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HMAS Sydney II

Letter: Talbot-Booth and Sydney/Kormoran

Dear Editor

No one on earth knows what information HMAS Sydney II was carrying in regards to ships’ identities either by book, signal or personal knowledge.

What we do know is that Captain Detmers did! He told us so in his book. He possibly carried Talbot-Booth. He told us he had never seen Straat Malakka and this was of concern in the painting of Kormoran, but he had seen a silhouette, he also knew Straat Malakka had a distinct counter stern and he was still confident to use her identity when his ship had a cruiser stern. Captain Rogge of the German raider Atlantis used a Dutch ship’s identity too and she also had a counter stern. It is within reason that all German raiders had copies of Talbot-Booth on board and used them with great reward.

In regards to Straat Malakka, Talbot-Booth was quite wrong, as he described a ship with a counter stern as old fashioned, when in fact she was newer than Sydney and Kormoran, she was built in 1939.

The approach to an unidentified ship by RN and also RAN ‘fine on the quarter’ came from WW I by a British Admiral and should have stayed there!

Yours sincerely

Peter Davison

 

The following response was made:

Dear Mr Davison,

Thank you for your letter of 15 April 2013 regarding ship recognition. The following is in response to the comments you have made.

According to Captain Peter Hore, RN in his book Sydney: Cipher and Search the Dutch had merchant ships from the late 1930s with both cruiser and counter sterns but those with counter sterns tended to have a greater amount of passenger accommodation, having profiles unsuitable to that of Kormoran. Therefore Straat Malakka and her sister ship Straat Soenda, albeit with counter sterns, presented more appropriate silhouettes. The only other comment of note referring to the KPM Line, to which these ships belonged, says ‘they were typical of a large number of beautiful ships trading in and around the Netherlands East Indies, built like yachts, their passenger accommodation is restful and luxurious.’

Other factors are addressed in The Loss of HMAS Sydney II – Evidence and Conclusions Vols. 1-3 by Commissioner The Honourable Terence R.H. Cole, AO, RFD, QC. In particular Vol. 1 Part 4 provides ample evidence of regular weekly intelligence reports giving information on the knowledge of German raiders with this information available to HMAS Sydney. Vol. 1 Part 5 contains some interesting observations which are quoted in full:

5.41 As noted, also carried in warships was Talbot-Booth, Merchant Ships, which was a register of merchant ships listed by country of origin, it showed silhouette of the ship and provided details of tonnage, dimensions, machinery, speed, fuel capacity, and so on.

5.66 To an experienced seaman looking from abeam, the stem, stern, superstructure and sampson posts would have appeared very different from those of Straat Malakka as shown in Talbot-Booth. But by the time Sydney was abeam Kormoran she (Sydney) had lost all tactical advantage and was in a compromised position.

We trust the above covers your queries.

Editor – Naval Historical Review

Sydney-Emden battle stamps of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands

 

By Richard Breckon

 Following from recent cover pictures of the June edition of the Review featuring Australian warships depicted on postage stamps the well known philatelist Richard Breckon has provided an interesting outline of how images are chosen for postage stamps.

The centenary of the Sydney-Emden battle will occur in November 2014 – the first between a RAN warship and an enemy ship of World War I. This epic event occurred near the tiny Indian Ocean group of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. It was first commemorated on stamps issued by the Cocos (Keeling) Islands in 1976.

In 1902 the Cocos (Keeling) Islands became a key part of the global submarine cable network with the opening of the Eastern Extension of the Pacific Cable Board’s London-Capetown cable. The Cocos relay station attracted the enemy’s attention at the commencement of World War I.

At dawn on 9 November 1914, the German light armoured cruiser SMS Emden landed a party of about 45 men on Direction Island in the Cocos group with the intention of destroying the relay station. As the Emden neared, the island’s radio operators broadcast a message ‘Strange warship approaching’.

At that moment, the first Australian and New Zealand convoy of 30,000 troops was under escort by warships on a course about 80km to the east. The nearest warship to the islands, HMAS Sydney, proceeded at full speed to engage Emden. At 5,400 tons with eight 6-inch guns, the armoured cruiser Sydney outclassed Emden at 3,600 tons and with ten 4.1-inch guns. After a running battle, the Emden became incapable of further resistance. Her captain deliberately ran Emden aground on North Keeling Island.

Meanwhile, the landing party found its own means of escape by seizing Ayesha, an old, three-masted schooner which the party sailed to Sumatra, in neutral Dutch East Indies. By circuitous means, the Emden party eventually reached Germany.

Producing the 1976 Sydney-Emden stamps

In 1955 Australia acquired ownership of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, which had previously been administered by the colony of Singapore. As a result, Australian postal legislation came into force on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Australian stamps replaced Singapore’s stamps. In 1963, separate stamps for the islands were introduced. Cocos (Keeling) Islands stamps enjoyed the same status as Australian stamps and they were available for postal use in Australia.

In the early 1970s, a new series of 12 Cocos (Keeling) Islands stamps was developed on the theme of ships associated with the history of the islands. Naturally, Sydney and Emden were included, as well as another stamp featuring Ayesha.

A commission to prepare designs for the 12 stamps was awarded to Ray Honisett of Melbourne, who at the time was completing the designs of six Australian Antarctic Territory stamps featuring aircraft used by Antarctic explorers. Ray Honisett’s work is represented in the collection of the Australian War Memorial, Canberra.

All preliminary stamp designs in Australia are submitted to the Stamp Advisory Committee, a body of art experts tasked with recommending the final stamp designs for approval. The 12 Cocos Ship designs were considered by the Stamp Advisory Committee. Various modifications were required, which involved Sydney and Emden designs.

The original Sydney design featured the burning Emden in the distance, but the distressed ship was deleted from the final design to make the stamp less ‘war-like’. The original Emden design featured a vessel in the background, presumably the raider’s prospective victim. The background ship was also deleted from the final design for the same reason. The changes were made to the two designs at the time of their submission to the Postmaster-General for final approval in September 1973.

The Sydney design shows the ship approaching Direction Island; in the Emden design the ship is emerging from a rain squall; and the Ayesha design features the raiding party about to board. The designs were allocated to stamp denominations of 10c (Sydney), 15c (Emden) and 20c (Ayesha).

The Ship stamp series was printed at the Note Printing Branch, Melbourne, which at the time printed all Australian stamps, as well as Australian banknotes. (Stamp printing today is carried out in the private sector). The 12 stamps were issued on the same day, 29 March 1976, on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and at selected post offices in Australia, which offered philatelic sales facilities.

As noted above, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands stamps were valid for use on mail posted in Australia and many philatelists took advantage of this to use the Cocos Ship stamps. The Ship stamps were withdrawn from sale in September 1979.

Supply Chief Petty Officer Louis Nicholas Sampson (1907-1941)

 

Louis Nicholas ‘Sam’ Sampson born at St Peters, Adelaide on 30 September 1907 was the eldest child of Nicholas and Olive Sampson. In his early childhood he lived at Crystal Brook, a town near Port Pirie, where his parents owned a small farm. The family later moved to Gawler and then to Port Adelaide where Louis and his two younger brothers attended the Port Adelaide Public School. Louis Sampson joined the RAN on 3 May 1922 as a 15 year old Tingira Boy; stating his occupation on enlistment as a newspaper employee. His two brothers, Frederick and Wallace, also later joined the RAN in 1925 and 1929 respectively.

Louis joined the Boys Training Ship HMAS Tingira (the old clipper ship Sobroan) which was moored in Rose Bay, Sydney. Initially he was a Boy 2nd Class (Seaman Branch) but transferred to the Supply Branch in May 1923 becoming a Victualling Boy. Louis joined his first ship, the cruiser HMAS Brisbane, in October 1923 and served in her until September 1924. During his service onboard Brisbane the ship operated mainly off the east coast of Australia.

He was then posted ashore to HMAS Cerberus and his rank was changed to Supply Boy. On 30 September 1925, when he turned 18, he was promoted to the rank of Supply Assistant. Louis Sampson joined the cruiser HMAS Adelaide in September 1926 and served in her until late June 1928. Adelaide spent most of 1926-27 operating in Australian waters and then in mid 1927 was dispatched on a ‘showing the flag’ cruise to New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. A few months after returning to Sydney, however, Adelaide was dispatched to the Solomon Islands to help put down a native uprising on the island of Malaita.

Adelaide arrived off Malaita in mid October 1927 and several of her crew were put ashore to provide logistics support and base security while a native police force was landed to deal with the rebellious native tribe. Adelaide returned to Sydney in later November 1927 after the rebellion had been put down. The cruiser then became the designated RAN training ship until decommissioned in June 1928. While serving in Adelaide Louis Sampson was promoted to Leading Supply Assistant on 30 March 1928..

After Adelaide was decommissioned he returned to Cerberus and served there until December 1930. Louis Sampson was promoted to Supply Petty Officer on 1 January 1929. He then served briefly on the staff of the RAN College during 1930; which included the transfer of the College from Jervis Bay to Cerberus in June/July of that year. Louis was heavily involved in the transfer of stores and accounts during this period.

In September 1930 he joined the heavy cruiser HMAS Canberra. During 1931 the cruiser operated off the east coast of Australia and also conducted ‘showing the flag’ cruises to New Caledonia, Fiji, the New Hebrides (Vanuatu), Norfolk Island and Lord Howe. In 1932 Canberra undertook a circumnavigation of Australia which took three months and the ship visited ports in each state. Louis returned again to Cerberus in November 1932 and served there until March 1935. He was promoted to Supply Chief Petty Officer on 1 January 1935.

Louis Sampson married Mary Agnes Murphy at St Michaels Church, Nowra on 8 January 1935 and they were later to have three children (John born 1935, Frances born 1937 and Helen born 1938)

His next ship was Brisbane; which had been his first ship in 1923. The now elderly coal burning cruiser was being sent to England to be scrapped and her men were to form the crew of the new light cruiser HMAS Sydney(II). Brisbane departed Sydney in mid April 1935 and steamed, via the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean, to arrive in England in early July and was paid off on 26 September 1935. The next day Louis Sampson became a member of the commissioning crew of Sydney. He remained in Sydney until August 1936 during which time the ship served on exchange with the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean and was part of the British force that was held there in case war broke out with Italy following the Italian invasion of Ethiopia. Louis Sampson then returned again to Cerberus. In April-July 1938 he was posted briefly to the sea-plane tender, HMAS Albatross, which had been re-commissioned due to the possibility of war with Germany. Louis then returned to HMAS Sydney in July 1938.

Book Review: Sydney – Cipher and Search

Sydney – Cipher and Search
By Captain Peter Hore RN (formerly Head of Defence Studies for the Royal Navy and currently chairman of the research committee of the Society for Nautical Research).
Seafarer Books UK (2009)  www.seafarerbooks.com
ISBN 978-1-906266-08, paperback, 314 pp, rrp $37.50 from reputable bookshops in Australia

Reviewed by Richard Francis

This latest book on the discovery in 2008 of the wrecks of HMAS Sydney and the German auxiliary cruiser HSK Kormoran is one of those gripping books which are so well written that it is impossible to put them down. The author has been involved in research on Sydney for nearly 10 years and while there was not much new to discover in the official records, his measured application in partnership with wreck hunter David Mearns ultimately delivered the goods. He takes us through his re-examination of the records and a deeper insight into the career of the German Captain Detmers, until piece by piece, the wreck hunters were able to consolidate into a small enough sea area to explore with ultra-modern technology, which would give them a reasonable chance of success when the Australian government raised its budget significantly. His parting words to me after the 2005 King-Hall Naval History Conference were: ‘We will find her (Sydney)!’ – prophetic and confident indeed!

His persistence in tracing the few surviving members of the German cruiser, even as remotely located as far as Santiago de Chile, has paid dividends – not before time – as the former radio officer, von Malapert, died a short time afterwards (aged 95). On re-examination of the English translation of Detmer’s book published in 1959 and his earlier intercepted log of events (intended for his masters in Berlin), Captain Hore discovered significant errors, which led to a better appreciation of the course of the battle. This has been endorsed more recently by the publication of the ADF sponsored Coles Commission of Inquiry into the loss of Sydney and her entire ship’s company. The compilation of underwater video and photographic evidence by the Find the Sydney Foundation has finally determined the cause of her sinking, after the savage battle with Kormoran. Few surface ship actions in WW II would have endured such a pounding during the roughly hour long engagement. British-designed cruisers were not easy to sink by gunfire (as the Graf Spee discovered very early on in the war) and torpedo hits outside the large machinery spaces were not likely to be any more successful. These were well protected by an armour belt sufficient to resist 6” shells at close range. However, the sheer volume of shells spread through the upper works and superstructure would have caused massive casualties and raging fires, which probably overcame the survivors` efforts to save their ship, as flooding increased relentlessly further aft along the waterline, and possibly reaching the vital machinery spaces themselves after several hours, causing an eventual loss of buoyancy. Sydney would have plunged by the bow, as evidenced by the discoveries in the debris field leading to her final resting place, upright on the sea floor over 2000m down.

The wreckage of both ships reveals a general endorsement of the hitherto uncorroborated German accounts (which had led to some disbelief in many quarters) and this was the test of the wreck hunters’ faith in their documentation. The lack of survivors from Sydney now appears more reasonable as the ship would have sunk quite suddenly and the lack of serviceable life rafts would have mitigated against anyone escaping from the ship. The inevitable  delay in  organising a  search of a vast sea area would not have been prompt enough to find any survivors in the water in the conditions prevailing at the time.

The Long Journey Home – Unknown HMAS Sydney Sailor

He was badly wounded and dying, but somehow he made it into the Carley Float. Whether he fell into it, was blown in by a bursting shell or was placed there by his shipmates we will never know. When the light cruiser HMAS Sydney was sunk off the Western Australian coast on 19 November 1941, in her final battle with the disguised German raider Kormoran, it was the start of one man’s long journey home.

A few months later on 6 February 1942 a battle damaged naval pattern Carley Float (a metal tubular life raft covered with cork and canvas) was spotted drifting off Christmas Island (then British Territory administered from Singapore). The Harbour Master, Captain James Smith, ordered his assistant Edward Craig to bring the float ashore and the badly decomposed body of a man wearing a white boiler suit was found in the raft. The Island’s doctor (Dr J. Scott Clark) ascertained that the body was of a Caucasian male who had been dead for some time and the description of the Carley Float later given by Smith indicated it was from a naval vessel and that the float had been in the water for several months.

Also found in the raft was a shoe or boot with the broad arrow (indicating Government property) and the manufacturer’s name of McCowan or McEwen stamped on it. First hand evidence suggests that the shoe size was not compatible with the body and it was speculated that there may have been another man in the raft prior to it being recovered.

The overalls worn were described as both white or blue, that had been bleached white by the sun, and with four press stud fasteners at the front as opposed to buttons. The body had lain in the raft in a peculiar position and the Assistant Harbour Master later stated, in 1981, that a coffin had to be built to conform to the way the remains were preserved. In mid February 1942 the body was buried in an unmarked grave in the Old European Cemetery with military honours. A report on the incident was delivered to the RAN by Captain Smith when he returned to Fremantle later that month. On 31 March 1942 Christmas Island was invaded and occupied by the Japanese and there the matter and the unknown sailor rested for many years to come.

In 1949 the matter was examined by the RAN when one of the men who had been present at the funeral (Sergeant J.W. Brown of the Christmas Island volunteer platoon) wrote an article for a WA newspaper but nothing came of this investigation. Again the matter was consigned to the footnotes of history being only briefly mentioned in the RAN’s Official History for the War 1939-1945 (published in 1957). At Christmas Island the unknown sailor lay in his unmarked grave, but every now and then Mr Jack Pettigrew (who had been on the island in 1942 and returned there in 1946) would take interested people to see the grave site. One day in late 1950 he took Mr Brian O’Shannassy (an ex RAN Signalman working on the island as an accountant) to see the grave and Brian took a photo of the cemetery. Pettigrew is alleged to have also made a comment that he recalled the body had a `perfect set of teeth’ (or words to that effect). Brian O’Shannassy’s photo was to prove to be of significant value some 55 years later.

In the early 1980s there was resurgence in interest regarding the loss of Sydney and two books on the matter were published. These were Michael Montgomery’s Who Sank the Sydney (1981) and Barbara Winter’s HMAS Sydney – Fact, Fantasy and Fraud (1984). Both mentioned the sailor buried at Christmas Island. From these two books the pressure began to mount to have the wreck of Sydney located and the body at Christmas Island exhumed. Throughout the 1990s more books on the loss of Sydney were written and more Australians became interested in the whole story. One of these was Mr Ted McGowan whose older brother (Able Seaman Thomas McGowan) had been lost with the ship. He had heard the rumour that the body had a perfect set of teeth and, linked with the details of the shoe found in the raft, he believed that the body could be that of his brother. His efforts over the next 15 years were to prove to be one of the main catalysts in having the body exhumed.

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