The sixtieth anniversary of the end of the war against Japan was commemorated on 31 Aug 2005 by a gathering of several hundred British and Australian naval veterans of the ...
Obituary: Lieutenant W E Allen RAN (Retd) 1899-2005
Sea Power Ashore and in the Air
HMAS Pioneer – Blockading German East Africa, 1915-16
Nelson’s Coat and the Bullet that Killed Him
Horatio Nelson’s “Trafalgar Coat”, the uniform he was wearing when he was shot, has been reunited with the French musket ball that passed through it and killed him in 1805. ...
Anti-Submarine Measures from World War I
Abridged from an article in “History of the World Wars”, previously published in the RAN Corvettes Association Newsletter Vol. 1 Issue 98 and kindly permitted to be reprinted here. AT ...
Captain John Cooke, HMS Bellerophon
Captain John Cooke, HMS Bellerophon || Killed at Trafalgar 1805 In a small column of the Sydney Morning Herald on 14-15 May 2005 ((Community RSVP)) a plaintive request was noted ...
Sydney’s Anti-Submarine Boom Defences 1942-46
A small, lonely memorial can be found near the water’s edge at the westernmost shore of Green Point at Watson’s Bay, Sydney Harbour, recalling the erection of a considerable seaward ...
A Short History of HMAS Albatross
Reprinted from a Welcome Aboard pamphlet (date unknown) The decision to build an airfield on the land now occupied by the Naval Air Station was taken soon after WWII was ...
Visit To HMAS Sheean – Garden Island 2003
The Editor managed to score an unexpected conducted tour of one of the RAN’s latest Collins Class submarines, HMAS Sheean, alongside the dedicated submarine berth in Fleet Base East. ON ...
The Loss of HMS Ambuscade
Advice to the Young
Obituary: Captain Stan Darling, OBE, DSC**, VRD, RANR
JUST PRIOR TO THE START of last year’s Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race a simple ceremony was conducted from the RAN diving launch Seal as the ashes of this distinguished ...
Obituary: Rear Admiral Sir Richard Troubridge,KCVO, Royal Navy
REAR ADMIRAL SIR RICHARD TROUBRIDGE, who died on 9 May 2003 aged 83, was truly one of the remarkable naval career success stories of the twentieth century. He was born ...
Lloyds Patriotic Swords – further information
LLOYDS PATRIOTIC FUND SWORD AT LADY DENMAN MARITIME MUSEUM Further research in the Library of NHSA has discovered a little more of the story behind the presentation of this sword ...
Obituary: Vice Admiral Rodney Graham Taylor, AO RAN Retd
Admiral Taylor joined the RAN as a 13 year old junior entry cadet midshipman in 1954. He undertook his initial training at the Royal Australian Naval College at HMAS Cerberus, ...
Letters: Lloyds Patriotic Fund Sword
LLOYDS PATRIOTIC FUND SWORD AT LADY DENMAN MARITIME MUSEUM Dear Sir, Engraving on the sword reads: “From the Patriotic Fund at Lloyds to Mr Wm. Pitt Bowler, Midshipman of HM Sloop Swift ...
Newspaper Report: Battle of the Falklands – December 1914
The Australian White Ensign
From its inception in 1911 the Royal Australian Navy flew as its distinguishing flag the White Ensign featuring the red cross of St. George handed down to it by the ...
Australian Government releases RFT for Patrol Boats
The Australian Government has released a Request for Tender (RFT) for a replacement fleet to the Royal Australian Navy Patrol Boats that provide the frontline of Australia’s defences against people ...
Obituary: Captain Brian de Courcy-Ireland RN (1900-2001)
Joining the Royal Naval College at Osborne on the Isle of Wight in 1913 at the age of 13, Brian de Courcy-Ireland was subjected to the spartan naval discipline of ...
Rear Admiral Gordon (“Buster”) Crabb RAN DSC CBE (1917-2001)
REAR ADMIRAL Gordon John Branstone CRABB, DSC • Born London 5 July 1917, of Commander & Mrs S.G. Crabb • Entered RANC, Flinders Naval Depot 1932 • Awarded Kings Medal ...
Obituary: Admiral Sir Anthony Synnot KBE AO (1922-2001)
Born at Corowa, NSW and educated at Geelong Grammar School. Anthony Synnot joined the RAN as a cadet midshipman in 1939 as a Special Entry and trained in Britain with Prince ...
The Capture of Hong Kong in 1941 – The Naval Battle
The Contribution of Merchant Seamen During the Fall of Crete – 1941
It is not always appreciated that British and Australian merchant seamen served ashore (probably inadvertently) during the withdrawal of Allied forces from Greece and subsequently, Crete. One such story deserves ...