- Author
- Clark, Bryan
- Subjects
- History - WW2
- Tags
- RAN Ships
- HMAS Sydney II
- Publication
- December 1989 edition of the Naval Historical Review (all rights reserved)
“All the graves in the old cemetery, except the ‘unknown’ grave, were clearly marked by small headstones, approximately two feet by two feet high and wide, made of grey cement and aggregate and marked simply by name and date of death carved into same… The ‘unknown grave’, in my time, was just a mound with no marking whatsoever, and no sign of a broken headstone. The ‘unknown grave’ is more to the north-east corner of the cemetery.”
“When I first saw this cemetery sometime in 1954 there was no headstone or marker of any description… Very few people would know of the grave. In fact, very few people ever went near this cemetery as most of the graves were of seamen who either died at sea or in hospital after being put ashore. In any case, one would have to go through the manager’s garden, and past his kitchen, to get to the cemetery, and I don’t think they would have been very popular, unless invited.”
“Having seen the small gravestones in this old cemetery, if there had been a gravestone made in the first place, it would still be there, as all the other were in situ.”
“I have never heard of any rumour about the body being exhumed… The Carley Float, as I understand it, was brought to Fremantle by Captain Smith and handed over to the Fremantle Naval authorities, so surely they would have made some record of the event.”
“In my own mind, knowing Captain Smith very well, he was a meticulous man and kept to the facts. In company matter, he was very correct, even to keeping his wife in the dark. I feel this was a naval float that had been drifting for some time. If the shoe found in the float was of Australian design, then HMAS Sydney could have been the source.”
“Jay Smith mentions that her husband was of the opinion that the remnants of clothes left on the body could have been the type used by naval personnel at sea, but they were threadbare and falling to pieces. I believe Jay has an excellent memory. She… doesn’t elaborate. So, if she says Reg told her something, that’s what he told her at the time. Without written evidence from anyone at Fremantle, who must have received the pieces of float, there’s little chance of establishing the truth…”
Another ex-Islander, Brian O’Shannassy, remembers: “I once spoke to an Englishman, Jack Pedigrew, who was on C.I. in 1942 and took part in the recovery of the life-raft. From memory (written in 1989), he told me that the raft lay on shore in the boat harbour. When the Japs arrived, they were all made prisoners. A lot of records were destroyed by the Japs and that, in the clean-up and reorganisation, the liferaft was taken out to the tip and burnt.”
“I took a photo of the unmarked grave in 1952-52. There were rows of tombstones and, in the corner nearest the C.I. Club, right in the very corner near the boundary, there was a heaped up section of earth. Jack Pedigrew said this was the grave. I am quite sure that there had never been a headstone erected on the site. There were no railings or cornerstones. If a headstone had been there, there would have been some evidence or broken stone or concrete. I would say that if there was ever a headstone, it would have been a crude wooden one that was made when the unknown person was interred.”
Early in 1989 I despatched to the Minister for Defence the following list of queries:
1. Why has File No. 612/231/446 been destroyed? What was the subject matter of this file?
Minister for Defence, Kim Beazley, responding in May, 1989, stated:
“It has been established that file number 612/231/446 concerned life-saving equipment, but the reason for its destruction is not known by Navy Office.”
2. According to information listed in Shipping Intelligence Report, No. 137/1942 (written on February 23, 1942), by Captain R. Hannevig of MV Hermion: “When (Mr J.) Baker left Christmas Island on February 17, 1942, an inquest was in progress. A full report is to be forwarded to Australia as soon as this inquest is concluded.”