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You are here: Home / On This Day / Australian Naval History on 12 February 1916

Australian Naval History on 12 February 1916

David Stratton · Feb 12, 1916 · Print This Page

While HMAS Pioneer was visiting Port Swettenham (Kelang) tensions aboard ship came to a head and seven stokers refused duty, an action that eventually led to their respective court martials. There were a number of issues that led to this incident: Psyche was an old ship with little to alleviate the difficult conditions experienced in the tropics; the long and monotonous hours spent on patrol; an intensive training program; the malaise which affected the crew almost from commissioning; but the one thing which eventually brought these tensions to the surface was food. Complaints about the food on board were common virtually from the time Psyche left Australian waters. Tinned fish, green or rotten meat and rotten eggs were all too common in Psyche’s mess with one stoker testifying that the food he himself obtained whilst in port was of a better quality than that served up by the mess. At 10pm on 12 February, Stoker Albert Hummerston refused duty in protest at the standard of food on board and was consequently placed under sentry’s charge. Over the course of the evening six more stokers refused duty in support of their shipmate and all were consequently placed under sentry’s charge. All seven were found guilty of willful disobedience of a lawful command at their respective courts-martial and received sentences ranging from 12 to 24 months imprisonment as well as dismissal from the RAN.

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