HMAS Sydney

[Tiger-pie]

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.

[Guest Rick Research]

That would be a double irony-- to be the only casualty FOUND, and STILL be unidentifiable!

Not to mention raising the worst nightmare in any case like this-- that there WERE "survivors," none of whom were rescued.

Thanks for the update. This has been a minor obssession with me since my teens.

There is nothing a historian/genealogists hates more than a None Returned mystery.

[Tiger-pie]

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

Edited June 25, 2007 by Tiger-pie

[Tiger-pie]

The same site today after the undergrowth has been cleared.

[Tiger-pie]

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

[Tiger-pie]

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.

Edited June 25, 2007 by Tiger-pie