On This Day

On This Day - 19 June

1884

The steel twin-screw gunboat PROTECTOR was commissioned. PROTECTOR was laid down in Armstrong, Mitchell & Co., Elswick, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England, for service with the South Australian Government. Heavily armed for her size PROTECTOR was practically a small cruiser.

1918

Major R. S. Dallas, DSO, DSC and Bar, Croix de Guerre, an Australian serving as commander of No. 40 Squadron, RNAS, was shot down and killed in combat with three German Fokker tri-planes near Lievin, France. Major Dallas was credited with shooting down 39 enemy aircraft.

1919

CAPT H. P. Cayley, RN, led a landing party from HMAS SYDNEY, (cruiser), to put down a civil disturbance in Penang.

1940

HMAS Hobart bombarded an the Italian wireless station at Centre Peak Island, in the Red Sea during which her Seagull also made a solo bombing attack . LCDR A. W. R. McNicoll, RAN, who was serving in HMS KANDAHAR, disarmed eight torpedoes in the captured Italian submarine GALILEO GALELEI, off Aden. The submarine had been forced to surrender by the trawler HMS MOONSTONE. LEUT G. F. E. Knox, RAN, also serving in KANDAHAR, was appointed prize captain of the submarine for the passage into Aden. LCDR A. W. R. McNicoll, RAN was later awarded the George Medal for his actions.

1942

HMAS LATROBE, (minesweeper), was launched at Mort's Dock, Sydney.

1945

SBA Alec Hill was executed by the Japanese after being a POW since February 1945. SBA Hill was from HMAS Manoora which had arrived at Morotai in January 1945 and in February 1945 unknown to authorities on board Manoora, ratings, eager for some excitement, managed to persuade the RAAF pilots flying from Morotain to allow them to accompany them on operational sweeps over enemy held islands in the Celebes. For several days sailors joined their air force counterparts on these exceedingly dangerous missions until tragedy struck when a Beaufighter from 31 Squadron in which Sick Berth Attendant Alec Hill had ‘hitched a ride’ was shot down by Japanese anti-aircraft fire. The pilot, Pilot Officer William McGuigan, and Hill survived a force landing in the sea but Flight Sergeant Allan Lewis did not. Both men made it safely ashore but were subsequently captured by the Japanese becoming prisoners of war. Following four months in captivity at Tonsea Lama the pair were transferred to the Japanese Naval Prison at Manado. A few days later, on 19 June 1945, they were taken from the prison and executed by bayoneting at the same time as two Dutchmen and two Indonesians. The discovery was made following the cessation of hostilities and Hill’s remains were subsequently buried in the Morotai War Cemetery on 9 November 1945. Over the ensuing decades the war graves were relocated on two occasions and SBA Hill now rests in Plot 28 Row D Grave 5 in the Commonwealth War Cemetery at Ambon. He was to be Manoora’s only death through enemy action during the war.

1950

The Chinese merchant vessel SANTOS, ex-HMAS ORARA, (minesweeper), struck a mine and sank with a heavy loss of life in the mouth of the Yang Tse River, China. ORARA was a popular coastal steamer on the Australian seaboard, before being requisitioned by the RAN. Her wartime motto was 'As they sow, so shall we sweep'.

1974

HMAS BUNA, (landing craft heavy), lost her bow ramp in heavy seas off the NSW coast. She was taken in tow and brought safely into port by HMAS PARRAMATTA, (destroyer escort).

1991

The Naval Dockyard Police and Coxswains categories amalgamated to form the Naval Police Coxswain category