HMAS SYDNEY FOUND – BUT WAR MEDALS STILL MISSING?

HMAS SYDNEY – once considered to be one of Australia’s greatest mysteries of World War Two – has been found and is a mystery no longer.  But what of her ship’s company and their missing war medals?

It is well documented that 645 men died when H.M.A.S Sydney was sunk off the Western Australian Coast on the 19th of November, 1941. Officially, the World War 2 Nominal role lists the date of death of virtually all of the ships company as being the 20th of November, 1941. Either way, not one crew member survived the encounter with the German Raider Kormoran – to claim his medal entitlement after 1945. So this could lead us to think that any war medals awarded to a crew member – may in this day and age, be virtually devoid of any of the wear and tear associated with 40 odd years of Anzac Day and Remembrance Day services.

PHOTO RIGHT: An inspiring image of H.M.A.S. Sydney in her home port.  With such an iconic backdrop, this is perhaps the most appropriate setting for any ship by that name, to have been photographed.

But in my many years as a collector of Australian Military History, I consider it quite fortunate that I have not come across many “medal sets” which had been posthumously awarded to sailors from the HMAS Sydney. My hope in this – is that they are still in the hands of family and descendants – never to be bought, sold or traded.

However, when you search on the Australian War Memorial Website, the solitary 1939-45 Star awarded to Able Seaman Ronald Matthew VOGT comes to light. This medal, along with a small collection of miscellaneous items is perhaps all that remains of one man’s service to his nation. What of the rest?

Ronald Matthew VOGT was born on the 25th of September, 1919 at Blyth in South Australia. He served at Cerberus before being taken on strength of HMAS Sydney. An inspection of his Service Card on the Australian Archives does not reveal a great deal, however at the very least – his medal entitlement extends for eligibility for the 1939-45 War Medal and the WW2 Australian Service Medal.
PHOTO LEFT: A starboard view of HMAS Sydney.  When compared to the profile of the Italian Cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni, one may conclude that the similarities in size, shape and armament between the two vessels – rendered them a somewhat even match-up.
PHOTO RIGHT: The Italian light Cruiser, the Bartolomeo Colleoni.  The sinking of this vessel by HMAS Sydney in the Mediterranean heralded Australia’s first major naval victory of the Second World War.  But it was not all ‘one-sided’ as the photo below depicts.

The majority of sailors, those at least who had served on HMAS Sydney in the Mediterranean during 1940 – were certainly entitled to receive the Africa Star. However when she returned to Fremantle – Australia on the 5th of February, 1941 and then Sydney Harbour only four days later; some men were re-assigned other duties. Replacements were taken on board and for those new arrivals, a different medal entitlement would result.
PHOTO LEFT: Damage sustained to Sydney’s funnel during her engagement with the Bartelomeo Colleoni on the 19th of July, 1940 in the battle of Cape Spada in the Greek campaign.

Like her sister ship HMAS Perth (which would later be lost in the Battle of Sunda Straight in 1942); the Sydney was a ‘Leander Class’ Light Cruiser.  This class of  ship carried a company, numbering in the vicinity of 650 men (HMAS Perth actually carried about 680 crew at the time that she went down and 357 men would lose their life in this action).  Subsequently, the number of men on board and make-up of the ship’s company would invariably alter, whenever it returned to a home port after being away for any period of time.   So it is obvious that not all men who served on such a ship, would be awarded the exact same war medals at the conclusion of the war.

PHOTO RIGHT: Official Royal Australian Navy photograph taken on the 22nd of July, 1940 depicts 3 crew members recording their own ‘snapshots’ of the damage to the funnel of HMAS Sydney.  The man on the left is said to be Leading Aircraftsman 7143 Arthur John CLARKE who was serving with No.9 Fleet Co-Operation Squadron. The man in the centre with the beard is believed to be Stoker J. HARD.  The man on the far right was confirmed by his daughter (Judy McShane) to be Stoker John Hetherington HEAZLEWOOD from Warrnambool in Victoria (Service Number 23026).   I am pleased to be able to say that Stoker J.H. Heazlewood was not on board HMAS Sydney during the action with the Kormoran.  He survived the war had a very interesting life in the navy.  After his service on Sydney, he was in Sydney Harbour on the 31st of May, 1942 when an attack was made by three Japanese Midget Submarines.  He spent time with the Occupational Forces in Japan at war’s end and is believed to have made a journey to Antartica around 1947.  He discharged from the RAN in April of 1951 with the rank of Stoker Petty Officer.

One medal group, awarded to Petty Officer F.V.W. PRICE who served on the Sydney prior to 1941 (not on HMAS Sydney at the time that she was lost) holds a very interesting set consisting of the 1939-45 Star, Africa Star, Burma Star, 1939-45 War Medal and the Australian Service Medal. What is of interest is the “Pacific” Bar that hangs from the Burma Star ribbon. This signifies that the bearer was also entitled to the Pacific Star, but as medal protocols do not allow these two medals to be worn together in the same set – the bar is issued instead.

IMAGE LEFT: A set of medals similar to that issued to Petty Officer F.V.W. PRICE.  The “bar” mentioned in the narrative above consists of a small brass plaque with the word ‘Pacific’ embossed across it.  The bar would sit on the ribbon of the centre medal.

Certainly, her duties prior to the engagement with the Kormoran – places the ship’s crew in the geographic area that forms the entitlement for the Pacific Star.

So the question may be asked, where is the rest of the entitlement belonging to Able Seaman VOGT? I only hope, that if these missing war medals are out there – somewhere – they can be reunited with the 39-45 Star that takes pride of place at the Australian War Memorial. Perhaps the rest of this broken set is amongst your collection??

IMAGE RIGHT: After her engagement in the battle of Cape Spada, HMAS Sydney returned to her home port and took on some more crew.  These men, who were not present during the Africa/Greek campaign (but who were on board, during the Kormoran engagement) may have been awarded a medal set similar to this.

If a ship, laying in the depths of the Indian ocean can be located at a depth of approximately 2,500 metres, then I can only hope that the missing medals of HMAS Sydney can be found and re-united with their respective families. It is the least that we can do to complete the mystery.

Are you a descendant of one of the 645 souls aboard the HMAS SYDNEY???? Do you have your family’s war medals??? If so – I would love to hear from you. Please tell us about them.

Or – if you are a descendant of a sailor from HMAS Sydney and your family’s war medals are missing – then I am offering FREE lifetime listing of your wanted medals on the website: medalsgonemissing.com

Just contact us for further details.

IMAGE LEFT: This medal was commissioned to commemorate Sydney’s action with the Bartelomeo Colleoni.   As only one was issued to each member of the ship’s company at the time of the engagement (numbering approximately 640 men) they are not very common.  Information from Greg Abernethy indicates that the edge of these medals was inscribed with the recipient’s personal particulars – similar to all Australian ‘disc’ medals, awarded during the First & Second World Wars.  The medal depicts a ‘relief’ image of the ship steaming at full speed with all guns blazing.

IMAGE RIGHT: The reverse side of the same medal.  The inscription reads:-  Presented by the citizens of Sydney to Captain J.A. COLLINS C.B., R.A.N.  The Officers and ship’s company  H.M.A.S. SYDNEY  in commemoration of their gallant fight, against superier speed and weight of armament, which resulted in the sinking of the Italian Cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni in the Mediterranean Sea, July nineteen 1940.

We often forget that there is always two sides to a story.  The Medals Gone Missing Administrator would like to hear from any Italian descendant’s of the Bartelomeo Colleoni’s crew, who fought in the action at Cape Spada.   Also any German descendants of the crew of the Kormoran who fought in Sydney’s last action and were later interned as P.O.W’s (prisoners of war).  Your comments are very welcome and I invite you to write their story on this website.

PHOTO LEFT: The Italian Cruiser, Bartolomeo Colleoni – hit and on fire.

WISH TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE SHIPS COMPANY OF HMAS SYDNEY?   Please visit the link below:-

http://www.medusabs.com/rba

The designer of the above webpage & link – Greg Abernethy (Great nephew to sailor Roderic Bell ABERNETHY who lost his life when HMAS Sydney went down)  has constructed the “memorial” to this member of the ship’s company.  If your relative was also lost on the Sydney, perhaps you would like for him to construct a similar memorial web page.  If so, please contact the Medals Gone Missing Administrator or Greg ABERNETHY (Lead Programmer) at Medusa Business Solutions.  greg@medusabs.com