three Australian LSIs departed for Leyte as part of a large assault convoy escorted by a covering force of American and Australian cruisers and destroyers The Australian landing ships were part of the Panaon Attack Group which detached from the main group at 200am on the morning of 20 October and arrived off Panaon at 845am Again no Japanese resistance was encountered Cargo was discharged by 400pm and the ships sailed for Humboldt Bay arriving on 25 October Kanimbla returned to Leyte on 14 November transporting troops as part of a 26 ship convoy On 30 November she arrived at Torokina and with Manoora and Westralia and 15 other ships of Landing Group A commenced embarking 1320 troops and stores for the Lingayen landings Kanimbla and the rest of Landing Group A then proceeded to Lae where in company with Landing Group B practice landings were carried out The ships then sailed for Manus On 31 December they departed Manus to execute Assault Mike I on Luzon Island in Lingayen Gulf As part of Task Force 79 the Lingayen Attack Force Kanimbla passed through Surigao Strait and proceeded up the western side of the Philippine Archipelago to Lingayen Gulf arriving on 8 January 1945 As the ships made their final approach to the gulf they came under air attack Kanimbla being near missed by a Zero fighter bomber which was shot down The troops were landed on the 9th supported by a heavy bombardment Kanimbla and her consorts discharged their cargoes rapidly and left the area that evening to avoid further air attack returning via Leyte to Morotai After further transport duties in the New Guinea area Kanimbla was back in Sydney on 7 March after an absence of nearly 17 months Kanimbla s next operation was the invasion of Brunei Departing from Morotai on 4 June again in company with Manoora and Westralia and a large group of American vessels mostly landing ships and landing craft she arrived off Brunei on 10 June She commenced landing her troops on Green Beach just before 900am with little or no opposition She unloaded her cargo that day and set sail for Morotai on 11 June arriving on 14 June

HMAS Kanimblas crew on the upper decks as she pulls into Brisbane after her deployment to Borneo

The final amphibious landing of the Pacific War was at Balikpapan and Kanimbla and her two sister LSIs took part On 25 June at Morotai she completed the embarkation of 1267 officers and men mostly from the 29 Battalion as well as 361 tons of cargo She sailed for Balikpapan the next day arriving on 1 July

11

That day was spent disembarking her troops and unloading the cargo and she sailed for Morotai at 730pm She arrived on 4 July embarked reinforcements and departed the same day returning to Balikpapan on 7 July She sailed the next day and spent the remainder of the war on transport duties around New Guinea the Philippines and Borneo After the cessation of hostilities Kanimbla was engaged in repatriating Australian servicemen from the Pacific Islands and returning Dutch dependents to the East Indies ommander Crawford again became her Commanding Officer from 6 September 1945 until 18 January 1948 when he was relieved by Captain AP Cousin RANR(S) who remained in command until she was decommissioned Between October 1946 and June 1948 she made a number of voyages between Sydney and Japan transporting members of the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces In the course of these voyages she also called at various Pacific Island ports transporting persons and cargo caught up in the post war adjustments in the Pacific In 1948 Kanimbla took personnel and stores to the United Kingdom to commission HMAS Sydney returning with British personnel who had enlisted in the Royal Australian Navy as well as 432 displaced persons After one more voyage to Japan she was decommissioned in Sydney on 25 March 1949 and after refitting returned to her owners on 13 December 1950 In 1961 she was sold to the Pacific Transport Company and renamed Oriental Queen Chartered by the Indonesian Government she was employed for three years transporting pilgrims from Indonesia to Jeddah She was later chartered and then purchased outright by a Japanese shipping company for service between Guam and Yokohama She completed her final voyage in 1973 and was shortly thereafter sold for scrap and broken up in Taiwan

12

THE DEMISE OF JACK TAR (Author unknown)

The traditional male sailor was not defined by his looks He was defined by his attitude His name was Jack Tar He was a happy go lucky sort of bloke He took the good times with the bad He didnt cry victimisation bastardisation discrimination or for his mum when things didnt go his way He took responsibility for his own sometimes self-destructive actions He loved a laugh at anything or anybody Rank gender race creed or behaviour it didnt matter to Jack He would take the piss out of anyone including himself If someone took it out of him he didnt get offended It was a natural part of life If he offended someone else so be it Free from many of the rules of a polite society Jackrsquos manners were somewhat rough

His ability to swear was legendary Jackrsquos favourite drink was beer and he could drink it like a fish His actions when inebriated would on occasion land him in trouble But he took it on the chin did his punishment and then

went and did it all again Jack loved his job He took an immense pride in what he did His radar was always the best in the fleet His engines always worked better than anyone elses His eyes could spot a contact before anyone elses and shoot at it first It was a matter of personal pride Jack was the consummate professional when he was at work and sober He was a bit like a mischievous child He had a gleam in his eye and a larger than life outlook He was as rough as guts You had to be pig headed and thick skinned to survive He worked hard and played hard His masters tut-tutted at some of his more exuberant expressions of joie de vivre and the occasional bout of number 9s or stoppage let him know where his limits were

Jacks favourite drink was beer and he could drink it like a fish His actions when inebriated would on occasion land him in trouble But he took it on the chin did his punishment and then went and did it all again Jack loved his job He took an immense pride in what he did His radar was always the best in the fleet His engines always worked better than anyone elses His eyes could spot a contact before anyone elses and shoot at it first

It was a matter of personal pride Jack was the consummate professional when he was at work and sober He was a bit like a mischievous child He had a gleam in his eye and a larger than life outlook

11

That day was spent disembarking her troops and unloading the cargo and she sailed for Morotai at 730pm She arrived on 4 July embarked reinforcements and departed the same day returning to Balikpapan on 7 July She sailed the next day and spent the remainder of the war on transport duties around New Guinea the Philippines and Borneo After the cessation of hostilities Kanimbla was engaged in repatriating Australian servicemen from the Pacific Islands and returning Dutch dependents to the East Indies ommander Crawford again became her Commanding Officer from 6 September 1945 until 18 January 1948 when he was relieved by Captain AP Cousin RANR(S) who remained in command until she was decommissioned Between October 1946 and June 1948 she made a number of voyages between Sydney and Japan transporting members of the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces In the course of these voyages she also called at various Pacific Island ports transporting persons and cargo caught up in the post war adjustments in the Pacific In 1948 Kanimbla took personnel and stores to the United Kingdom to commission HMAS Sydney returning with British personnel who had enlisted in the Royal Australian Navy as well as 432 displaced persons After one more voyage to Japan she was decommissioned in Sydney on 25 March 1949 and after refitting returned to her owners on 13 December 1950 In 1961 she was sold to the Pacific Transport Company and renamed Oriental Queen Chartered by the Indonesian Government she was employed for three years transporting pilgrims from Indonesia to Jeddah She was later chartered and then purchased outright by a Japanese shipping company for service between Guam and Yokohama She completed her final voyage in 1973 and was shortly thereafter sold for scrap and broken up in Taiwan

12

THE DEMISE OF JACK TAR (Author unknown)

The traditional male sailor was not defined by his looks He was defined by his attitude His name was Jack Tar He was a happy go lucky sort of bloke He took the good times with the bad He didnt cry victimisation bastardisation discrimination or for his mum when things didnt go his way He took responsibility for his own sometimes self-destructive actions He loved a laugh at anything or anybody Rank gender race creed or behaviour it didnt matter to Jack He would take the piss out of anyone including himself If someone took it out of him he didnt get offended It was a natural part of life If he offended someone else so be it Free from many of the rules of a polite society Jackrsquos manners were somewhat rough

His ability to swear was legendary Jackrsquos favourite drink was beer and he could drink it like a fish His actions when inebriated would on occasion land him in trouble But he took it on the chin did his punishment and then

went and did it all again Jack loved his job He took an immense pride in what he did His radar was always the best in the fleet His engines always worked better than anyone elses His eyes could spot a contact before anyone elses and shoot at it first It was a matter of personal pride Jack was the consummate professional when he was at work and sober He was a bit like a mischievous child He had a gleam in his eye and a larger than life outlook He was as rough as guts You had to be pig headed and thick skinned to survive He worked hard and played hard His masters tut-tutted at some of his more exuberant expressions of joie de vivre and the occasional bout of number 9s or stoppage let him know where his limits were

Jacks favourite drink was beer and he could drink it like a fish His actions when inebriated would on occasion land him in trouble But he took it on the chin did his punishment and then went and did it all again Jack loved his job He took an immense pride in what he did His radar was always the best in the fleet His engines always worked better than anyone elses His eyes could spot a contact before anyone elses and shoot at it first

It was a matter of personal pride Jack was the consummate professional when he was at work and sober He was a bit like a mischievous child He had a gleam in his eye and a larger than life outlook

12

THE DEMISE OF JACK TAR (Author unknown)

The traditional male sailor was not defined by his looks He was defined by his attitude His name was Jack Tar He was a happy go lucky sort of bloke He took the good times with the bad He didnt cry victimisation bastardisation discrimination or for his mum when things didnt go his way He took responsibility for his own sometimes self-destructive actions He loved a laugh at anything or anybody Rank gender race creed or behaviour it didnt matter to Jack He would take the piss out of anyone including himself If someone took it out of him he didnt get offended It was a natural part of life If he offended someone else so be it Free from many of the rules of a polite society Jackrsquos manners were somewhat rough

His ability to swear was legendary Jackrsquos favourite drink was beer and he could drink it like a fish His actions when inebriated would on occasion land him in trouble But he took it on the chin did his punishment and then

went and did it all again Jack loved his job He took an immense pride in what he did His radar was always the best in the fleet His engines always worked better than anyone elses His eyes could spot a contact before anyone elses and shoot at it first It was a matter of personal pride Jack was the consummate professional when he was at work and sober He was a bit like a mischievous child He had a gleam in his eye and a larger than life outlook He was as rough as guts You had to be pig headed and thick skinned to survive He worked hard and played hard His masters tut-tutted at some of his more exuberant expressions of joie de vivre and the occasional bout of number 9s or stoppage let him know where his limits were

Jacks favourite drink was beer and he could drink it like a fish His actions when inebriated would on occasion land him in trouble But he took it on the chin did his punishment and then went and did it all again Jack loved his job He took an immense pride in what he did His radar was always the best in the fleet His engines always worked better than anyone elses His eyes could spot a contact before anyone elses and shoot at it first

It was a matter of personal pride Jack was the consummate professional when he was at work and sober He was a bit like a mischievous child He had a gleam in his eye and a larger than life outlook

13

He was as rough as guts You had to be pig headed and thick skinned to survive He worked hard and played hard His masters tut-tutted at some of his more exuberant expressions of joie de vivre and the occasional bout of number 9s or stoppage let him know where his limits were

The late 20th Century and on has seen the demise of Jack The workplace no longer echoes with ribald comment and bawdy tales Someone is sure to take offence Whereas those stories of daring do and ingenuity in the face of adversity usually whilst pissed lack the audacity of the past A wicked sense of humor is now a liability rather than a necessity Jack has been socially engineered out of existence What was once normal is now offensive Denting someone elses over inflated opinion of their own self-worth is now a crime

AND SO A CULTURE DIES

14

Picture Funnies

14

Picture Funnies