Prisoner of war

German Prisoners of War in Australia WW2

March 30, 2005

After the sinking of HMAS Sydney and HSK Kormoran in 1941, a considerable number of Kriegsmarine survivors were rescued and became prisoners of war. This account details some of their experiences in POW camps in Australia.

On 24 November 1941, the British tanker Trocas, bound for Fremantle, reported she had rescued 27 German sailors from a rubber raft 115 miles WNW of Carnarvon. The following day a RAAF aircraft reported sighting two boats 70 miles NNW of Carnarvon, followed by a third boat. During the day, two more boats were observed. It was not until the 26th that the boat carrying Fregattenkapitan Detmers was spotted and the occupants were rescued by SS Centaur. Fearing the Germans might attempt to take over the ship, the Kormoran’s lifeboat was taken in tow until they reached the small Western Australian township of Carnarvon. HMAS Yandra brought in one and another was brought in by SS Koolinda. A fifth boat reached shore north of Carnarvon, followed by a sixth which had escaped detection from the air. The six boats landed 266 men of Kormoran’s complement. No further survivors were found at sea but on 27 November at 08.30 the troopship Aquitania reported she had on board 26 German sailors from a rubber raft found off the West Australian coast just a day before the British tanker Trocas reported her rescue.

Of the Kormoran’s complement of 393 officers and crew, 315 were rescued along with three of the four Chinese taken captive when the raider sank the SS Eurylochus ten months earlier. Twenty had been killed in the battle and the remainder had drowned due to rough seas and overcrowding in the first life raft. Except for the prisoners picked up by the Aquitania, which had continued her voyage to Sydney, and those rescued by the Trocas which proceeded directly to Fremantle, the prisoners were taken to Carnarvon where the preliminary interrogations took place.

All the prisoners were eventually transferred to Fremantle for treatment, recuperation and a thorough interrogation. Nineteen were taken to hospital, the remainder were distributed between the Fremantle Detention Barracks, Swanbourne Barracks and the internment camp at Harvey, 87 miles south of Perth. After their interrogation the prisoners were transferred to Melbourne, the officers on 13 December aboard the SS Duntroon and the ‘other ranks’ in two groups by train, one on 27 December and the other in early January. They were all sent to a POW camp at Murchison in north western country Victoria, where they spent their first Christmas and New Year behind barbed wire. The officers were transferred to the ‘officers only’ camp at a homestead property at Dhurringile, about 10 miles from the Murchison camp, which had been converted into a detention camp. Here there were already 60 officers from the Luftwaffe and the Army, mostly from Rommel’s Afrika Korps. Two prisoners who were too ill to travel at the time remained behind in the hospital in Fremantle. Unfortunately, one torpedo-man, Erich Meyer, died of lung cancer three weeks later and was buried with full military honours in the Lutheran section of the Karrakatta cemetery. His grave was kindly looked after by the mother of one of the sailors killed on the Sydney until his reinterment in the German cemetery in the Victorian country town of Tatura, a few miles north of Dhurringile.

Censorship failure

News of the action and the presumed loss of HMAS Sydney were publicly announced in an official statement by the Prime Minister Mr. Curtin on 30 November 1941. The next of kin had already been informed by personal telegram three days earlier. Unfortunately, through a failure to observe correct censorship by Government and Naval authorities, information had leaked out on 25 November and gave rise to rumours which spread quickly throughout Australia, and caused deep distress to the next of kin of the Sydney’s crew. Because the only accounts of the encounter were, and still are, from the Kormoran’s survivors, it left many with the perception then and in the years that followed that the whole story was not being told.

Compared with the German and especially the Japanese POW camps, the German and Italian prisoners of war were on a holiday. The Australian Government took its Geneva Convention obligations seriously, so much so that both German and Italian ex-prisoners were unanimous in their praise of the generally humane treatment they received from the military authorities. In the Victorian camps, there was a cordial understanding between the officers and men who guarded the prisoners and the officers and men who were the prisoners but most trouble came from the Germans. No matter how well they were treated, there was the sheer frustration of being a POW in a strange country almost on the other side of the world with no news from the Fatherland or their loved ones. They were crowded together with differences of opinion on a great many issues, especially between Austrians and Germans, Nazi and non-Nazi. Trouble simmered. The bars of their cage could have been made with gold but those bars still prevented their freedom. Escape plans began to hatch. The Germans quickly realised that if they escaped they were not going to be lined up against a wall and shot. There were no secret police such as the Gestapo or Kempi Tai, but they also understood that because Australia was such a vast island nation, there was nowhere to go. Escape was almost impossible unless they were able to somehow get aboard a neutral ship. Escaping became a sort of therapy to relieve the tension of camp life although a few were actually trying to get home. It was a constant problem for the military and civilian authorities.

Australian ‘fair go’

Initially, the local population was apprehensive when the first escapes took place but over a period of time they became more relaxed when they realised the Germans were not going to murder them in their beds. Many recaptured POWs told of the locals giving them the Australian ‘fair go‘ or sporting chance, such as being given food and directions and told they have 8 hours before they must be reported or given work on farms. They escaped from working parties using clever ruses, dug tunnels and employed a great amount of ingenuity in their escape efforts but for the most part, none got very far or were at liberty for long. Their escape preparations did not need to be as well thought out or equipped as their counterparts in Europe or Asia, who could possibly be shot if caught. One way the Government sought to ease the tension in the camps was the formal agreement reached in 1943 between the belligerent countries to allow POWs to send airmail letters. Australia was the only country in the world to issue airmail postage for the exclusive use of POWs and internees.

On 5 August 1944, a total of 1,100 Japanese prisoners broke out from their prison camp near the small rural township of Cowra in New South Wales, stabbing or bludgeoning four unfortunate guards to death and wounding four others. The Japanese actively sought death. They wanted to be killed. Only death would wipe away the shame of being captured, the disgrace to their parents, to the Emperor and to Japan. The escape sent shock waves throughout the local communities and caused tremendous concern throughout country Victoria, and it was to temporarily stifle escape attempts for the Germans at Camp 13 at Murchison. The military authorities killed 183 Japanese while trying to prevent the escape.

When Fregattenkapitan Detmers arrived in Dhurringile, he was the most senior officer there. He became the Camp Leader responsible (in cooperation with the military authorities) for the day to day running of four compounds and the historical Dhurringile mansion where the higher ranking officers and their batmen lived. Detmers carried out his duties as camp leader efficiently and was respected by authorities and prisoners alike but in 1944 something was not right. His men had all been awarded the Iron Cross Second Class for their action against the Australian cruiser. He had also been awarded the Knights Cross in addition to his Iron Cross First Class. His crew were still in the area plotting escapes, playing chess, exercising or out on various work parties. Life in the camp was going along without too many problems but at some point he must have decided do something different. Perhaps a sense of adventure to rekindle his Hilfkreuzer days or simply a final fling!

Escape tunnel

On 11 January 1945 the most successful escape of the camp was carried out from the old Dhurringile mansion by 17 officers and 3 batmen. Detmers was one of the escapees. They had tunnelled from a large crockery room, down to a depth of 14 feet in the sandy soil then out under the compound yard, under the perimeter fence and a good distance beyond the wire, a total length of 120 yards. When they were all out, the prisoners scattered in all directions. Detmers had teamed up with Oberstleutnant Helmut Bertram and initially the pair made good progress considering Detmers was twice as old as the other escapees. When they were eventually recaptured about a week later by two local police, Detmers looked ill.

As punishment for his part in the escape, Detmers was sent for a month to the Old Melbourne Gaol, a bluestone relic built by convict labour back in 1842-45. When he arrived, the gaol was being used as a military detention centre. Detmers returned to his duties at the camp after his detention time was over but on 13 March he suffered a stroke during the night and was paralysed. He had been under a lot of strain running the camp, he smoked too much and the physical effort of the escape had taken its toll on his health. Detmers was transferred to a military hospital in Melbourne where he stayed for three months. He recovered from his illness but returned to Dhurringile partly paralysed and unable to resume his duties as camp leader. His fellow escapee, Oberstleutnant Bertram, took over the duties of camp leader until the war ended in 1945.

Repatriation

The war may have finished but for 2,500 Germans and Italians in the Victorian internment camps it would not be until 21 January 1947 that they boarded the RMS Orontes at Port Melbourne and were able to finally return home to Europe. Detmers was going with them but this time in the ship’s hospital. He may have looked out the porthole, noticed the ship moored at the pier opposite and wondered about the fickleness of fate. Perhaps some of his crew may have also noticed the real Straat Malakka berthed opposite.

Fregattenkapitan Theodore Detmers arrived in Cuxhaven, Germany on February 28, still with his crew. He remained slightly crippled from his stroke and retired from the Kriegsmarine on a pension. He lived in Hamburg, where he and his wife were often visited by former crew members until his death in 1976.

Losses

Both the Sydney and the Kormoran crews fought a fierce battle with bravery and tenacity, but the loss of the 645 Australian crew was not the worst in Australian maritime history. In 1942, the American submarine, Sturgeon sank the Japanese ship Montevideo Maru with a loss of 1,050 Australian POWs and internees.

The most puzzling question – why Captain Burnett brought his warship so close to the raider – is open to a whole range of explanations. He may have simply been a victim of a well-thought out ruse. Besides, he was in fact, successful (although at a terrible cost) in preventing the Kormoran from laying mines along the Australian coast, and with its demise, stopped the potential sinking of more ships, and the loss of more lives and essential cargoes. They did everything they could to destroy the enemy in the best naval tradition, and had succeeded.

The Sydney/Kormoran debate still continues to this day, causing deep divisions among various interested parties. Historians, researchers, authors and individuals all have their own ideas about what happened on that fatal evening. Even the actual site of the engagement seems to be in doubt among researchers.

Allied warships had a standard procedure that suspicious vessels must be approached from the starboard quarter. This was considered to be a safe position. The German Navy were aware of this tactic in the early stages of the war and equipped their later raiders such as the Kormoran with underwater torpedo tubes positioned at an angle of 125-135 degrees to cover this ‘safe spot’. Detmers had carried out successful trials using the angled torpedo tubes so he certainly had the capability to use them. Did he use his normal starboard torpedoes with his battle flag raised or did he use his underwater torpedoes whilst still under Dutch colours? This seems to be the main question many want settled first.

Detmers’ concern

On page 202 of his book, Detmers wrote in part, ‘I felt sure I should have to face an enemy [Australian] court martial over the business.‘ It is a proven fact that Detmers did conduct his raider war with chivalry and respect for his enemies, therefore his concern about a court martial may have simply been related to his war conduct as a raider in general.

However it is absolutely essential that both Captain Burnett and Fregattenkapitan Detmers should not be judged too quickly over their respective actions until conclusive proof is established. The truth is becoming harder to find. As time moves on, the only remaining witnesses are becoming fewer and fewer, which increases the reality that the mystery may never be solved.

The Australian Government did attempt to put the debate into some sort of rational perspective and perhaps give some form of closure. In March 1999, the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia published a 192 page report by the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade called: Report on the Loss of HMAS Sydney. The Committee received 201 submissions, debated extensively all the issues, tried to reach logical conclusions and sadly, at the end of the last chapter of the report, stated:

‘It is important that information and theories be shared and examined. The Committee strongly believes there is a need for all involved in the Sydney debate to move beyond animosity and antagonism and find common ground. No one ‘owns’ the Sydney, or has a monopoly on the truth. The Committee hopes that future researchers will rise above the personal acrimony and suspicion that has marred so much of this debate thus far. The ‘dialogue of the deaf’ that characterises so much of this debate is counter-productive. An exchange of differing views is a positive process, and can only lead to a better understanding of the events of November 1941. HMAS Sydney deserves no less.‘

References.

The author is indebted to:

The Naval Historical Society of Australia. Garden Island, New South Wales, Australia.

The National Archives of Australia publication:

The Sinking of HMAS Sydney; Prisoners of War, 1999

Commonwealth of Australia for permission to use material from their publications.

German Raiders of World War 2. Pan Books, Karl August Muggenthaler.1980.

The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia [Joint Standing Committee].1999. Canberra.

The Raider Kormoran. Captain T Detmers. William Kimber, London. 1959.

Frank Macdonough. West Essendon. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Tatura & District Historical Society Inc. Tatura, Victoria, Australia.

Mac. Gregory. macden@melbpc.org.au

Barbara Winters. Stalag Australia. Angus and Robertson. 1986.

National Archives of Australia. Canberra, ACT, Australia.

(The author is a writer of naval and military history from his own research in Melbourne, who contributes to newspapers and magazines. Ed.)

Book Review: All Men Back – All One Big Mistake

March 1, 1999

Title: All Men Back – All One Big Mistake Publisher: Hesperian Press

An odd title for a very interesting book. This is the story of young Signalman Bill (Buzzer) Bee, who served in the cruiser HMAS Perth at the Battles of the Java Sea and Sunda Strait and was later a Prisoner of War of the Japanese.

Following the sinking of Perth, and the cruiser USS Houston, in the Sunda Strait the story follows the adventures and misadventures of Bill Bee and the other Perth survivors as they are held captive in a variety of Japanese POW Camps. These include camps in Java, Singapore, Thailand, Burma (including their time spent on the infamous Thai-Burma Railway) Indo China and finally Japan where they were employed underground in Japanese coal mines.

The title of the book comes from a habitual saying of their Japanese overlords; when a planned move from one camp to another fails to eventuate due to some breakdown in the Japanese communication or logistics chain (a bit like the Australian version of `packs on, packs off – hurry up and wait’.

The book ends with Bee returning safely to his family home in Western Australia, however, over 100 of his comrades did not return – victims of untreated wounds received in battle, malnutrition, Japanese brutality or killed when their unmarked prison ships were sunk by Allied submarine or aircraft,

I found the author’s style of writing very easy to read and the story captivating, no pun intended, and finished the 156 page book in a few hours. Although the story of Australian POW’s held by the Japanese has been told several times before, both collectively and on an individual basis, the tales of the hardship they endured and their determination to survive never cease to amaze me.

Hesperian Press published this book and they have done a very good job. The book includes over 30 illustrations, mainly photos of HMAS Perth and members of her crew and a folded map of South East Asia which is a copy of a Red Cross publication from World War II showing the location of Japanese POW Camps. An appendix lists the Ships Company of HMAS Perth and their final fate (ie killed in action at Sunda Strait, died as a POW, died since the end of the war, or still living).

I purchased my copy for $19.95 from a small bookstore in Western Australia (where the publisher and author are located), however, it may not be readily available on the east coast. The book is available from Hesperian Press PO Box 317, Victoria Park WA 6979.

HMAS Hawkesbury – The Pathos of Palawan

March 23, 1998

For an RAN ship, Palawan on the edge of the South China Sea was a unique place indeed to visit; especially amid circumstances that were dramatic to say the least.

Amid the wreckage of war there, it stumbled across one of the Pacific’s horrendous war atrocities.

To this day, it is doubtful if any other Australian ship ever has visited Puerto Princesa, capital of Palawan, the westernmost island of the Philippines Group lying 500 miles south of French Indo China, as it used to be.

With the American destroyer-escort USS CRONIN, the frigate HMAS HAWKESBURY was detailed to leave the US fleet base at Leyte Gulf to escort the big American tender USS POKOMOKE to Puerto Princesa.

Wending its way through the islands and the Mindanao Straits, the convoy entered the Sulu Sea on the 600-mile passage to Palawan, steaming at 16 knots with the two warships zig-zagging at 17.5 knots out in front to offer a protective screen for the big supply tender with its vital cargo.

Palawan had just been captured by American forces and fighting was still taking place in the hills and jungle behind Puerto Princesa. From the bridge of HMAS HAWKESBURY, using telescopes and binoculars, crewmen were able to see American and Japanese artillery units in duels in the hills sloping down to the bay. Aircraft overhead observed the fall of shot and each flash of flame from artillery guns was followed by an exchange from the Japanese positions.

Strewn around the harbour were sunken Japanese vessels and on the airstrip was scattered the remains of aircraft smashed by bombing and naval bombardment.

Tapestries and religious ornamentation were lying in ruins inside the shell of what had been a most picturesque Spanish-style church at the corner of one of the main streets. Forms, papers and documentation were strewn about as a result of heavy damage to the town’s administration building.

But what captured the attention of the HMAS HAWKESBURY men was a large corrugated iron building. On its roof, though not easy to read because of damage, were the words “AMERICAN PRISONER OF WAR CAMP”.

The Australians were quick to learn of the fate that had befallen 150 Americans held prisoner there but it wasn’t until well after the war that the men of HMAS HAWKESBURY were to learn the full implications.

Edwin P. Hoyt in his remarkable book “JAPAN’S WAR” recorded something of the atrocities that had occurred in the Philippines and of the Puerto Princesa episode he wrote:

“One of the worst was on Palawan Island where 151 American prisoners of war had been slaving to build an airfield for the Japanese. When an American aircraft appeared overhead, the garrison commander ordered all the prisoners into their air raid shelters. He then ordered his troops to pour petrol over the shelters and to ignite them. Most of the trapped Americans were burned to death. Those who escaped were machine-gunned. Ultimately, only nine men survived by jumping into the sea and swimming to another island where they eluded the Japanese.”

There was only one variation in that account so far as the men of HMAS HAWKESBURY were concerned. For, at Puerto Princesa, they had been told the atrocity occurred not when a US aircraft appeared but when the Japanese had sighted offshore a sizeable force which they believed was about to attack Puerto Princesa but which, at that stage, headed a shade further north to attack Mindoro first.

HMAS HAWKESBURY had an association with the prisoner-of-war scene that was probably quite unique for any WW II RAN warship.

Initially, it had that insight into what had happened to the American prisoners-of-war at Puerto Princesa. Then, at the war’s end, HMAS HAWKESBURY was the only RAN warship rushed to Singapore where it hosted Changi prisoners aboard every day and night before making two trips back escorting transports that repatriated the 8th Div. AIF men and civilian internees home to Australia.

Racing to Koepang in Timor, HMA ships HAWKESBURY, GYMPIE, KATOOMBA, GLADSTONE and MORESBY provided the naval ceremonial touches when Brigadier Dyke accepted the formal surrender of the 48th Japanese Division led by Lt.-Gen. Yamada.

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Clandestine Radios – Burma Railway 1942-1945

September 1, 1995

Edited by Harry Knight (“Bogie” Knight)

This article is a tribute to the courage and fortitude of two very brave men, Sgt. Edward Cawthron of the Fortress Signals and Chief Petty Officer W/T Harry Knight, DSM, Royal Australian Navy.

These two men in operating a very basic short-wave radio receiver at the risk of instant execution by their Japanese guards, obtained news from the outside world, boosting the morale of their suffering comrades working on that infamous Burma Railway.

Sometime before that period, when Sgt. Ted was a POW in Singapore, he managed to collect and disguise various pieces of radio equipment, hoping that one day he would be in a position to assemble and hide a radio receiver. That day came sooner and more horribly than he could ever imagine.

Chief Petty Officer Knight served in the Royal Australian Navy Cruiser, “Perth” which in company with the American Cruiser “Houston“, was sunk in the Sunda Strait night action on 1st March, 1942.

The two ships were returning to Australia when they ran into a Japanese Task Force escorting a Java “invasion fleet”. They sank and damaged many transports that night. Both ships had survived the disastrous Java Sea Battle and were naturally low on ammunition. “Perth” expended her 6″ ammunition and resorted to firing solid practice shells at the enemy. “Perth” was actually withdrawing from the action when she was hit by a stray torpedo. Almost defenceless, she was an easy target for three more.

The Japanese invasion Commander lost his ship and was forced to spend sometime in the water with his troops. He would not believe “Perth” was only a cruiser because so much damage had been inflicted on his ships.

With reference to the book “Out of the Smoke” about “Perth“, Harry mentions the first time he met the Japanese was at Tjilatjap when they were taken prisoners after the open boat voyage which they had planned to sail the boat back to Australia.

I was privileged to work with both men in the Engineering Section of the PMG Department in Adelaide after World War II. I remember well Ted designing and making prototypes of transmission measuring equipment. He suffered greatly from his prisoner-of-war experiences and sadly died a few years later. Harry, at least in the short term seemed less affected and continued working for the PMG Department and Telecom until his retirement.

It was during a luncheon for Navy Communicators when Harry, as we all so often do in later life, spoke briefly about his POW experiences. This is his story:

Ted built his short-wave radio receiver disguised in the 2 cm false bottom of an old coffee tin 15cm x 10cm, containing burnt rice, which according to Harry, still tasted like burnt rice when hot water was poured on it. The receiver used a 1.5 volt filament valve with a 45 volt battery high tension supply. Both men would have known the necessary number of wire turns for the coil and the capacitor value of the turning condenser to resonate on the short-wave 20 and 30 metre bands. There were holes in the bottom of the tin to connect the aerial, the batteries, a single head-phone and access to tune the condenser with the flattened end of a piece of copper wire.

Batteries were smuggled in by friendly Thais on river boats, plus duck eggs and quinine, “both life saving items”. Charlie Letts, an Englishman living in Bangkok procured these items for the men, including any interesting news he may have overheard. Perhaps the Japanese thought Charlie was German – this does seem incredible!

The aerial was a length of insulated copper wire hidden in a 4 metre length of bamboo. It was left outside leaning against a tree during the day and taken inside at night.

Ted operated the receiver in the early days of the railway project, until some of the men were aware he possessed it. This meant he was now compromised. Ted was also aware an Air Force man was discovered with one and executed. With that in mind, the CO Lt. Col. “Weary” Dunlop and Ted decided that rather than destroy the set, Harry might like to operate it.

Harry lay on a bed of bamboo slats at night with a single head-phone pressed to his ear, reading and memorising Morse code, while his best mate Petty Officer Horrie Abbott in the next bed to him was completely unaware the radio receiver existed. No wonder Navy Communicators are well known as the “Silent Branch” of the Service.

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Obituary: LT. CDR. Pakgrave Ebden Carr, D.F.C., RAN (Rtd.)

September 12, 1993

Whilst documentation of our Naval history regarding ships and battles is well covered in our Naval Historical Review, these battles could not have been won or lost without the brave officers and men who so gallantly served our nation. Lt. Cdr. “Pally” Carr, as he was affectionately known, was unique in Naval history as the only serving Naval officer in the R.A.N. to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross. Air Commodore W.H. Garing, C.B.E., D.S.C., R.A.A.F. (Ret)., in his Valediction at the funeral of Lt. Cdr. Carr summed up the man when he described him as “A great and unbelievably courageous Australian”.

Born in 1908, Lt. Cdr. Carr was formally educated in Melbourne and in 1918, attended Geelong Grammar School where he spent four years. In 1922 he was selected as a Cadet to attend the R.A.N. College at Jervis Bay. He excelled as Chief Cadet Captain in 1924 and was King’s Medallist winner as the best all round Cadet. In the same year he won the Governor General’s Cup for the Best Individual All Round Sportsman. He graduated with distinction from the College in 1925. After graduating, “Pally” was sent to the U.K. where he spent four years at sea and on various courses, returning to Australia in 1930 as a Sub. Lt. Volunteers were called for at that time for secondment to the R.A.A.F., training as pilots. “Pally” volunteered, was accepted and spent two years flying seaplanes at Point Cook. Unfortunately, the Service rules at the time were rather Gilbertian and precluded an R.A.N. pilot from displacing R.A.A.F. pilots, who at the time were flying the R.A.N.’s sea-borne aircraft. During this period of secondment to the R.A.A.F., “Pally” wore R.A.A.F. uniform by day and Naval mess undress at night, except on ceremonial occasions when he reverted to Naval frock-coat. As a Lt. in the R.A.N., he was given the honorary rank in the R.A.A.F. of Flt. Lt. for which he dressed during the day. 1932 was an exciting year, as he qualified for his pilot’s Brevet wings and in 1933, he flew with Air Commodore W.H. Garing and they remained close friends for life.

“Pally” returned to sea-going service in 1935 as a fully qualified Naval pilot. As he was unable to fly with the R.A.N., the Naval Board then offered him an Observer’s course in the U.K., which he accepted, arriving in England in 1936. After qualifying, he spent four years serving in aircraft carriers H.M.S. FURIOUS, H.M.S. COURAGEOUS and H.M.S. ARK ROYAL in European and Mediterranean waters.

Seagull A2-8 H.M.A.S. WESTRALIA off Macassar 23/4/40 (Recovery). — Seagull A2-8 HMAS Westralia, off Macassar 23/4/40 (Recovery).

In July 1939, “Pally” joined H.M.A.S. PERTH, which sailed from Portsmouth, bound for Australia via New York. PERTH was to represent Australia at the opening of the World Fair. After leaving New York on the homebound voyage, war became imminent and H.M.A.S. PERTH was held in Jamaica, to be included in the Caribbean Naval Force, which included Canadian and French ships in that area. PERTH had no planes but H.M.S. ORION, carrying the Senior Officer, had two Seafox float-planes embarked with a spare aircraft held in Jamaica. “Pally” was transferred to H.M.S. ORION where he flew the Seafox float-planes for six months – the only Allied war planes in the whole of the West Indies at the time.

In 1940 “Pally” returned to Australia to serve briefly in H.M.A.S. MANOORA, H.M.A.S. WESTRALIA and, for a short period at Pearce R.A.A.F. Base. At the end of 1940 he was sent back to Britain on loan to the R.N. After serving in the east coast of Britain Naval Air Stations at Arbroath and Crail, he was appointed to H.M. Carrier HERMES, operating in the Indian Ocean between Mombassa, the Seychelles, Mauritius and Ceylon. “Pally” was recalled to Australia, leaving H.M.S. HERMES in Trincomalee in April 1942. It is interesting to note that the day after his leaving H.M.S. HERMES, the ship was sunk by aircraft from a Japanese aircraft carrier. On safely arriving in Australia, “Pally” joined H.M.A.S. AUSTRALIA, taking part in the Guadalcanal landing and the Battle of Savo Island.

At the end of 1942 he was again attached to the R.A.A.F., serving briefly with No. 100 Torpedo Bomber Squadron based in Milne Bay, T.P.N.G. “Pally” was then posted to R.A.A.F. Command at Allied H.Q. in Brisbane. He initiated, in conjunction with the U.S.N., the highly-secret offensive minelaying campaign, using night-flying R.A.A.F. Catalinas of 11 and 20 Squadrons, working out of Cairns and Darwin. These operations ranged between Indonesia and the South China Seas. Air Commodore Garing stated in later years that he had personal knowledge that the operations were highly successful – at one stage, bottling up a considerable number of enemy warships for a whole fortnight. Unfortunately, in September, 1943, the Catalina in which “Pally” was flying was shot down off Pomala, in the Celebes. His mission at this time was testing, under operational conditions, a new American torpedo. The torpedo had a problem in that when its engine was fired , a great flash occurred, lighting up the aircraft, which could be seen for miles. It was because of this problem with a torpedo that “Pally’s” Catalina was shot down. Although he was a lone survivor, he did rescue one other member of the Catalina’s crew who died within 36 hours of being brought ashore. Unluckily, he was captured by the Japanese, being left in solitary confinement for six weeks in Sourabaya before being flown to Japan. He was then held prisoner of war in the infamous Naval Interrogation Camp at Ofuna, inland from Yokosuku. The torture inflicted on him by the Japanese was of the cruelest kind, but never once did he tell them what work he was in. I quote Air Commodore Garing, when giving “Pally’s” valediction, “I doubt if many servicemen could have endured the pain to which this unbelievably brave man was subjected”. In this hell hole, “Pally” was to endure eight months of his two years as a prisoner of the Japanese. After Japan was defeated he was repatriated to Australia. He took advantage of retirement open to ex P.O.W.s, shortly after his return. His bravery and devotion to duty was recognised when he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

He settled with his loving wife, Jean and family at Palm Beach where he ran a boatshed on the Pittwater, later selling the business and taking up the appointment of Information Officer at the Sydney Bureau of Meteorology, where he stayed until retirement in 1971.

Of special note, Lt. Cdr. Carr was at sea in H.M.A.S. PERTH on her war station off the South American coast on September 3, 1939 and for every one of the six Christmases of WWII, he was on active service – two years at sea in the Atlantic, one in Ceylon, one in New Guinea and two in Japan.

Lt. Cdr. Carr died in August 1990, aged 82. The data for this history was kindly supplied to me by Mrs Jean Carr and family. They have decided to donate to the Society, personal items which Lt. Cdr. Carr had retained from his unique Naval career, these items to be displayed in the Garden Island Naval Museum. Amongst his items, Lt. Cdr. Carr had a Naval Aldis signalling lamp, which he had connected to a 12V battery, keeping it in working order and testing it from time to time. This Aldis lamp is already on display in our Museum.

Prisoner of war

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