Tiger-pie

HMAS Collins basin trials.

HMAS Manoora and Kanimbla sailing in company, with a backdrop of tropical storm clouds gathering off the coast of Queensland.

Ahh, Rick, you jumped in before I got to the lastest development, From National Nine News...erm...the other day. An Australian naval investigation may be about to solve the six-decade-old mystery of the unknown sailor. The investigation has produced a list of three likely names for the sailor whose body was discovered in a naval life raft, or carley float, off Christmas Island 65 years ago. The discovery, on February 6, 1942, came 10 weeks after the sinking of the HMAS Sydney in a battle thought to have been fought 1500 kilometres from Christmas Island. All 645 sailors aboard the vessel were lost in Australia's worst maritime disaster. The Christmas Island grave was finally rediscovered last October and the remains exhumed. The Forensic Odontologist heading the investigation, Commander Matt Blenkin, has told National Nine News that a process of elimination has narrowed the Inquiry's likely list to just three sailors from the Sydney. "With the dental records we had, he didn't match 320-odd (surviving records), so that brought the number down significantly." The likely height and age of the sailor at death were then used to exclude about 200 crew members. But the crucial breakthrough came when Australian War Memorial officers examined traces of material recovered from press studs found in the grave. Commander Blenkin said the examination has shown that the material is a white cloth used in the 1940s for naval overalls. He said the white overalls were only worn "by a select group of officers on the ship, of a technical bent, the engine room guys, the ordinance, the armourers, the gunners". According to Commander Blenkin, "that narrowed (the) list significantly, from 118 down to what we have now, which is three, which we're pretty amazed by". Federal Minister for Veterans' Affairs, Bruce Billson, has released the three names now of interest in the investigation: ? Allen James King, 26, from Adelaide ? Frederick Harold Schoch, 22 from Perth ? Allan Wallace Wilson, 31, thought to be from NSW. So far, the investigation has been unable to trace relatives, or even find a photograph, of Allan Wilson. "We can't move any further forward without the help of relatives," Bruce Billson says. Relatives of the two other sailors will begin giving DNA samples this week in the hope that DNA will be successfully extracted from the remains for comparison ? perhaps confirming the identity of the unknown sailor. Service Records Name SCHOCH, FREDERICK HAROLD Service Royal Australian Navy Service Number Not Applicable Date of Birth 4 Sep 1918 Place of Birth GERALDTON, WA Date of Enlistment 18 Oct 1940 Locality on Enlistment Unknown Home Port/Port Division FREMANTLE Next of Kin SCHOCH, MARY Date of Death 20 Nov 1941 Rank SUB-LIEUTENANT Posting on Death HMAS SYDNEY WW2 Honours and Gallantry None for display Prisoner of War No Roll of Honour PARKERVILLE WA Name KING, ALLEN JAMES Service Royal Australian Navy Service Number Not Applicable Date of Birth 16 Sep 1915 Place of Birth ADELAIDE, SA Date of Enlistment 9 Oct 1940 Locality on Enlistment Unknown Home Port/Port Division Unknown Next of Kin KING, A Date of Death 20 Nov 1941 Rank ENGINEERING LIEUTENANT Posting on Death HMAS SYDNEY WW2 Honours and Gallantry None for display Prisoner of War No Roll of Honour Unknown Name WILSON, ALLAN ROBERT WALLACE Service Royal Australian Navy Service Number Not Applicable Date of Birth 19 Apr 1910 Place of Birth SYDNEY, NSW Date of Enlistment 17 Jan 1940 Locality on Enlistment Unknown Home Port/Port Division Unknown Next of Kin WILSON, ELLEN Date of Death 20 Nov 1941 Rank LIEUTENANT Posting on Death HMAS SYDNEY WW2 Honours and Gallantry None for display Prisoner of War No Roll of Honour HABERFIELD NSW Schoch on the left, King on the right.

For comparison, below is an example of a cheap repro and then a "museum quality" repo. Regards; Johnsy

Some very nice and unusual badges and medals there. Never seen most of them before. Thanks for the additional information on the Latvian 12th Assault Group 50th anniversary badge. Looking at the pictures I could see that it is well made, no-one would go to that trouble for what would be regarded amongst 99% of TR collectors as an oddity or a fake (even though it is not strictly TR). I note that they have included the swastika, but then again, lets not go there... Regards; Johnsy

Another view, looks like this was taken before they cleared the area prior to being surveyed.

The same site today after the undergrowth has been cleared.

Photo of the graveyard taken by Mr. Brian O'Shannassy in 1950.

Hi all; An expedition to CI was wrapped up last October and remains of a sailor, possibly from HMAS Sydney, that have been recovered are being forensically tested. There have been several attempts to locate the grave site over the last few decades, but nobody was sure where the grave was exactly located. New evidence in the form of a photo and a letter were received and this latest expedition was funded by the RAN. The possibility of ever finding the actual ship are very slim, as the area it was estimated to have gone down in is huge. It is the single largest loss of personnel in the RAN's history. Sydney was sunk with all hands by the German raider Kormoran, who herself was badly damaged and the crew captured. This was a major blow to the Australian nation at a time when the Japanese were bombing northern Australian towns and had been winning on all fronts. It will be symbolic to the nation if these remains to turn out to be a crewman, as it will be a place for family and decendants of those men lost to direct any remaining grief or simply pay respect to all those young blokes lost that day. I assisted with preparation of the maps and charts used by the expedition and they started the dig on my 40th birthday, so hopefully that was a good omen. Regards; Johnsy ?Following an expedition to Christmas Island conducted by a Navy-led team of experts, remains are being unearthed that may be those of a sailor from HMAS Sydney (II) that sank with 645 men aboard on 19 November 1941?, said the Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence, Bruce Billson. The Navy expedition team composed of a senior Naval officer, an archaeologist, a forensic anthropologist and two forensic odontologists, located the remains very close to the position identified by witnesses to the original burial and also from a photograph taken in 1950 by Mr O?Shannassy. ?We are excavating remains in an unmarked grave in the Old European Cemetery that may be those of the unknown sailor from HMAS Sydney II. However, further work will need to be done to establish the characteristics of the skeleton, before we can be fully confident,? the team leader, Captain Jim Parsons said. ?The process is long and painstaking, as the complete skeleton has to be exposed and recorded, and all dirt removed before any bones are removed. Even then, each bone must be carefully lifted to avoid breakages,? Captain Parsons said. The Royal Australian Navy?s cruiser HMAS Sydney was lost, with its crew of 645 men aboard, following an action with the German raider Kormoran. Early in February 1942 a carley float life-raft containing a body was recovered close inshore at Christmas Island. There were no personal effects or identifying items on the body although the clothing was consistent with that worn by Naval sailors. The body was examined by a medical practitioner and formally buried with military honours, in the old European Cemetery on Christmas Island. ?Subsequent skeletal and dental analysis will be undertaken in Sydney to possibly identify the remains,? Mr Billson said. Conducted at the Shellshear Museum of Physical Anthropology and Comparative Anatomy at the University of Sydney, a forensic pathologist will assist the team with the identification process. This will involve a physical examination of the remains and comparison with historical records. An attempt will also be made to recover DNA. ?Every effort will be made to positively identify the remains, however we must be mindful that there are many difficulties with this process. ?Unfortunately, only just over half of the crew?s medical and dental records are available and these are from the time of enlistment, prior to the sinking of the vessel. All records current at the time were lost with the ship,? Mr Billson said. ?With any undertaking of this type, the likelihood that the remains will be positively identified is low.? The subsequent burial location will depend on the level of identification achieved.

The coloured patches are from left to right: Unofficial 5" gun maintainers patch which I wore on the jacket underneath. RIMPAC 2000 patch HMAS Cessnock unofficial Viking patch. Cessnocks official ships plaque is a Celtic warriors shield. HMAS Hobart unofficial patch. She was known as the "Green Ghost". The purple one is a beer coaster from a very famous bar in Kings Cross, Sydney, called "The Fish Bowl". It refers to the large amount of glass and the 270 degree view of the freak show that trudges by. Regards; Johnsy

Pity, it looks nice. Not an unofficial specially made up for a pilot of that unit to celebrate his 50th kill? Seems like a lot of work has gone into it. Regards; Johnsy

Not really what you asked for, but may be of interest to you. Regards; Johnsy

What if he was a Naval Attach?, would this then be possible? Regards; Johnsy

I was doing some research on Private Lawrence Saywell, an Australian soldier awarded two Czech medals. I was looking at the Ministry of Defence web-site and came across the Medal for Injury "...is awarded by the Minister of Defence to active service soldiers, who suffered serious injury while performing service duties. The Medal can be also awarded to civilian employees of the military under the same conditions in case they suffered injury while performing especially significant work duties. The Medal is coined in bronze." Regards; Johnsy

Reconstruction Task Force-Afganistan (up against the Welsh badge, we all know how that ended... )

Current Austcam cloth badges for non-combat areas.

I know, I know, some of these are back a bit further than what this thread is supposed to cover, but I couldn't see the point of doing a timeline without including them. Regards; Johnsy Australian Conflict Time Line 1885- Sudan: 770 New South Welshmen with nine killed and three wounded. 1899-1902-Boer War: 16,463 Australians served with 606 killed and 538 wounded. 1900-1901-Boxer Rebellion: 560 Australians served with six killed. 1914-1918-World War One: 300,000 Australians served with 61,720 killed and 156,000 wounded. 1939-1945-World War Two: 993,000 Australians served with 39,366 killed and 66,553 wounded. 1948-1960-Malayan Emergency: 7000 Australians served with 36 killed and 20 wounded. 1950-1953-Korean War: 17,164 Australians served with 339 killed and 1216 wounded. 1962-1973-Vietnam War: 49,968 Australians served with 520 killed and 2398 wounded. 1963-1966-Indonesian Confrontation: 3500 Australians served with 15 killed and nine wounded. 1956-ongoing-Israel: Currently 12 ADF members deployed. 1982-1986 and 1993-ongoing-Sinai: Currently 25 ADF members deployed. 1990-1991-Gulf War 1991-1999-Cambodia 1992-ongoing-Yugoslavia: Currently 8 ADF members deployed. 1992-1994-Somalia 1994-1996-Rwanda 1994-2002-Mozambique 1994 and 1997-2003-Bougainville 1999-Kosovo 1999-ongoing-Timor-Leste: Currently 480 ADF members deployed. 2000-2002 and 2003-ongoing-Solomon Islands: Currently 140 ADF members deployed. 2001-2003-Sierra Leone 2001-ongoing-Afghanistan: Currently 480 ADF members deployed with one killed. 2003-ongoing-Iraq: Currently 1450 ADF members deployed with one killed. 2005-ongoing-Sudan: Currently 15 members deployed. 2006-ongoing-Border Protection: Operation Resolute which includes; Southern Ocean ? Operation Mistral Northern Australia and Sea Air Approaches ? Operation Cranberry Australian border protection ? Operation Relex II No time line for this operation, currently 2 Army officers deployed to Eritrea and Ethiopia ? Operation Pomelo

Operation Astute, East Timor (I will do an article and photographic display of this forgotton op in the near future). Regards; Johnsy

F100 #3

F100 #2

The new Hobart Class of ship was announced today. This was always on the cards. Having recently being based at the "head shed" in Canberra and seeing the amount of personnel going to Spain, I was sure we would buy from them. Call me cynical, but the climate and culture in Spain was a bit more exotic than the opposition, and it is not very often that a Minister visits a foreign warship, as Brendon Nelson did earlier this year. This contract will run in parallel with the building of the Canberra Class amphibious ships, also sourced from Spain. I hope this means some port visits over that way... An excerpt from the press release from the Minister of Defence: "Australia?s maritime air warfare capability has reached a significant milestone today with the Government?s selection of the Navantia designed F100 as the next generation Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). At a cost of nearly $8 billion, and subject to successful contract negotiations, Navantia will work with the AWD Alliance (Defence Materiel Organisation, ASC and Raytheon Australia) to deliver three AWDs to the Royal Australian Navy. The first of these Air Warfare Destroyers will be delivered in late 2014, followed by the second and third ships in early-2016 and mid-2017 respectively. The Australianised F100 AWD Design is capable across the full spectrum of joint maritime operations, from area air defence and escort duties, right through to peacetime national tasking and diplomatic missions. The Royal Australian Navy will undergo a quantum leap in its air warfare capability when the F100 enters service. Since entering service with the Spanish Navy, F100s, among their many other tasks, have worked alongside the United States Navy (USN) as the first foreign Aegis equipped ship to be fully integrated into a USN Carrier Strike Group and has successfully been deployed as the flagship of NATO?s Maritime Group Standing Reaction Force." Regards; Johnsy

I wish my aunties sent me stuff like that, all I ever got was undies and handkerchiefs. Might have all come of the same uniform if this bloke was field promoted? Regards; Johnsy

HQ badge from Iraq.

Mate, those flight overalls are as shapeless as a sack, from the front anyway...

Not if they are for personal usage, bit like transfering old vinyl records to CD so you can preserve the original copy. There is no infringement as long as they are not for sale. I am not sure about handing them on though, I would suspect that despite the fact that there is no profit or payment, you are cutting their sales down, and companies take a dim view of that. Regards; Johnsy