- Author
- Swinden, Greg
- Subjects
- History - WW2
- Tags
- RAN Ships
- HMAS AE1, HMAS Creswell, HMAS Sydney I
- Publication
- June 1990 edition of the Naval Historical Review (all rights reserved)
In September 1914 the RAN took part in the capture of German New Guinea during which five Naval personnel were killed or died of wounds, these include Able Seaman William G.V. Williams who had the dubious honour of being the first member of the RAN and the first Australian to lose his life in World War I. However Lieutenant-Commander C.B. Elwell RN who was on loan to the RAN and died leading a bayonet charge against a German trench, is not included on the Roll of Honour.
Shortly after the surrender of German New Guinea, the Australian submarine AE1 was lost mysteriously with all hands off New Britain. As the wreck of the AE1 has yet to be found her fate can only be speculated at although it is surmised that she may have struck a reef whilst submerged.
Approximately half of AE1’s complement were RAN and the remainder, including all officers, were RN on loan. Thus the Royal Navy personnel should not have their names recorded. This is not true as the names of three Royal Navy personnel from the AE1 are included on the Roll of Honour. Those who served in the AE1 are listed below:
AE1: Names Recorded on Roll of Honour
Petty Officer Robert Smail (RAN)
Leading Seaman Gordon Corbould (RAN)
Able Seaman John Reardon (RAN)
Able Seaman Jack Jarman (RAN)
Able Seaman James Thomas (RAN)
Able Seaman Arthur Fisher (RAN)
Telegraphist Cyril Baker (RN)
ERA James Fettes (RAN)
ERA John Messenger (RAN)
Stoker PO John Maloney (RAN)
Stoker PO Charles Wright (RAN)
Stoker PO William Waddilove (RAN)
Stoker Percy Wilson (RN)
Stoker John Bray (RAN)
Stoker Ernest Blake (RAN)
Stoker Richard Holt (RN)
AE1: Names not Recorded on Roll of Honour
Lieutenant-Commander Thomas Besant (RN)
Lieutenant Leo Scarlett (RN)
Lieutenant Charles Moore (RN)
Petty Officer Henry Hodge (RN)
Petty Officer William Tribe (RN)
Petty Officer Thomas Guilbert (RN)
Able Seaman Fred Woodland (RAN)
Signalman George Dance (RN)
Able Seaman George Hodgkin (RN)
Able Seaman Frederick Dennis (RN)
CERA Thomas Lowe (RN)
Chief Stoker Harry Stretch (RN)
CERA John Marsland (RN)
CERA Joseph Wilson (RN)
Stoker James Guild (RN)
Leading Stoker Sidney Barton (RN)
Leading Stoker John Meek (RN)
Leading Stoker William Guy (RN)
Stoker Henry Gough (RN)
For some unknown reason the Australian War Memorial has decided to include the names of three Royal Navy personnel and exclude that of Able Seaman Woodland from the Roll of Honour. Able Seaman Woodland’s name is not the only Australian omitted, once again the submariners are forgotten.
Following the sinking of the second Australian submarine AE2 in the Sea of Marmara on 30 April 1915, her crew were made Prisoners of War of the Turks. During their period of captivity, four AE2 men died from disease and ill-treatment. Those who died were Chief Stoker Charlie Varcoe, Petty Officer S.J. Gilbert, Able Seaman Albert Knaggs and Stoker Michael Williams.
Williams, from Dunkeld in Victoria, does not have his name recorded on the Roll of Honour despite being a member of the RAN. His death is recorded in T.R. Frame and G.J. Swinden’s “First In, Last Out – The Navy at Gallipoli”:
“Stoker Michael Williams was working at Belemedik when he was moved to the hard labour site five miles away at Bezardjite. In September 1916 he was sent to Pozanti to work and ended in hospital with malaria. With him was Private H. Ridgeway of the 1/5 Lancashire Fusiliers, who had been captured at Achi Baba on 7 August 1915. Ridgeway recovered from his delirium and searched for Williams, who had disappeared without trace. John Wheat the dual escapee alleged at the time that the Turks were murdering the delirious patients in the hospital at Angora. Wheat’s contention notwithstanding, Williams’s disappearance was certainly mysterious”.
Williams’s mother tried on several occasions without success to discover her son’s fate. He was the fourth of her sons to lose his life during the War.
Why does the War Memorial say it does not include RN personnel on loan to the RAN as Australian war dead when it does, and then excludes Australians whose names should rightly be recorded. It appears in the RAN’s case that the honouring of its war dead has been done quite haphazardly. Both Woodland and Williams were members of the RAN and their names should be recorded. Those RN personnel who lost their lives whilst on loan to the RAN may or may not have the right to have their names recorded on the Roll of Honour, but it must be remembered that they died whilst serving in RAN ships and units, and in purely Australian actions.
(At the time of writing, the author held the rank of Sub-Lieutenant in the RAN. Ed.)