• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Naval Historical Society of Australia

Preserving Australia's Naval History

  • Events
  • Members Area
  • Volunteer
  • Donate
  • Contact us
  • Show Search
  • 0 items
Hide Search
Menu
  • Home
  • Research
    • Where to start
      • Research – We can help!
      • Self help
      • Naval Service Records
      • Library
    • Resources
      • Articles
      • On This Day
      • Podcasts
      • Videos
      • Related Maritime websites
      • Downloads
    • Other
      • Newsletters: Call The Hands
      • Occasional Papers
      • Books
      • A Cook’s Tour
      • HMAS Shropshire
      • Book reviews
    • Close
  • Naval Heritage Sites
    • World Heritage Listings
      • Cockatoo Island
    • National Heritage Listings
      • HMAS Sydney II and the HSK Kormoran Shipwreck Sites
      • HMVS Cerberus
    • Commonwealth Heritage Listings
      • Garden Island NSW
      • HMAS Watson
      • HMAS Penguin
      • Spectacle Island Explosives Complex NSW
      • Chowder Bay Naval Facilities
      • Beecroft Peninsula NSW
      • Admiralty House, Garden and Fortifications
      • HMAS Cerberus
      • Naval Offices QLD
      • Garden Island WA
      • Royal Australian Naval College ACT
      • Royal Australian Naval Transmitting Station ACT
    • Close
  • Tours
    • Sub Base Platypus Tour (North Sydney)
    • Dockyard Heritage Tour
    • Heritage Tour of Northern End of Garden Island
    • Tour Bookings
    • Close
  • About us
    • About Us
      • What we do
      • Our People
      • Office Bearers
      • Become a volunteer
      • Our Goals and Strategy
    • Organisation
      • Victoria Chapter
      • WA Chapter
      • ACT Chapter
    • Close
  • Membership
  • Shop
  • Become a volunteer
  • Donate
You are here: Home / Article topics / Publications / Naval Historical Review / Biography of Lieutenant Commander R.W. Rankin RAN, and the loss of HMAS Yarra

Biography of Lieutenant Commander R.W. Rankin RAN, and the loss of HMAS Yarra

September 11, 1994

Author
Swinden, Greg
Subjects
Biographies and personal histories, WWII operations, History - WW1
Tags
HMS Viscount, RAN College, HMS Kelly, K11, HMS Valiant, ATAGO, TAKAO, MAYA, ARISHA, NOWAKI, HMS Delhi, HMS Frobisher, HMS Eagle, HMS Excellent, HMS Dryad, HMS Vernon, HMS Gleaner, HMS Resource, EMPRESS OF ASIA, FRANCOL, MMS.51, PARIGI, Rankin R.W. RAN, Anking (Depot Ship)
RAN Ships
HMAS Anzac I, HMAS Albatross, HMAS Brisbane I, HMAS Canberra I, HMAS Moresby I, HMAS Yarra II, HMAS Rankin, HMAS Cerberus (Shore Establishment), HMAS Penguin II, HMAS Australia II, HMAS Melbourne I
Publication
September 1994 edition of the Naval Historical Review (all rights reserved)

“In the early morning of the 4th March, 1942 the following ships of the No. 2 Fleet were cruising in the area Latitude South 12° 15′ Longitude East 1100 10′; “A” Class Cruisers ATAGO, TAKAO and MAYA, No. 4 Destroyer Squadron, ARISHI and NOWAKI. They sighted two enemy transport vessels under the escort of two light naval vessels which were; attacked by gunfire and sunk. None of the Japanese ships suffered any damage” ((HERMAN GILL, G. – Royal Australian Navy, 1939-42; Australian War Memorial, 1957.)). So concluded the brief Japanese report on the sinking of HMAS YARRA. YARRA, and the small convoy she was escorting, was commanded by Lieutenant Commander Robert William Rankin, RAN, and on that fateful day in March 1942 his actions and that of the Ship’s Company of YARRA brought about what is regarded by many as the finest action in Australian Naval history.

Robert William Rankin was born in the central New South Wales town of Cobar on 3 June, 1907. He was the second of three children born to Jack and Florence Rankin. Jack Rankin was a clerk whose father had emigrated to Australia in the early 1850’s and settled in the Central West of N.S.W. ((DUFFY, C.J. – “Rankin of YARRA”. Biographical address delivered by Monsignor Duffy to meeting of Naval Historical Society, February 1972.))

When Robert was seven, his father enlisted in the AIF and served overseas for the duration of the war. Most of Rankin’s education was at the state school in Merrylands, a suburb of Sydney, until he was awarded a bursary to Parramatta High School in 1920. However in 1920 Rankin sat for and passed the RAN College entrance exam.

Some weeks later Rankin was advised that he was one of the eleven successful candidates to enter the College at Jervis Bay in 1921. This small intake was characteristic of the post World War I Navy. The Royal Australian Naval College had been created in 1913 and intakes had normally been of 25 to 30 boys. However by the early 1920s the demand for post war disarmament and reduction in funding for the Navy combined to limit the 1921 entry to only eleven boys.

One of the 1921 entry recalled in 1980 his arrival at RANC:

“In February 1921, we eleven chosen new cadets (at 13 years of age) assembled at Sydney Central Railway Station and took a train to Nowra, a journey of about 90 miles. We carried with us only the essentials we had needed in the journeys from our respective states to reach Sydney and to catch that train. A cadet whose home was in Sydney (such as Rankin) had only the clothes he was wearing. At Nowra we were met by the College charabanc (car). It was about 10 p.m. when we arrived at the College at the end of the 23 mile drive from Nowra, assembled and were “welcomed” by our Term Officer who told us that he would be father and mother to us; we filed past the doctor: “No Complaints” and were herded to our dormitory. Next day we were issued with all our clothing; we arranged our gear into our sea chests in the approved manner, and were ready to begin our Naval Service.” ((GATACRE, G.G.O. – Report of Proceedings. Nautical Press and Publications, 1982.)) The parents of boys entering the College were required to complete an Indenture Form for their sons, stating that the boy would make the Navy his career, and serve until at least the age of 30. If a boy wished to leave the Navy during his training his parents would be charged 75 pounds for each year of training that the boy had completed.

Shortly after arriving at the College it was alleged Rankin was in trouble because of his religion. His father, Jack, was a Presbyterian, but whilst he had been overseas in the AIF his children had been baptized and confirmed into the Catholic faith. Rankin was questioned as to why he had misled the Navy by stating he was a Presbyterian on his entrance papers but now professed to being a Catholic. Eventually the problem was resolved when it was realised that his father had filled in the entrance papers and had incorrectly put down his own religion instead of that of his son.

Pages: Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7

Filed Under: Naval Historical Review, Biographies and personal histories, WWII operations, History - WW1 Tagged With: HMS Viscount, RAN College, HMS Kelly, K11, HMS Valiant, ATAGO, TAKAO, MAYA, ARISHA, NOWAKI, HMS Delhi, HMS Frobisher, HMS Eagle, HMS Excellent, HMS Dryad, HMS Vernon, HMS Gleaner, HMS Resource, EMPRESS OF ASIA, FRANCOL, MMS.51, PARIGI, Rankin R.W. RAN, Anking (Depot Ship)

Primary Sidebar

SUBSCRIBE

Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Categories

Latest Podcasts

  • First Victory, Musical Composition by Petty Officer Musician Martyn Hancock
  • AE2 – Stoker’s Submarine, Musical Composition by Lieutenant Matthew Klohs RAN.
  • AE1 – The Ship without a Name, Musical Composition by Lieutenant Matthew Klohs RAN.
  • The Loss of HMAS Armidale by Dr Kevin Smith
  • D-Day commando on Sword Beach by Commander Jim Speed DSC, RAN

Links to other podcasts

Australian Naval History Podcasts
This podcast series examines Australia’s Naval history, featuring a variety of naval history experts from the Naval Studies Group and elsewhere.
Produced by the Naval Studies Group in conjunction with the Submarine Institute of Australia, the Australian Naval Institute, Naval Historical Society and the RAN Seapower Centre

Life on the Line Podcasts
Life on the Line tracks down Australian war veterans and records their stories.
These recordings can be accessed through Apple iTunes or for Android users, Stitcher.

Video Links

  • Australian War Memorial YouTube channel
  • Royal Australian Navy YouTube Channel
  • Research – We can help!
  • Naval Heritage Sites
  • Dockyard Heritage Tour
  • About us
  • Shop
  • Events
  • Members Area
  • Volunteer
  • Donate
  • Contact us

Facebook

  • Members Area
  • Privacy Policy
  • Log Out

Naval Historical Society of Australia Inc. Copyright © 2021