History - general

Two Osborne Houses

June 24, 2018

To add confusion to our early naval history there are two residences named Osborne House which both became naval academies. The first of these was in England and the second in Australia. So we shall explore the former English residence before venturing to the latter on more familiar shores.

The original name Osborne is derived from Austerburne, a district to the east of the Medina River in the Isle of Wight. Little is known of the early history but by 1705 the Osborne Estate had passed into the hands of the Blanchford family and Robert Pope Blanchford built a substantial residence there. In 1845 the last of his family, Lady Isabella Blanchford, first leased, and later sold, Osborne with 2,000 acres to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert for £28,000. The Queen wrote:It is impossible to image a prettier spot – we have a charming beach quite to ourselves – we can walk anywhere without being followed or mobbed.

Queen Victoria and her consort Prince Albert disliked Buckingham Palace and rarely stayed overnight. It was mainly used for special occasions and to host receptions. The Court was based at Windsor and in late summer moved to Balmoral and returned to Windsor in September. The Court moved again to Osborne for the winter and Christmas and in February the royal entourage returned to Windsor.

Initially the travel from Windsor to Osborne was by stagecoach as far as Southampton’s Dolphin Hotel where they made a brief stop before making a short trip to the landing stage to board the small HMY Alberta,with the staff embarked in another yacht Elfin,for the brief passage to the Isle of Wight. The more prestigious Royal Yacht Victoria and Albert was considered too large for these domestic duties.

Later on with the advent of rail transport the royal party took a train to a special station at Gosport where the Alberta and Elfin took them to a new wharf which had been constructed, leading directly to the grounds of Osborne House.

The royal family took delight in their seaside home and each year spent as much time as possible there and at Balmoral. Victoria spent a record total of 123 days at Osborne in 1848, when building and planting activity was at its height. The family, accompanied by the Court, established a regular pattern of visits, generally including four main periods at Osborne: in May, part of July and August, and from late November to Christmas, before returning to Windsor.

On 14 December 1861 Prince Albert died from typhoid at Windsor. The widowed Queen, overwhelmed with grief, retreated to Osborne where she remained until March 1862. In her later years the Queen stayed at Osborne for about 100 days each year and she died there on 22 January 1901 at the age of 81.

The death of Queen Victoria left a vacuum for the Osborne estate and much of the land and outbuildings was gradually sold. King Edward VII did not need Osborne, preferring Sandringham. On the day of his coronation the new King wrote: As Osborne is sacred to the memory of the late Queen, it is the King’s wish that…His people shall always have access to the House which must forever be associated with Her beloved name. A committee appointed to propose a suitable use for the residence determined that a convalescent home for officers in part of the house, and the stables used for naval cadets, would be most suitable.

As a result of rapid naval expansion the Royal Naval College Osborne was established in 1903. Boys arrived at the age of 13 and stayed for two years before moving to the Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth, where they completed their studies. Building began in March 1903 and the new facility was opened by King Edward VII the following August.

The first intake was of 72 cadets, but within two years the number had risen to 400, increasing to its maximum of 500 during WWI. Both the future King Edward VIII and his brother King George VI attended as cadets.

With reductions following the armistice the Navy was over-manned and by 1920 the number of cadets at Osborne had fallen to about 50. The next year the college closed and in the 1930s many of the buildings such as dormitories were demolished.

The Edward VII Convalescent Home for officers opened in 1904 within part of the main house. It was run by the house governor, who also managed the royal apart-ments which had been retained. In WWI officers were not allowed home to convalesce as it delayed their return to the Front and many were sent to Osborne. The poet and author Robert Graves and A. A. Milne (of Christopher Robin fame) were both patients. After WWII the facility was transformed into a general nursing home but escalating costs forced its closure in 2000.

Osborne House in Victoria

Osborne House was built in 1858 for local pastoralist Robert Muirhead, who named the mansion after Queen Victoria’s residence on the Isle of Wight. Muirhead commissioned the leading Melbourne architects Webb and Taylor to undertake work on the grand bluestone buildings. He lived at the house until his death in 1862, with the house being sold the following year, after the death of his wife. The house was leased for a number of years, but was finally sold to James Francis Maguire in 1878.

In 1900 the State Government purchased the house as a country residence for the Governor of Victoria, although it was never used as such. The Geelong Harbour Trust purchased the house for £6000 in 1905. A dining room and seven bedrooms were added in 1910, the Trust using Osborne House as a guest house for a number of years. In 1911 the Trust was prepared to offer the house as a gift to the nation providing it was used for Defence purposes, but the proposal was not accepted at that time.

Group portrait of RANC officers on its official opening at Osborne House. Back row, left to right: Engineer Lieutenant D. J. Weeks; Artificer Engineer A. E. Marden; Assistant Paymaster E. W. Trivett; S. C. Smith BA; Gunner T. T. Dix. Front row: Engineer Lieutenant W. A. Monk; F. G. Brown BA, BSc; Captain B. M. Chambers; Lieutenant D. Grant: Reverend W. Hall BA

As part of the overall Henderson Plan¹the Royal Australian Navy was to have its own fleet and facilities which were to complement Imperial naval forces. As Australian officers and men should be interchangeable with those of the Royal Navy it was necessary that the training provided should be on similar lines to that in Great Britain. Measures were quickly taken for the training of seamen with the Commonwealth acquiring the Sydney-based NSW reformatory training ship Sobraon. She was commissioned as HMAS Tingira on 25 April 1912 and, remarkably, started naval training a few weeks later on 01 June 1912 with an initial intake of 86 boys. The search for a new officer training school took much longer with numerous sites being inspected, but eventually a political decision was made to establish a new facility on Commonwealth land at Jervis Bay.

As this would take some time to implement, a lease was taken over Osborne House as a temporary naval college on 01 January 1913. It had been proposed as a permanent location for the naval college as it was close to rail transport and had safe anchorage in Corio Bay, but the institution was short-lived, being relocated to HMAS Creswell at Jervis Bay in 1915.

Souvenir program from the opening of the Naval College at Osborne House

Staffing of the new college commenced in April 1912 when retired Royal Naval Lieutenant Duncan Grant was appointed as Executive Officer. Grant, who was a physical training instructor by specialisation, had been on the staff of both Osborne and Dartmouth colleges. Although quite deaf, this tall and athletic officer was keen and energetic and displayed outstanding leadership capabilities. The following month Captain Bertram Mordaunt Chambers arrived from England on loan from the Royal Navy to take up his position as Second Naval Member of the newly established Australian Naval Board. On 01 July 1912 HMS Encounter was transferred to the RAN as a training ship. This was initially a temporary measure while the cruiser Brisbane was building at Cockatoo Island Dockyard. Captain Chambers took command of Encounter, while at the same time superintending the establishment of the new naval college.

On 01 October 1912 Mr. Frederick George Brown was appointed the first Director of Studies and the Reverend William Hall as Chaplain and Naval Instructor. Brown was born in England where he gained first class honours in mathematics from London University before completing further studies at Adelaide where he gained a BSc. He was the first Principal of Perth Modern School before taking up his appointment at the College. Hall, another mathematician, was a scholar from Kings College Cambridge, who after graduation was ordained into the Church of England and later entered the Royal Navy. He was lent to the RAN in 1912. When the college moved to Jervis Bay Mr. Brown resigned and was replaced by the Reverend Hall. Added to this band of quite remarkable men was another stalwart, Frank Burgess Eldridge, who joined as a Naval Instructor in January 1913.

A house adjoining the main residence was acquired as quarters for the Captain Commanding the College and was named St Helens. Some improvements to the main buildings were carried out, including the erection of a block of buildings as quarters for unmarried seamen, two new classrooms, and alterations to the main room to provide a large barrack for cadets. On 01 February 1913 the first class of students entered the newly established Royal Australian Naval College. Twenty-eight 13 year-old boys had been selected from 138 candidates. The college housed the 28 cadets, four petty officers, and 10 seamen, together with the instructors and domestics.

From the inaugural entry, known as the Pioneer class, three members, Sir John Collins, Harold Farncomb and Harry Showers, reached flag rank. Three other cadets from the first entry failed to meet the exacting standards and were discharged before graduation, and sadly Cadet Otto Albert was to die from meningitis at his home when on leave in May 1914.

The college was officially opened by the Governor-General, Lord Thomas Denman, on 01 March 1913 with Prime Minister Andrew Fisher and Rear Admiral Sir William Creswell also present. Their Excellencies and the official party made the journey on board the new Torpedo Boat Destroyer HMAS Warrego,accompanied by her sisters HMA Ships Parramattaand Yarra, and another 200 invited guests arrived by train from Melbourne. The Vice-Regal party was welcomed at the College jetty by Captain Chambers just after two o’clock in the afternoon. The guard of honour was provided by a 200 strong detachment of the Geelong Naval Reserves. The Cadet-Midshipmen who had been drawn up on the lawn were then inspected.

Before the RAN Naval College had accepted its first students the Chaplain and Naval Instructor, the Reverend Hall, had been in correspondence with the Commander-in-Chief of the Australia Station, Admiral Sir George Fowler King-Hall. To which the Admiral responded:

Your letter raises an important question to which I feel I can scarcely attempt to do justice at the present time. My opinion is that the teaching of naval history at the College should have the following objects:

To put into the boys the spirit of the British Navy.
To give an outline of modern naval history showing how our present system of naval stations all over the world has been built-up, and the use and object of these stations.
To teach the influences that naval power has had on the history of the maritime power of the world.

The writer then elaborates on the above points before concluding as follows:You must understand that this is hurriedly expressed opinion on a great subject, and a subject I am greatly interested in. I think we should go for broad treatment. I should be glad to discuss this question with you and Mr. Eldridge if it could be arranged.

We assume this may have been the impetus to a visit to the College by the Commander-in-Chief in August 1913. At this time the Admiral was a guest of the Governor-General, Lord Denham, whose official residence was then in Melbourne, also the seat of the Federal Parliament. The following extract is from a transcript of the C-in-C’s personal diary.

Monday 04 August 1913. Motored 45 miles to Geelong with Creswell, Drummond and Flag Lt. Visited RAN College, was extremely pleased at everything I saw. The Cadets most smart and intelligent, only been there five months, but quite equal to the Cadets at Osborne (UK) in every way, good manners and much due to Grant the Executive Officer and Captain Chambers. I gave them an address, which I felt was good, and also afterwards spoke to the Instructors and men. Lunched with the Chambers, and returned by 4 pm on a shocking road and bitterly cold. Fortunately I had the GG’s fur coat on.

There were only two college entries at Osborne House, the inaugural class of 1913 and the subsequent 1914 class of 31 students. In January 1915 students from these intakes moved to Jervis Bay to complete their studies and join up with another 31 students of the 1915 intake who came directly to Jervis Bay. The new college at Jervis Bay, HMAS Creswell, officially opened on 10 February 1915.

During WWI Osborne House was used as a naval and military convalescent hospital, and between 1919 and 1924 was used as a base by the RAN Submarine Service for the J-class submarines. The Geelong Harbour Trust regained control in 1929, with a caretaker being the only resident. In 1937 the Shire of Corio Council purchased the property for use as shire offices. In 1939 the Department of Defence took over the premises to use as an army training centre.

In 1945 the Shire of Corio regained control of Osborne House to use as its offices. The shire purchased adjoining land in 1947, and remodelled the offices in 1966. The amalgamation of the shire into the City of Greater Geelong in 1995 saw the house lie empty for a time. Today the stables house the Geelong Maritime Museum and the Geelong Memorial Brass Band, the house itself is home to various community groups.

In mid-2017 the museum and other tenants at Osborne House had to relocate to other facilities and the main building is closed until further notice. This was brought about by the discovery of an unacceptably high level of mould which is widespread throughout the facility, making the buildings uninhabitable owing to health concerns. As yet the time and cost of extensive remedial work has not been determined.

Summary

The two Osborne Houses are of interest to researchers into our naval history. By virtual of scale the former had much greater influence overall on naval officer training but only a small proportion of graduates would have served directly or indirectly in the RAN. In the latter case of Osborne House at Corio Bay, the first 59 cadets to enter the RAN started their training here but none graduated directly from Osborne House, they had to wait to complete their training at Jervis Bay before graduation from that establishment.

Notes:

Admiral Sir Reginald Henderson was engaged by the Commonwealth Government to advise on the future composition of the RAN and associated infrastructure – his report was received in March 1911.

Naval Fuel Oil

June 24, 2018

By Peter Colthorpe

With recent announcements that the redundant naval oil fuel installation beneath the Sydney Domain is to be used in an extension to the Art Gallery of NSW, we asked one of our members with many years of experience as a marine engineer to provide an update on that most important of all commodities fuel oil, without which our ships go nowhere.

Since the inceptionof the RAN, the fleet has needed fuel to power our ships. The first born of our navy, the torpedo boat destroyer HMAS Parramatta and her sister ships were oil burning; the cruisers HMAS Sydney, her sister ships and the battlecruiser HMAS Australia were combined oil and coal burners with the fuel oil being sprayed on the coal to increase its burning rate.

Initially fuel was supplied from Royal Naval or civil sources but in early 1914 the RAN ordered two purpose built support ships. Firstly the oiler Kurumba from the Tyneside yard of Swan Hunter was commissioned in December 1916 but taken into service by the RN, and did not reach Australian waters until July 1919. Interestingly Kurumba herself was coal fired and her boilers were not converted to oil burning until 1929. A second ship, the collier Biloeta,was built by Cockatoo Island Dockyard and commissioned in July 1920; she could also carry 1,250 tons of oil fuel.

Shale oil was exploited in Australia but predominantly this oil was used to distil lighter fuels such as kerosene, Dieseline and petrol. Dieseline could have been used in the oil burning ships but it was normal practice to standardize the fuel with the Royal Navy, hence it is unlikely that the RAN used significant quantities of Australian sourced liquid fuel until the 1960s.

HMAS Parramattain Fremantle on her delivery voyage, with fuel supplied in drums

Coal was phased out after the First World War and essentially from 1930s two fuels dominated in the RAN, the heavy oil Navy Special Fuel Oil (NSFO) commonly referred to as Furnace Fuel Oil (FFO) and Diesel Fuel Oil. Diesel fuelled ships were patrol craft, submarines and general purpose vessels. FFO fuelled ships were steam powered ships such as cruisers, destroyers, frigates and corvettes.

Steam powered ships carried about 10% of their fuel as diesel to power the auxiliary generators, ship’s boats and to light off the boilers.

FFO was a black tar-like fuel which needed to be heated to around 220ºF (105ºC) to burn cleanly. Even then it was a dirty fuel in that it created heavy soot deposits in the boiler and uptakes which required the ship to blow soot every four hours and conduct external boiler cleans approximately every six months. The soot build up would often need a saw to cut the debris from between the tubes, a dirty and hard job as the soot was baked into the tube bank.

The tanks were also difficult to clean and the RAN converted the corvette HMAS Colac to a Tank Cleaning Vessel. FFO tanks required long ventilation periods, copious hot water and detergent and a separator system to recover the sludge and grime.Colac could also assist in external boiler cleans by providing hot water delivered in lances to flush the debris built up around the tubes.

Some merchant ship diesels were built to burn FFO or heavy fuel as it is called but up until the 1960s these ships were rarely in naval service. In the 1970s the cost of diesel fuel started to fall and more gas turbine and diesel powered ships were coming on line. The vast array of oilers and fuel depots around the world being managed in the main by Commonwealth navies and the USN needed to cater for more quantities of diesel and so FFO stocks were run down. In the RAN the Type 12 frigates and the DDGs were modified to burn diesel fuel and consequently our FFO stocks also declined. The remaining fuel was disposed of after HMAS Vampire paid off and with her the Tank Cleaning Vessel Colac, because diesel tank cleans are much easier and can be achieved with standard equipment.

Today the fleet is almost entirely fuelled by NATO Fuel F76 Distillate or diesel fuel, with aircraft fuel needs satisfied by F44 AVCAT. The diesels and gas turbines used can burn either fuel but the price difference means that F76 is the fuel most likely found in any RAN vessel, tanker or tank farm. Naval ships can burn commercial diesel fuel but it has a lower storage life so is only used when ships cannot secure F76. One exception is the tanker HMAS Sirius which burns the heavy oil but she will be paid off by 2021 when the two new tankers building in Spain are commissioned.

For the engineer the move to cleaner fuels with less soot and impurities means that combustion side problems are rare. The use of saws and manpower to clean the fireside of boilers and engine exhausts went out with FFO and when the DDGs paid off.

Historically the RAN established its own Oil Fuel Installations (OFI). Initially an oil fuel tank was commissioned at Garden Island in1917 and remains in use for diesel fuel. Prior to the outbreak of WWII three concrete storage tanks were built on the site of the former submarine mining depot at Chowder Bay and these remain in use. The large Domain storage facility also dates from the same period, being installed mainly to satisfy the needs of the British Pacific Fleet. The long disused Domain tanks are now being converted into an extension of the Art Gallery of NSW.

Tank Cleaning Vessel Colac alongside HMASParramatta

Today, Navy stores her fuel supplies in a combination of OFIs such as Chowder Bay, the oil tank on the hill at Garden Island and OFIs at Darwin, Stirling and Cairns. The two tankers HMA Ships Success and Sirius carry a significant amount but the fleet also relies on commercial tank farms to hold fuel in other ports. Fuel lighters provide alongside fuelling services but only carry enough fuel to service a few ships at a time.

Will there be a change in the future? Unlikely unless the nuclear option is explored, but liquid fuels, in particular F76, are likely to remain the staple fuel for some time to come.

Officers’ Swords of the Royal Navy – A Brief History

March 24, 2018

By John McGrath

Captain John McGrath, RN is a retired officer with a lifelong interest in naval swords. With Mark Barton he co-authored British Naval Swords and Swordsmanship published by Seaforth in 2013. This article has been especially prepared for the benefit of an Australian audience affords considerable benefit as a reference.

The first swords with an indisputable maritime provenance are those recovered from the wreck of the Mary Rosewhich sank at Spithead in 1545 while engaging the French. Among the many weapons recovered from the mud of the Solent were one complete sword and several fragmentary weapons. These are all basket-hilted broadswords typical of the time and there is no way of determining whether they belonged to seamen or to soldiers. They almost certainly belonged to officers because there is no mention of swords in the list of stores held on board. Later in the sixteenth century we have the sword attributed to Sir Francis Drake, still owned by the Drake family and on loan to the Wardroom of HMS Drakein Devonport, Fig. 1. There is no visible indication that this was a maritime weapon; it is a characteristic, high quality fighting sword of the period.

Fig.1. Sword attributed to Sir Fancis Drake, late sixteenth century, courtesy of the Wardroom Mess President HMAS Drake.

This lack of distinction for naval swords persisted throughout the seventeenth century and on into the eighteenth. In the first half of the eighteenth century, the most popular style of sword carried by naval officers was a short weapon with either a curved or a straight blade. Today such swords are referred to as hangers and hunting swords respectively but this clear cut distinction between the two is modern. Both types generally had a rounded pommel, a simple knuckle bow for a guard and a turned down, shell shaped guard. From both a naval and an Australian perspective, possibly the most interesting example of these types is the silver-hilted sword of James Cook, now preserved in the State Library of New South Wales, Fig. 2.

It is necessary to remember that during the period leading up to the end of the eighteenth century every gentleman would have worn a sword and naval officers were no exception. While the wearing of swords declined in civilian life, it continued unabated by officers of both the navy and the army and it is at this juncture that clear indications of naval provenance start to appear in the shape of recognisably naval motifs such as the fouled anchor and the naval crown.

Short, curved fighting swords were popular with both services and these often had hilts with ebony grips, sometimes bound with copper tape, guards with two side bars, and olive shaped pommels. Many are plain and not attributable with certainty to either service but some have fouled anchors decorating their pommels making their naval provenance clear, Figs. 3a and b. An inscription of the back edge of this weapon reads: WARRANTED NEVER TO FAIL 1791, firmly dating this sword.

There were numerous designs, reflecting both the tastes and the pockets of their owners. Probably the best know was the five ball sword, so named for the globules on both the knuckle guard and the side ring, Fig. 4. Fitted with a straight, cut and thrust blade, it was popular with both services and naval examples can be recognised by the fouled anchor, sometimes crowned, as here, on the ‘cigar band’ around the grip and by the fouled anchor supporting the side ring on many examples.

Fig 4. Five ball sword ca 1800

The swords just looked at were fighting weapons but, when ashore, some officers would follow civilian practice and wear a small-sword. A lightweight derivative of the rapier, it began life in the mid-seventeenth century and evolved into the court sword still worn by some officials today. Those belonging to naval officers can only be recognised if they have naval emblems in their decoration. Such is the unmarked, silver hilted small-sword illustrated in Fig. 5. The tiny fouled anchors set into the arms of the hilt proclaim its owner’s profession in the most restrained and tasteful manner. It must have been specially commissioned from a cutler and would have been an expensive item, possibly belonging to a flag officer.

Fig. 5. Silver hilted small-sword with fouled anchors set in the arms of the hilt, ca 1790.

This laissez faire attitude to swords was to change in 1805 when two patterns were introduced. For officers of commander’s rank and above there was the ornamented sword with a cut and thrust spadroon blade, a gilt stirrup hilt with langets bearing a fouled anchor, a white ivory grip, and a pommel in the form of a lion’s head, Fig. 6. Although the blade of this specimen is plain, many were beautifully blued and gilt. The ‘D’ buckles for suspension are an early design, rapidly replaced by the more familiar loose rings.

Fig. 6. 1805 Pattern, Ornamented, for Commanders and above.

For Lieutenants and below there was a plain version with a grip covered in black fish skin and a plain, rounded pommel, Fig. 7. The blades of these were only rarely blued and gilt, decoration being confined to engraving.

Fig. 7. 1805 Pattern, Plain for Lieutenants, Midshipmen and Warrant Officers.

These swords seem to have been designed on the ‘pick and mix’ principle with the blade of the 1796 Pattern infantry sword combined with the stirrup hilt of the 1796 Pattern light cavalry sword and the lion’s head pommel of the 1803 Pattern for grenadiers and flank companies. Later, the crown appeared above the anchor but there is no specific date for this development. Weapons that combine the black grip of the plain sword with the lion’s head pommel of the ornamented version are not uncommon and usually attributed to Lieutenants wishing to emphasise their commissioned status.

The days of the small-sword as a dress weapon were numbered, it being replaced by lightweight and often highly decorated versions of the uniform sword, Fig. 8.

Fig. 8. A richly decorated, dress version of the 1805 Pattern. This sword was retailed by John Salter, Sword Cutler to HRH the Duke of Sussex, one of the most prestigious sword cutlers of the time.

In 1825, a new pattern of sword based on the obsolete small-sword was introduced for the three civil branches of Secretaries to Admirals, Pursers, and Surgeons, Fig. 9. The idea behind this move seems to have been to emphasise the non-executive status of these people. Each branch was identified by its badge: Secretaries the crowned and fouled anchor of the Navy Office; Pursers the crossed fouled anchors of the Victualling Office; Surgeons the anchor entwined by a snake of the Sick and Hurt Office. This sword lasted only until 1832 making it one of the rarer patterns.

Fig. 9. Small-sword of the civil branches, 1825 – 32, Purser’s Pattern

In 1822 the Army introduced a completely new sword for its infantry officers and the RN followed suit with a very similar weapon five years later, Fig. 10. With this sword, the main features of today’s weapons are clearly recognisable.

Fig. 10. 1827 Pattern sword worn by all officers and also midshipmen

The blade was of a style known to modern collectors as pipe-backed, ramrod-backed or quill-backed. It was supposed to be equally good for cutting as for thrusting. However, while the reinforced back edge certainly stiffened the blade for a thrust, it impeded its passage through clothing and flesh in the cut. The half-basket hilt in the Gothic style with the crowned and fouled anchor in the oval cartouche was solid between the bars, unlike the Army’s version which was open and had proved fragile in combat. The grip remains white but the ivory has been replaced by a wooden core covered in fish skin and the lion’s head pommel has been retained but in a more naturalistic form. Until 1832, the scabbard had only two mounts as the sword was worn in a frog on a cross belt. In that year the familiar two loose rings reappeared. The sword knot was also different, terminating in a tassel of twelve individual gold bullions, Fig. 11.

Fig. 11. 1827 Pattern showing frog hook and sword knotot

The sword for warrant officers and masters-at-arms was similar but with the black fish-skin covered grip and the rounded pommel. The sword knot was also plain blue.

Flag officers swords were distinguished by bands of oak leaves among the engraving on each of the scabbard mounts. However, in 1831 the Army had adopted a mameluke-hilted dress sword for its general officers and the RN followed suit in 1842 with a similar sword for optional wear by flag officers, Fig. 12.

Fig. 12. 1842 Pattern for optional wear by Flag Officers, courtesy of the present owner

This pattern was withdrawn in 1856 but there is evidence that even officers promoted after that date continued to wear it.

The Army replaced the thoroughly inefficient pipe-backed blade by a flat-backed design in 1845 but it was another year before RN followed suit. The resultant sword is still with us today but with a narrow, straight blade rather than the earlier slightly curved and broader weapon, Fig. 13.

Fig. 13 1846 Pattern officers’ sword

Since 1805 there have been 11 different patterns of scabbard, 6 different sword knots and 27 sword belts. These are far too numerous to cover here but full details can be found in numbers 5 and 7 of the Bibliography. Fig 14 gives a flavour of the variety of sword belts with an example of each of the four patterns introduced in 1891.

Fig 14. From top to bottom: Full dress belts of flag officers, senior officers, junior officers and the undress belt of all officers. When swords were restored after WWII, only flag officers retained full dress. However the belt embroidered with oak leaves and acorns was reserved for Admirals of the Fleet while other flag officers wear the belt with three gold lines. Since 1996 the rank of Admiral of the Fleet has been in abeyance and the wearing of the oak leaf belt has been extended to Chief of the Defence Staff, if a flag officer, First Sea Lord and to flag officers holding a few other specific appointments.

A word or two about the crown which accompanies the fouled anchor in the designs in the cartouche on the guard and etched on the blade might be appropriate. The two most frequently encountered designs are the St Edward’s Crown and the Tudor Crown. In the former of these, the arches supporting the orb and Cross are depressed towards the centre. This design, often erroneously termed a Queen’s Crown by collector, has been used as the regal crown by Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Victoria and the monarchs preceding her. The arches of the Tudor Crown rise towards the centre to support the orb and crown. This design was used by Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII and George VI. Collectors often refer to this as a King’s Crown. The Sovereign chooses the regal crown and it will be interesting to see which design is chosen by Prince Charles on his accession. Images of other types such as the Imperial State Crown and the Guelphic Crown are encountered but very rarely.

Because the RAN has kept to the design of the RN sword, it is only if there is some additional evidence, such as a name engraved on the guard or family tradition, that one can be linked with an Australian provenance. One very interesting exception to the general rule has very recently been brought to the attention of the author: the sword of Captain Edward Richard Connor, CMG, RN. This sword, with its blade etched for the New South Wales Naval Brigade, Fig. 15, is owned by his great grandson. He speculates about the possibility that swords of the Victoria, South Australia and Queensland naval forces were similarly etched.

Fig. 16. Sword of the Royal Naval Brigade, New South Wales, courtesy of the present owner

Edward Connor was born 11 February 1846 at Blean, Kent, and entered the RN in 1861 as a Master’s Assistant working his way to Lieutenant and specialising in hydrographic surveying. This took him to Queensland where he married. On his retirement from the RN in 1880 he returned to England. In 1883 he returned to New South Wales and joined the Naval Brigade as a Lieutenant. On 8 August 1900 Commander Edward Connor embarked for China in HM Transport 105, SS Salamis, Fig. 16. He commanded the NSW Naval Brigade, part of the Australian contingent helping to suppress the Boxer Rebellion. They returned home in HM Transport 106, SS Chingtubut, because of an outbreak of smallpox in China, were placed in quarantine and finally landed in Sydney on 3 May 1901. During their absence, the colonies had federated as the Commonwealth of Australia. Captain Edward Connor CMG died at his home in Sydney on 2 January 1903 aged 56.

Dirks and cutlasses are specialist topics in their own rights but one myth really needs to be corrected. The uniform weapon of the midshipman has not always been a dirk. Up until 1805 when regulations were first promulgated, they could wear weapons of their choice. From that date until 1856, whatever novelists and the cinema say, they were instructed to wear swords.

Bibliography

Annis, P.G.W., Naval Swords, British and American Naval Edged Weapons, 1660 1815(London: Arms and Armour Press, 1970).
Bosanquet, T.A., Captain RN, The Naval Officer’s Sword(London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1955).
Comfort, Sim, Naval Swords & Dirks(London: Sim Comfort Associates, 2008).
Gilkerson, William, Boarders Away with Steel – Edged Weapons & Polearms(Lincoln, Rhode Island: Andrew Mowbray, 1991).
May, W.E., Commander RN and Annis PGW, Swords for Sea Service(London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1970).
May, W.E., and Kennard, A.N., Naval Swords and Firearms(London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1962).
McGrath, John and Barton, Mark, British Naval Swords & Swordsmanship(Barnsley, Seaforth Publications, 2013).
Verity, Liza, Naval Weapons(London: National Maritime Museum, 1992).
Wolfe, Sarah C., Naval Edged Weapons(London: Chatham Publishing and Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books, 2005).

The Australian – Indian Relationship – Part 3

March 24, 2018

Previous editions of this magazine examined the Australian – Indian relationship from the establishment of the first Australian colony in 1788 to the conclusion of the Second World War. This article completes the series, discussing the continuing relationship with an independent Indian Republic.

Background to Independence

In the early part of the 20th century the wave of feeling against British rule in India was increasing, as were growing demands for independence. Nowhere was this more evident than in Bengal, which was seething with nationalist fervour since the 1905 partition of this state.

In London on 1 July 1909 a 22 year old engineering student, Madan Lal Dhingra, fired five shots into Sir Curzon Wyllie, the Aide-de-Camp to the Secretary of State for India, Lord Morley. Dhingra was arrested immediately, tried and hanged within six weeks of the tragic event. Dhingra became the first Indian nationalist to become a martyr on British soil, inspiring other revolutionaries. Later in November 1909, the Viceroy Lord Minto and his wife survived an assassination attempt when two bombs were thrown at their carriage during a tour of the western city of Ahmadabad.

By 1911 the capital was moved from Calcutta to Delhi as the political climate in Bengal was too dangerous for secure government. In 1912 when the new Viceroy, Lord Hardinge, entered Delhi on an elephant he was injured in a bomb attack. The advent of two world wars in which the supply of Indian troops was critical to the Allies helped reduce some tensions, but during the latter stages of WWII it was becoming obvious that home rule was inevitable throughout the subcontinent.

Partition

Granting independence to such a huge and diverse entity as the Indian Empire was an enormous challenge. Under Imperial rule the minority Muslims generally enjoyed a protected status and in return provided military manpower and support in the maintenance of law and order. While a federation of Hindu and Muslim states was favoured this was not agreed to by the dominant political parties. Unwilling to become involved in a protracted impasse the new British Labour Government, which favoured home rule, agreed to partition. While this needed to be handled with the greatest care to avoid further unrest, turmoil and potential bloodshed, it was rather hastily conceived. Because of entrenched sectarian rivalries, partition of Hindu and Muslim communities was seen as the only way for them to move forward to nationhood.

The Indian Independence Act 1947 received royal assent on 18 July 1947; Pakistan came into being on 14 August and India on 15 August 1947. Partition that year possibly saw the largest movement of population in history when about 15 million refugees crossed the borders between India and Pakistan, with Hindus and Sikhs crossing from Pakistan to India and Muslims from India to Pakistan, amid fears of becoming disadvantaged minorities in their traditional homelands.

At midnight on 14 August 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of independent India, gave a famous speech which hailed the country’s decades-long, non-violent campaign against British rule:

At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance.

The swiftness of partition surprised many including local Hindu and Muslim leaders and it did not proceed smoothly. Partition created an atmosphere of hostility which broke out into unrest, violence and many thousands of deaths. The aftermath remains evident to this day.

Mahatma Gandhi with Lord & Lady Mountbatten 1947

An Independent Stance

While not yet independent in 1945 India, in common with Australia, became a founding member of the United Nations. The new India sought to distance itself from a colonial past as a non-aligned neutral nation not beholden to either the United States (West Block) or the Soviet Union (East Block). India became a well respected member of the non-alignment movement, with Nehru standing tall beside such other leaders as Tito of Yugoslavia, Sukarno of Indonesia and Nasser of Egypt. Cordial relations between India and the Soviet Union began in the early 1950s as the Soviet Union attempted to foster closer relationships with emerging nations.

The Soviets provided substantial economic and military assistance to India which outstripped aid being given to China where in 1960 there was a split in the Sino-Soviet relationship. In 1962, a technology transfer was agreed which allowed India to produce the advanced MIG-21 jet fighter aircraft. In 1965 the Soviet Union successfully brokered a peace agreement between India and Pakistan following their first border war over Kashmir.

The Cold War, which extended from 1947 with heightened tensions between Eastern Bloc and Western Bloc powers, continued until 1991 when communism collapsed in Eastern Europe. This resulted in a significant realignment of national allegiances. With greater political freedom came growth in many economies including those of India, China and the wider Asian region.

With independence came demands for other colonial powers, namely France and Portugal, to relinquish their remaining small enclaves on the subcontinent. France gradually withdrew from her possessions and returned them to new government between 1947 and 1962. Portugal, which had held colonies at Goa, Diu and Damo since 1510 was more resistant to change. On 18 December 1961 a superior Indian force invaded the Portuguese enclaves and after a short battle they reverted to Indian sovereignty.

The Independence Mix

Post war development of India cannot be considered in isolation from a number of nation/states which forged the rich history of the subcontinent.

Pakistan

Pakistan started with difficulty as a nation divided into East and West. West Pakistan is a homogeneous entity but adding East Bengal (later East Pakistan) which was separated by 2200 km of Indian territory, with no direct link between the two, would always present problems. While the majority of East Bengalis were Muslims, they had a different history and spoke a different language to those in West Pakistan. Believing they were disadvantaged by the union in 1971 a civil war broke out in East Pakistan which was supported by India. This resulted in the secession of East Pakistan, then becoming the new country of Bangladesh.

Control of the 2430 km contiguous border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan has been a contentious flash point fought over for centuries. As Australian troops now know, entry into this area is at great peril. The fragility of the relationship between the two nuclear-armed states of India and Pakistan is one of the most difficult military and political dilemmas facing the world today.

Muhammed Ali Jinnah the founder of Pakistan with Lord & Lady Mountbatten

Kashmir

What is now generally known as Kashmir is a disputed region of 225,000 km²with 13 million people claimed in part by India (45%), Pakistan (38%) and China (17%). This region, nearly the size of the United Kingdom, is mountainous and often inhospitable but other parts are extremely fertile and famed for their beauty.

India administers Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan administers Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Balitstan, and China administers Aksai Chin and the Trans Karakoram Tract. While the dispute has deep-rooted ethnic, religious and historical origins, at the time of independence the population was predominately Muslin. It was therefore assumed that Kashmir would become part of Pakistan. However the Hindu ruler, Maharaja Hari Singh, sided with India and sought the assistance of Indian troops in maintaining the status quo. This then led to the continuing conflict which has been ongoing for 70 years, and a number of times flaring into open warfare with no sign of resolution.

Bangladesh

In 1971 the former East Pakistan began a program to secede from West Pakistan and establish a new state of Bangladesh. The Soviet Union again came to the aid of India signing an Indo-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation which effectively kept the Chinese out of the conflict and ensured victory for the secessionists.

Bangladesh not only shares a border with India but with a number of less stable nation/states and Myanmar. The country, already over populated, is being obliged to accept Muslim refugees from neighbouring Myanmar, causing further tensions.

Ceylon

No discussion on the subcontinent is complete without acknowledging this magnificent island nation lying less than twenty miles from southern Indian shores. The crown colony of Ceylon received independence on 4 February 1948. The early transition was not smooth, with a Marxist inspired insurrection only put down by a unique British, Soviet and Indian aid package.

In 1972 the country’s name was changed to Sri Lanka which then became a republic. Further unrest between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamil, who were supported by Tamils from southern India, broke out into a long-running civil war which was not brought under control until the Tamils were defeated in 2009. The nation is now better unified and enjoying prosperity.

The Australian Relationship – Migration

Migration from India was curtailed after the Australian Government introduced the Immigration Restriction Act 1901 which formed the basis of the White Australia Policy. Nothing much changed until after the Second World War when Australia welcomed migration to satisfy labour demands in a flourishing industrial era.

Following India’s independence in 1947 a large number of Indian-born British citizens migrated to Australia, together with those of other mixed European-Indian backgrounds. There are now over 500,000 persons claiming Indian ancestry, making them one of the fastest growing communities in Australia today. In addition there are about 60,000 Fijians with Indian ancestry now residing in Australia and about 100,000 Indian students are temporary residents.

Increased Economic Ties

Giving some indication of the past trading dominance emanating from India is a study of its currency, the venerable Indian rupee. Until the late 1950s the rupee was a common form of currency not only used in the subcontinent and adjoining nations but also in East Africa, the Gulf States, Malaysia and Indonesia. For a time in the early 1800s the rupee was also introduced into New South Wales.

Economic ties between India and Australia have grown significantly since the early 1990s when the Indian Government liberalised trade barriers and foreign investment controls. These now mainly relate to the export of Australian coal and other raw materials which include gold, plus the supply of educational services to Indian students. An agreement has recently been made to export Australian uranium to support India’s nuclear program, with the first shipments of this strategically important material made in July 2017. The relationship is skewed in Australia’s favour, with India providing manufactured goods and outsourced professional services.

Australia’s major trading partners are in Asia. In 2016 these amounted to about 70% of exports and 60% of imports, all crossing the Pacific to Asia and North America. By contrast the amount crossing the Indian Ocean is much reduced to about 15% of exports and 20% imports. The Indian economy is expanding at a far greater rate than most other Asian countries, requiring increased raw materials likely to favour Australian trade.

An ongoing saga about providing rail and port infrastructure to the Indian-owned Adani Carmichael coal mines in Queensland is proving a difficult political quandary. In 2017 it was announced that the Indian-owned, but British based, CFC Alliance, had bailed out the struggling Australian steelmaker and mining group Arrium, securing the jobs of more than 5500 workers.

During the 21st century India became the call-centre capital of the world. Its vast pool of English speaking, technologically literate, highly educated and inexpensive graduates led international companies to move here and adopt an outsourcing model. What started as multinationals reducing costs by exploiting Indian skills has now allowed the country to enter the digital age well prepared to adopt enhanced technology and electronic communications. On the lighter side the impact of Bollywood on a younger demographic should not be underestimated as it places India very much at the forefront of an important communications and entertainment industry.

Political Changes

The conservative nature of mainstream Australian politics has remained fairly constant since WWII. Those of the subcontinent have changed dramatically from the Nehru-Gandhi dynastic rule of the socialist Congress Party which dominated the political scene from Independence. With increased economic prosperity, the Congress Party has gradually lost support and in 2014 it was replaced in a landslide win by Narendra Modi and his progressive, right leaning, Bharatiya Janata Party.

In Insight Magazine of 07 April 2017 Simon Finch provides an illuminating summary when he says: India’s Prime Minister, Narenda Modi, has been the driving force behind the ‘Make India Great Again’ campaign. The world’s fastest growing major economy, its 1.3 billion citizens are among the most entrepreneurial on the planet, facilitated by 65% of the demographic being less than 35 years old. The Prime Minister is intent on driving out corruption and pushing through reforms across all sectors, seeking to improve the lives of Indians. All this is based on the structurally sound fundamental of India’s long history of a stable bureaucracy supported by its legal framework.

Australia understands this change of dynamics and has worked with the Indian Government in developing a closer relationship. India on the other hand has from Independence developed strong ideals of regional autonomy which are now being questioned as it seeks to balance its position as an emerging regional power.

Military Awareness

The South Asian region is dominated by India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. It is unfortunate that relationships between the two major contributors to the stability of this region are not harmonious. In expanding its own leading role and influence India comes into conflict with China. Chinese commercial ties have permitted it to build strategically placed major infrastructure projects, giving access to expanding Chinese naval and military ambitions. The so called ‘String of Pearls’ is an integration of air and naval bases extending from southern China and disputed territory in the South China Sea through Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan to the Persian Gulf (Oman) and the Red Sea (Djibouti). Strategic links almost mirror that of past European colonial power.

With Australia and India having shared operational experiences in both world wars, it is perhaps surprising that there has been very limited defence contact other than via low key military exercises and a small number of exchange postings. The potential for further development is perhaps hindered by Australia’s heavy reliance on United States security and its unquestioning support of American political initiatives in the Indian-Pacific region. Australia’s continued involvement in Afghanistan is questionable when looked at from an Indian perspective.

India’s development of a nuclear deterrence capability has been of concern to Australia and after weapons testing by India in 1998 the relationship reached a low point when Australia imposed sanctions and withdrew its defence attaché from New Delhi. India accused Australia of hypocrisy as the security of the Southern Continent is largely guaranteed by an American nuclear shield.

When tempers cooled Prime Minister John Howard visited New Delhi in 2000. Since then every Australian prime minister has made the same pilgrimage with the most recent by Malcolm Turnbull in April 2017. These efforts have paid handsome dividends. In 2009 the Governments of India and Australia committed to a Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation that will strengthen cooperation in a wide range of security and related areas including counter-terrorism, defence, disarmament and no-proliferation and maritime security. A wider based Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QSD), initiated in 2007 by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, was formed between Australia, India, Japan and the United States which might be interpreted as an effort to balance Chinese regional dominance. The QSD ceased following Australia’s withdrawal under a very pro-Chinese Rudd Government. With a change of leadership under the Gillard Government the QSD resumed. It last met in New Delhi in January 2018 and was attended by their respective naval chiefs.

The opportunities for Australian-Indian security cooperation are particularly strong in the maritime domain. Successful humanitarian assistance and disaster relief was provided in response to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and joint naval exercises were held in the Bay of Bengal in 2007 and again in 2015, and off the Western Australian coast in June 2017. The first joint Army exercise is planned in 2018. The value of these growing initiatives has to be carefully managed and measured against potential negative outcomes to the substantial Sino-Australian relationship.

Summary

For the first half-millennium, since the rise of the Portuguese seaborne empire in the late 15th century, the world has been dominated by western empires. Japan was the only non-western nation to emerge as a global power, but it did so not by challenging the West but, at least initially, by joining it.

Five hundred years later the future of Western democracy is changing, with a questionable decline in American and Russian leadership and a re-emergence of China as a dominant power. A new power historically, culturally and philosophically opposed to Western characteristics. Enter the 21st Century – the Asian Century. Is this now India’s opportunity to also take its place as an economic powerhouse and perhaps lessen Australia’s over-dependence on trade with another single great Asian power? And if so, how does this affect the forging of a stronger Australian-Indian relationship?

Submarine Mining in the Australian Colonial and Commonwealth Armies

December 6, 2017

Dr J. K. Haken

Mines and submarine mining are always associated with the Navy, but internationally and locally the early development was with the Army Engineers.

Mines and underwater explosives were developed by the ancient Chinese, but in 1812 Paul Shilling, a Russian engineer, exploded an underwater mine electrically. This formed the basis of submarine mining, where mines protect harbours against attack. British Army staff including Engineers filled many roles in the Colonies and more than half a century passed before local troops eventuated. Victoria was the first of the Australian Colonies to raise an Engineer Corps¹. Rules and Regulations for the Victorian Volunteer Engineers were signed on 9 March 1861 and a Torpedo and Signalling Corps was formed in 1870. The volunteer section was disbanded in July 1882 but the permanent section remained, known as the Permanent Section, Torpedo Corps and later as the Permanent Section, Submarine Miners. In 1886 the Torpedo Corps was renamed the Submarine Miners and was combined with the Engineers².

In New South Wales Engineers were formed on 28 December 1870³. The Torpedo and Signalling Corps was formed in 1873 and was the sixth Company of the NSW Naval Brigade commanded by E.C. Cracknell who transferred to the NSW Military Forces on 8 October 1877⁴. In 1882 part of the Torpedo and Signalling Corps was re-designated as NSW Submarine Miners and became part of the Engineer Corps. At Federation the Submarine Miners were No 3 Company NSW Engineer Corps⁵. The greatest military disaster that had been experienced at the time occurred on 3 April 1891, when at an official demonstration a fatal explosion resulted in the deaths of four men. A mistake by an experienced RE NCO (on loan to the Colony) resulted in the destruction of the rowing craft and of nine other boats tethered alongside.

Submarine Mining at Chowder Bay c1890 – AWM

In 1877 a company of Engineers formed in Queensland and disbanded in 1893 before reforming in 1899 as the Brisbane Company of Submarine Miners⁵. In Victoria the Company was located at Swan Island, in New South Wales initially at Berry’s Bay and subsequently at Chowder Bay. Chowder Bay remains a military site. Both Swan Island and Chowder Bay are heritage listed. After Federation, the Australian Corps of Engineers was formed on 1 July 1902⁶and the Submarine Miners consisted of No 1 Company Submarine Miners formerly No 3 Company NSW Corps of Engineers⁷, No 2 Company formed from Field and Submarine Companies, Victorian Engineers^7,8and No 3 Company Submarine Miners formerly Brisbane Company of Submarine Miners⁷. No 3 Company was short lived, disbanding in 1909⁹.

In 1912¹⁰the Engineer Forces were reorganised and many amalgamations occurred. 37 Engineers (Submarine Mining Company) was formed from No 1 Submarine Mining Company while 38 Engineers (Submarine Mining Company) evolved from No 2 Submarine Mining Company. 37 Engineers (Submarine Mining Company) became 37 Engineers (Fortress Company). With re-organisation on 1 July 1913 the name was changed to 37 Fortress Company Engineers¹¹. The Company was assigned to fixed defence on 31 March 1921¹². The 38 Engineer (Submarine Mining) Company became 38 Fortress Company Engineers on 1 July 1913¹¹, it also being assigned to fixed defence in 1921¹². Lieut. Gen. Sir Cyril Brudenell White, the Chief of the General Staff, decided that the submarine mining technique was obsolete¹³and subsequently all mining activities were transferred to the Royal Australian Navy in August 1922¹⁴.

References

Royal Australian Engineers Association of Western Australia.
G. R. Vazenry, Military Forces of Victoria 1854-1967, Self-published Albert Park Barracks Melbourne c1968. Ch 6.
NSW Government Gazette 322 2897, 30 December 1870.
J. K. Haken, Lineage and Officers of the New South Wales Naval Forces 1863-1902The Naval Historical Society of Australia, Monograph 199, September 2003.
G.R. Vazenry, Reorganisation. Self-published Albert Park Barracks Melbourne c1969, p 339.
Commonwealth of Australia Gazette 58 606, 13 December 1902.
The Military Forces Commonwealth of Australia List 1 February1904.
Burton, H. A. An Account of the Corps from its Foundation to1932.Manuscript 1932, p 9.
NAC File1924/18 Melb. Perm. Ser. 84/1 CMNcN.
Commonwealth of Australia Gazette 51 1374 3 August1912, MO 428/1912.
MO 403/11913.
MO 95/19212.
T. Hutchinson, The Miners of Chowder Bay, Army Newspaper, reproduced on line.
P. J. Greville, The Royal Australian Engineers 1945-1972, Paving the Way.Volume 4, Corps Committee Royal Australian Engineers 2002, p 8.

History - general

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