Shipmates Extol Canberra Heroes

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 199, 24 August 1942, Page 2

Shipmates Extol Canberra Heroes

(0.C.) SYDNEY, August 22. Stories of great heroism and superhuman effort are being pieced together from the fragmentary accounts of individual experiences by survivors of the Australian cruiser Canberra, lost in the Solomon Islands engagement. Above all stands out the heroism of Captain Frank Edmund Getting, who although suffering wounds from which ne later died, sat on a stool on the ship's bridge and directed operations till the last.. A member of the crew who, with other survivors, landed at an eastern Australian port, said: "We had three strenuous days before the night we were sunk. The Japanese pelted us from the skies as soon as tne Solomons engagement was on." Seaman's Fight With Shark one of the luckiest men on the ship, said Able-Seaman William ? T *} es \ I was a gunlayer in one of the turrets when the 4-inch gun deck was blown to smithereens. I was hurled over the side with the force. He added that after swimming for half an hour a star-shell sea anc * h e sighted a raft. After clambering on to it he felt a bump and saw a shark rubbing past his feet. He was forced to beat the shark off with a paddle a dozen times during the next four hours until he was picked up by a cruiser' Commissioned-Gunner H. Hardiman said: "There was a hit immediately below my control place. My observations were that an enemy cruiser fired two salvoes as she steamed past us very fast. One of the smaller enemy ships fired a starshell to illuminate us. Simultaneously a Japanese cruiser opened fire at about 3000 yards. Then the enemy fired torpedoes. I observed one, and reported it to the captain, who altered course. The crew performed great acts of heroism. They went into the ready-use magazines which were alight, and removed 2501b and 1001b bombs, also 4-inch high-anglo ammunition. But for this dumping we would have been blown up, there and then. Doctors Calm and Efficient The heroism of four officers stands out. They were: Engineer-Comman-der McMahon, R.A.N., SurgeonCommander Charles Downwood, Surgeon-Lieutenant Dudley Ward, and Surgeon-Lieutenant Morris. They were almost superhuman, performing operations on deck under a feeble torchlight. Dead and wounded were lying all over the place, in gun turrets and other action stations. But the doctors went on with their job calmly and efficiently. Eventually a Gloria lamp was found for the wardroom, ana operations were carried out there. One of my men was killed by fragments of a shell — the same shell that killed the gunnery officer and mortally wounded the captain. We had to find boats for tne wounded. Only two boats remained unholed and fir to be lowered.

Chief Petty Officer A. M. Brookes said: "I was attached to damagecontrol in the after section. We were three decks down, and asleep at action stations when the action buzzer went. I was putting on my antiflash gear when there was a flash and a roar in the tiller flat. One of the men went to open the bulkhead door, separating the compartments. I yelled to him not to, but to use the voicepipe. He stepped back and almost immediately we shipped a shell where we had been standing. Three of our boys were killed. We shipped another shell almost immediately. It lobbed ten feet away, tore

off my overalls and life-jacket, and threw me on the floor. As we passed the cypher flat and went behind the barbette, a shell went through the bulkhead door and killed two men. Wounded men wanted water, and after forcing the top of the tanks, we drew it off in buckets and carried it to the wardroom, which was being used as a casualty station. Two other chaps and myself found two men trapped in the engineers' room. They were badly wounded, and we got them awav. They died later."

Midshipman P. H. Wilson related how he woke to the sounds of the alarm and went to his gun station. "I saw star-shells on our starboard side. Then we were hit. A shell hit one of the funnels. After that wo were ordered to stand by to abandon ship." "Gamer Than Ned Kelly" Lieutenant Henry Charles Brewster, star-shell control officer, said: "I was lying fully dressed at a forward control position when the alarm went. I had just taken up my position when the first shell crashed on board. Other shells hit us in quick succession. 1 tried to get the star-shell guns operating on the port side. The men were gamer than Ned Kelly. There are not enough words to describe their heroism and devotion to duty." Petty Officer L. Legge said: "I was between decks with a repair party. Everything happened very suddenly, but there was no panic. Every man stood at his post, and did the job he was expected to do. The captain's heroism is indescribable. He refused all medical attention until the rest of the ratings were attended to."

N. Jenkins was in the gyro-compass room when the action started. "I heard a number of explosions," he said. "We did not know what had happened. Everything went dead and all lights fused. Everybody was ordered on deck, and even the wounded men carried on thfeir jobs. All I want is just one more crack at those Japs." Ordnance Officer William Fogarty said: "I was sleeping in the torpedo space when 'action stations' sounded. We had just jumped to it when a shell burst somewhere aft. Then more shells crashed aboard. Injured men offered to help, but the doctors took care of them."

Able-Seaman Robert Watson said: "I was in a turret relaxing when it started. We had just loaded the gun when an enemy shell cracked the turret fair and square. The gun crew was tossed all over the place, and I got a piece of shrapnel in the leg."