AHS CENTAUR - 14 May 1943

72 years ago today (14th May 1943)  the AHS Centaur was torpedoed and subsequently sunk off the east coast of Australia.

In the early afternoon of 12 May 1943 Centaur steamed from Sydney for Cairns carrying members of the 2/12th Field Ambulance. Shortly after 4.00 am on 14 May, while most people were asleep, a torpedo struck Centaur‘s port side, hitting the oil fuel tank which ignited in a massive explosion.

The survivors were at sea for a day and half before they were rescued. The ship’s crew and medical staff suffered heavily, as did the 2/12th Field Ambulance -178 men, from a total of 193, died. It was the nurses though, who suffered the worst. Of the 12 nurses on board only one, Sister Nell Savage, survived.

The bridge superstructure collapsed and the funnel crashed onto the deck. Everything was covered with burning oil and a fire quickly began to roar across the ship. Water, meanwhile, rushed in through the gaping hole in her side. Many of those on board not killed in the explosion or fire, were trapped as the ship started to go down bow first, and then broke in two. In just three minutes Centaur was gone.The Japanese sinking of this Australian hospital ship in 1943 was a violation of the most basic humanitarian convention.

An informative post on the history of the torpedoing of the A.H.S. Centaur  including all the names is on the Tweed Heads Historical Society website HERE.

According to the Wikipedia site, the reason for the attack is unknown, and the events surrounding the sinking of Centaur are controversial because it has been attested that she may have been in breach of the international conventions that should have protected her.

The ship had been appropriately lit and marked to indicate that it was a hospital ship and its sinking was regarded as an atrocity. The Australian Government delivered an official protest to Japan over the incident. The Japanese did not acknowledge responsibility for the incident for many years and the War Crimes Tribunal could not identify the responsible submarine.

However, the Japanese official war history makes clear that it was submarine 1-177, under the command of Lt Commander Nakagawa who had sunk the Centaur. Lt Commander Nakagawa was convicted as a war criminal for firing on survivors of the British Chivalry which his ship had sunk in the Indian Ocean.

Claims of discovery were made in 1995, but the wreck was later proven to be another ship. The wreck of Centaur was found on 20 December 2009.

and now, new images of the wreck have emerged.

With thanks to the World War 11 Zone forum:

ONE

TWO

THREE  explore in 3D (takes awhile to load, but worth it)

Charles Richard Le Brun was one of the 268 people that died on board the HMAS Centaur and at the time was aged 43.
Charles was born at Darlimurla in Victoria, Australia on 10th Oct 1899 to Murdoch Le BRUN and his wife, Rebecca Ann MOORE.

At the age of 23, Charles married Dorothy KEMPTON on 15th Feb 1923 at Malvern and they had 6 children.

On 9th July 1940, Charles joined the AIF, his army number being: VX40778 and he was assigned to the 2/12th Field Ambulance unit.

The 2/12th Field Ambulance was an Australian military unit of the Second Australian Imperial Force, serving during World War II. During their six years of service, over 200 soldiers were killed, the highest figure for a non-combatant unit in Australian history.

The 2/12th was founded at Sydney Showground on 22 November 1940. The unit was attached to the 23rd Infantry Brigade, 8th Division until February, 1943, when it was moved to II Corps. Most of the recruits were from rural New South Wales. During their training in the Northern Territory, the members of the 2/12th provided medical support for the 23rd Brigade, participated in the construction of five small medical hospitals, and assisted sappers and pioneer assault units, earning the unit the nickname "2/12th Pioneers".

Following the beginning of the Pacific War, 45 members of the 2/12th were each attached to Gull Force and Sparrow Force, and sent to defend the islands of Ambon and Timor respectively. All of the members of the 2/12th serving with Gull Force were captured or killed by the Japanese on 1 February 1942, with many dying as prisoners of war on Ambon or Hainan. Many of those serving with Sparrow Force were also captured.

The half-strength unit was reinforced, and on 10 May 1943, the 192 members of the 2/12th boarded hospital ship Centaur to be transported to New Guinea.

On 14 May 1943, at 4:00 a.m., Centaur was torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-177, and sank in less than three minutes. Of the 332 aboard, there were only 64 survivors, including 14 members of the 2/12th. It was 36 hours before they were resuced by USS Mugford.

The 14 survivors were reinforced by men from the 4th Light Field Ambulance, and served in Borneo, Morotai, Tarakan, Lutong, and Kuching. The unit stood down in 1946, having served past the war's end, working with the retrieval and care of Allied prisoners of war.

below: copy of the will of Charles Richard Le Brun:

R I P

please note:  none of the above images are mine, all have been located on the internet over many years or passed on to me by family members.

a National Service of 
Thanksgiving & Remembrance
AHS Centaur

is usually held at St Johns Cathedral, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Click HERE for a PDF Document, including name of everyone on board.



Lest We Forget


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William Gordon Tucker - [1888 - 1918]

William Gordon Tucker enlisted in the AIF at Melbourne, using the name Sidney William Tucker, on 18 May 1917, but was not accepted until two months later on 18 July 1917 .

He was given the service number 6948A and was marked for 20 re-Enforcements, 22nd Battalion.  

(William was given "A" to his number on 11 Mar 1918, owing to a duplication).  

He stated he was born in Adelaide, SA, and was 26y 9m of age.   Though other records state that he was born in a  small settlement named Whyte Yarcowie, north of Adelaide in South Australia. At the 2006 census it had a population of 119!

 above image: Whyte Yarcowie War Memorial.

Williams parents were William Hill Tucker and Lina Augusta Degenhardt who had married in South Australia in 1880.

William married Rose Mary Diana Norman at East Caulfield, (Victoria, Australia) on 7th May 1915.

Their first child - Gordon Claude Tucker - was born in Richmond on 19th December 1915.

When he enlisted into the AIF on 18th May 1917 - he decided to change his name to Sidney William TUCKER and stated he was married and nominated his wife, Mrs  Rose Mary Tucker, of 13 Bendigo St, Prahran, Victoria as his Next Of Kin.  

This was later amended to Burnley, then to 14 Kimber St, Burnley, Victoria.  

He declared that he had never been convicted by the Civil Power, nor had he ever been rejected as unfit for His Majesty's Service.   He nominated 3/5 of his pay to the support of his wife and 4 children. 

He was 5'8" tall, weighed 148lbs, had chest measurements of 33-37", with fresh complexion, blue eyes and brown hair.   His religion was C of E.   His only distinctive marks were a scar on his right leg.   He was considered fit for Active Service on 18 May 1917.

One week later Rose gave birth to their second child - Stanley William John Tucker - on 25th May 1917 in Richmond.

On 15 Jun 1917 William was at Recruit Depot, Broadmeadows and on 14 Aug 1917 was transferred to M Coy, 2nd Depot Battalion Broadmeadows until 2 Oct 1917.   Prior to embarkation for overseas duty William submitted his Will, nominating his wife as his beneficiary and his father, William Tucker of 14 Kimber St, Burnley as his Executor.

It was about this time that the Camp Commandant, Broadmeadows received a letter dated 10 Jul 1917 requesting that "a William Tucker but I think he is under the name of Allen and he is a German desent (sic) and he said he would not fight...."  The letter was signed " A True Britisher and a soldier in the 9 (th?)"   (A copy of this letter is on file.)

Prior to his embarkation overseas, William had a series of Absent Without Leave Charges against him:  

10 Jul 1917, at Preston, 14 Days AWL, 40 shilling fine. 
21 Jul 1917, at Preston, 5 days AWL, 14 days detention. 
15 Aug 1917, at Northcote, 9 days AWL, 14 days detention.
23 Oct 1917, at Broadmeadows, 3 days AWL, 28 days detention. 
02 Nov 1917, at  Broadmeadows, 16 days AWL, fined One Pound, and one day detention and to be embarked.

On 21 November 1917, Sidney William Tucker (as he was then known) embarked on board the "H.M.A.T. A71 Nestor" with the 20/22nd Battalion bound for Europe and disembarked at Suez on 15 Dec 1917.

Whilst he was at Port Said, William was convicted of being one hour Absent Without Leave and was awarded 14 days Field Punishment No2.
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above image: The RMS Kashgar weighed 8,840 tons with an average cruise speed of 15 knots or 27.78 kmph. It was owned by the P & O SN Co, London. 


He then embarked Port Said on board "Kashgar" on 09 Jan 1918, disembarking at Taranto on 20 Jan 1917, then entrained at Taranto 24 Jan 1917.

above image: Monas Queen in 1917

He then embarked on board "Monas Queen" at Cherbourg on 31 Jan 1918, disembarking at Southampton, England on 2 Feb 1918.   On that date he marched in to 6th Trg Bn, Fovant, for training.

At Fovant, England on 18 Mar 1918, William was again Absent Without Leave from 0830 to 1630.   He was convicted and awarded 4 days Field Punishment No 2 and Forfeited 5 days pay. Still at Fovant, William again went AWL from 0800 25 Mar 1918 to 1400 28 Mar 1918 and this time his conviction earned him 168hrs Detention and loss of 11 Days Pay.  He was in Lewes Detention Barracks, London,  from 2 Apr-20 Apr 1918.

William proceeded overseas to France embarking at Folkestone on 29 Apr 1918 and marched into Etaples on 30 Apr 1918.   He left Etaples 4 May 1918 and was taken on strength 22nd Battalion, in the Field, on 7 May 1918.On 23 Jul 1918 William was "Gassed" in France, and was admitted to 49th Casualty Clearing Station on 24 Jul 1918.   William was admitted to No 2 Cas Station, Abbeyville on 6 Aug 1918 and then to  AusConvDepot, Havre on 11 Aug 1918 and remained under treatment until 03 September 1918 when he rejoined 22 Battalion. 

His wife was advised of the gassing by letter dated 10 Aug 1918, but this letter was returned as "Not known" to letter carriers Richmond, and "Gone Away 13 Aug 1918".

above image showing location of battles

William Gordon Tucker  died of wounds received in action, France, on 3 Oct 1918.  

There is no further explanation of his "wounds". The Battle of Beaurevoir 03 October 1918 - 06 October 1918  Relates to involvement in the Allied offensives on the Western Front in early October 1918 against the final systems of the German defence lines immediately behind the Hindenburg Line. Specifically acknowledges the breaching of the Beaurevoir Line and the fighting for and capture of the Village of Beaurepair on 5 October 1918-6 October 1918.

On 21 Feb 1919 William was buried at Carriere British Cemetery, 6 1/2 miles NNW of St Quentin, France.  

His body was later exhumed and re-buried at Bellicourt British Cemetery, 1/2 mile NNW of Beaurevoir, 4 miles N W of Brancourt.

In Aug 1919, William's wife Rose received his personal effects at her address at 47 Metropolitan St, Richmond, Victoria.   They comprised: One disc, Letters, Photo's, Cards, 3 Badges, 3 German Buttons, 1 Title, 9 Coins, 1 Flag.

On 3 Jan 1921 Rose received three copies of a Photo of William's grave, on 2 Jan 1923 she received William's Memorial Plaque, on 1 May 1924 she received his Victory Medal.

 location of his grave at Bellicourt British Cemetery

On 09 Aug 1945, under her current married name of R N McCarthy, 1 Prideham St Newmarket, Victoria, Rose requested from Base Records a replacement of her lost Next Of Kin Badge.   She was advised that subject to receipt of an appropriate Statutory Declaration the badge would cost 3 shillings, 4 pence.

On 17 Aug 1959 a copy of Certificate of Death (2156) for William was sent to The Public Trustee, Melbourne, concerning the Estate of Edgar Phillip Tucker, (deceased).

Edgar Tucker being his paternal uncle, brother to William Hill Tucker.

RIP
William Gordon Tucker

The Last Post has sounded, 

you have laid aside your gun.  

Called Home

with grateful thanks to Robert Matthews for the amazing amount of work in condensing the 80 plus pages of William Tuckers War Records down to a more manageable - and readable - size!


Sydney William Tucker's name will be projected onto the exterior of the Hall of Memory at the AWM in Canberra on:

• Mon 11 August, 2014 at 11:29 pm
• Thu 25 September, 2014 at 2:03 am
• Sun 16 November, 2014 at 3:53 am
• Sat 10 January, 2015 at 2:16 am
• Tue 3 March, 2015 at 11:51 pm
• Sun 19 April, 2015 at 8:53 pm
• Sun 31 May, 2015 at 6:38 pm
• Wed 8 July, 2015 at 2:01 am

These dates and times are estimates. The actual time of projection could change as a result of weather and other factors, so it is advisable to check closer to the date. In the rare event of a temporary loss of electrical power, the names scheduled for display in that period will not appear until the next time listed.

LEST WE FORGET

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Gabriel William John DELANEY (1922 - 1999)

Gabriel William John DELANEY

or perhaps better known as Jack Delaney!

Jack was born on 4th May 1922 in North Melbourne (Victoria, Australia) and died at the age of 77 years on 4th October 1999.

Anytime is a perfect time to document parts of his life - but am re publishing it this week as today (01 May 2013) is the anniversary of the landing of the 24th Bn at Tarakan.

His father was also named Gabriel Delaney and he was born in Lancefield in 1891 to Peter Joseph Delaney and Elizabeth Church. The Delaney family spent most of their lives in the North Melbourne area attending St Mary's Church in West Melbourne each Sunday.

above image: St Marys Church in West Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Gabriel (snr) met and married Marguerite Elizabeth Williams on 23rd September 1916 at that same Church. St Mary's Church in West Melbourne.

Marguerite was born on 4th July 1895 in Evelyn St, Brunswick, an inner suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Gabriel and Marguerite Delaney went on to have five children, Beryl, Alice, Jack, Jean and Elaine all in the suburb of West Melbourne where the children attended the St Mary's Catholic School.

Jack met his future wife - Dot Roberts - in the early 1940's and both enjoyed dancing and playing cards with their friends. They married at the St Kilda Baptist Church on 16 September 1944.

Dot was born as Dorothea May Roberts on 16th April 1925 at St Kilda to Frederick William James Roberts and May Eileen Rose Norman.

Fred and May also married at the St Kilda Baptist Church in 1921 and went on to have four children, Rose, Dot, Ron and Den.Jack and Dot were among the popular "young set" of the Ashburton area of Melbourne, attending all the dances, tennis and other social events..... before Jack enlisted in the Australian Army on 7th May 1943. He was assigned to the 2/24th Australian Infantry Battalion and his service number being: VX134461

The Story of the 2/24th Battalion

In July 1940 the 2/24th Battalion Headquarters group was formed, as part of the 26th Brigade – one of only two Victorian battalions in Victoria. They set off from Caulfield for the still-being-built Bonegilla camp, stopping off at Wangaratta where they camped at the showgrounds.

They were welcomed with open arms by the local community as they rapidly built up their numbers. The people of Wangaratta adopted the Battalion and they became known as ‘Wangaratta’s Own’. Presented with a 14 foot pennant the Battalion marched through the streets of Wangaratta on 27 September 1940 on the way to Bonegilla.

Training continued in Bonegilla until the soldiers sailed on HMT Strathmore for the Middle East on 16 November.

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April 7 1945 saw the Battalion on Muster Parade at Alligator Creek in Queensland and checking of embarkation rolls before route march to Stewart Creek.

The following day - April 8 - there was much preparation for the overseas move with the final packing and loading of stores on to the "General Butner". By 2350 embarkation of the 2/24th Battalion was complete and the "General Butner" sailed from Townsville to Morotai the following morning.

above image: USS General H. W. Butner (AP-113) was a troop transport that served with the United States Navy in World War II and the Korean War. She was redesignated T-AP-113 in October 1949.

The 2/24th arrived at Morotai in Indonesia at 1330 on 16th April 1945 and the troops disembarked and set up camp.

By 22nd April the Battalion were preparing to embark on the "HMAS Westralia". The following morning the ship moved to midstream and lay at anchor.

above image: The HMAS Westralia.

on Anzac Day - 25th April1945 - they were 'at sea' on board The Westralia", there was an Anzac Day Service in the Mens Mess officiated by Chaplin Ruby and a 'beer issue' of one bottle per man was given at 1900 after which there was craft loading and unloading drill before each man was issued another bottle of beer.

On April 30th the diary continues with: Packing of stores, last minute discussions. Troops prepare for disembarkation the following day. Signed by Lt-Col G. R. Warfe, Comd of 2/24 Australian Infantry Battalion.

on 1st May 1945, Jack Delaney and the rest of the 2/24th Battalion landed at Tarakan with the purpose of eventually capturing Croydon Airfield ......

The Battle of Tarakan was the first stage in the Borneo campaign of 1945. It began with an amphibious landing by Australian forces on 1 May, code-named Operation Oboe One. While the battle ended with success for the Allied forces over the Japanese defenders, this victory is generally regarded as having not justified its costs.

images below, shows location of Tarakan and the movements of The Borneo Campaign.

In an article titled:

At Tarakan Island, northeast Borneo early -1945

goes onto say:

"Tarakan, a pear shaped island that lies off the swampy delta area north of the Sesajap River is 15 miles long by 11 miles at its widest with a muddy shoreline covered in mangroves and inland rising steeply from the swampy coastal plains to a tangle of hills and steep gullies covered in dense rain forest timber and jungle growth.

The interior of this thickly timbered island off the north-east coast of Borneo was broken by numerous small ridges was impenetrable to tanks, and here as elsewhere, it was difficult to direct and receive artillery fire. Only one beach at Lingkas, the port for Tarakan where the main town is two miles inland, was considered viable for a large force landing named operation Oboe One.

An area with the advantage of exit lines to the airfield, the suffering civilians plus valuable but wrecked oil installations and inevitably commanded by strong prepared well concealed Japanese defences unprotected by negligible enemy airstrength. Minesweepers had swept the approach channels and Hydrographic ships had sound out the approaches for the naval task force which began bombardment at 6.40am as the assault troops embarked into landing craft." 
 
The 26th Brigade landed on Tarakan on 1 May, just three years to the day when it suffered heavy losses when Rommel’s forces penetrated the Tobruk perimeter at Hill 209. The two lead battalions were the 2/48th and 2/23rd, with the 2/24th in reserve. There was extensive air and naval bombardment prior to the landing so there was no opposition as the troops landed on the beaches.

However, the troops came under fire from Japanese on Lingkas Hill. The two battalions pushed inland towards the Tarakan township, overcoming Japanese resistance as they went. By nightfall they had established a beachhead 2.5 km wide and 2 km deep. The Japanese held out on the position called ‘metho’ and the 2/24th was ordered to push through and capture the airfield the next day.

The Japanese fight-back was powerful and the airfield was not taken until 18:05 on 5th May. 

 above: the airfield

Although the primary objective of Tarakan was the airfields, they were so heavily damaged during the pre-invasion bombardment that Australian engineers of the 1 and 8 Airfield Construction Squadrons of the Royal Australian Air Force took much longer to restore usage.

By the time the airfields were ready on 28 Jun, it was too late to provide the air umbrella for Borneo landings as originally intended. Aircraft from Tarakan, however, did have a role in supporting ground troops during the campaign.

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*the following images are off the website of the Australian War Memorial. The Copyright has expired and are now in the public domain. With thanks to the Australian War Memorial for allowing public access to these.

 above image: TARAKAN, BORNEO, 1945-05-09. 2/24 INFANTRY BATTALION TROOPS AT THE SCENE OF AN ACCIDENT.

 above image: TARAKAN, BORNEO. 1945-05-01. 2/24 INFANTRY BATTALION TROOPS RESTING AMONG RUINS OF BUILDINGS ON THE BEACH AFTER TAKING PART IN THE ASSAULT ON RED ONE BEACH ON D- DAY    
    

 above image: TARAKAN ISLAND, BORNEO. 1945-05-04. STRETCHER BEARERS ATTENDING A WOUNDED MEMBER OF 2/24 INFANTRY BATTALION AT AIRSTRIP…

 above image: TARAKAN ISLAND, BORNEO. 1945-05-04. B COMPANY, 2/24 INFANTRY BATTALION WOUNDED BEING CARRIED DOWN FROM AIRSTRIP RIDGE. 
      

 above image: TARAKAN ISLAND, BORNEO. 1945-05-04. A STRONG JAPANESE DEFENCE AT AIRSTRIP RIDGE. TROOPS OF 2/24 INFANTRY BATTALION EXAMINE A CAPTURED JAPANESE 20MM TWIN BARREL MACHINE-GUN. CAPTURED INTACT, IT WAS HOUSED 50 YARDS WITHIN A DUGOUT AND RUN OUT ON RAILS FOR FIRING.

above image:  This photo is of a group of C company showing off their souvenirs. This is now photo 110455 (AWM has updated the info and image number)

Worse was to come. From 6 May to 16 June they fought in the jungle on the mountain ridges behind the town. The Japanese used mines, booby traps, and suicide raids to delay the Australian advance. The 2/24th fought along Crazy Ridge. On 20 June it captured the Australians’ last main objective, Hill 90, after 21,000 artillery rounds and 600 mortar bombs had targeted the area.

The capture of Hill 90 was the last of the main battles. The island was divided into sectors, which each unit was to clear of any remaining Japanese - along with the 2/4th Commando Squadron and some Dutch troops. The 2/24th sector was the northern part of the island, covering the Juata Oilfields.23 Jun 1945 The last organized Japanese defense was broken by Australian troops at Tarakan Island, Borneo.

above image: Australian soldiers raise the Australian flag on a bamboo pole at Lingkas, Tarakan on the first day of Operation Oboe One, the 9th Division's successful attack and landing on Tarakan Island.

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Following the end of the war in August, and Japan’s surrender, the ranks of the 2/24th thinned as men were discharged, transferred, or volunteered for the occupation force for Japan. Those who remained in the battalion returned to Australia in December, 1945.

The 2/24th Battalion was disbanded at Puckapunyal in 1946.
A Commemorative Service is conducted annually at the Melbourne Shrine of Remembrance in October each year, and at the 2/24 Battalion Memorial Wall at the Wangaratta Cemetery on the Saturday following Melbourne Cup Day in November. The tradition and memory of the fighting men of the 2/24th is maintained by the 2/24 Australian Infantry Battalion Association. 

The Majority of the above information came from 

the website of the

2/24 Australian Infantry Battalion Association.

and the Australian War Memorial

With grateful thanks.

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Jack was discharged from the Army on 20 December 1945

Jack and Dot had three sons:
Russell, Wayne and Trevor.

Jack Delaney
(1922 - 1999)

They shall grow not old,
As we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them,
Nor the years condemn,
At the going down of the sun
And in the morning
We will remember them.

Laurence Binyon (1869-1943)

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URL's of interest:

2/24 Australian Infantry Battalion Association.

At Tarakan Island, northeast Borneo early -1945

Wikipedia: Battle of Tarakan

Borneo Campaign

Australian War Memorial database collection

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