- Author
- Swinden, Greg
- Subjects
- Biographies and personal histories, Letter to the Editor
- Tags
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- RAN Ships
- None noted.
- Publication
- March 2022 edition of the Naval Historical Review (all rights reserved)
I enjoyed the article in the recent Review regarding Roylen Cruises. It reminded me that one of the youngest RAN Prisoners of War later worked as a deckhand for Roylen Cruises. This was Canteen Assistant Alfred ‘Happy’ Hawkins whose father was the Canteen Manager on-board HMAS Perth.
Alfred was 15 when he joined the ship in mid-1940 and saw active service in the Mediterranean in 1941. When Perthwas sunk on 1 March 1942 at the Battle of Sunda Strait his father was killed and Alfred became a POW. He survived 3½ years as a POW and was repatriated to Australia in late 1945. Following the war, he had trouble adjusting to civilian life but his family recalled he was happiest working as a deckhand for Roylen Cruises. It was here that he met a Roylen hostess Raylee McGuiness and they married in 1959, having two children. In 1960 ‘Happy’ gained his Masters Certificate allowing him to take command of a cruise vessel. Alfred Hawkins died on 15 April 1991 and was buried at the Mount Bassett Lawn Cemetery North Mackay. He was survived by his wife and two children.
Regards
Greg Swinden