HMAS Sydney memorial aboard cruise ship

[Tina]

Hi everyone. I know we have many in the forum with a special interest in WW2.
Ed & I were privileged to be on board the Dawn Princess when she anchored above the wreck site of HMAS Sydney, sunk with all hands (645) in 1941 by the German cruiser Kormoran disguised as a Dutch merchant ship.
The wreck wasn't found until 2008, way off course, 240k's south west of Carnarvon W.A. The men never got the chance to get to battle stations.
317 Germans survived picked up from lifeboats.
A wreath was laid to remember the men from both countries. The service was led by the Captain and members of the R.A.N, so moving, tears flowed.
The weather was awful but it didn't stop people from cramming the deck.
Many passengers had relatives on board the Sydney and came from across Australia to join the cruise ship at Fremantle.
On the return voyage, the passengers got off at Geraldton to see the beautiful memorial high on a hill above the town to remember Australia's worst maritime disaster of WW2.
"They have no grave but the cruel sea, no flowers lay at their head, a rusting hulk is their tombstone, afast the ocean bed"

Tina

[dickiesam]

Hi Tina,
The sinking of the HMAS Sydney was a very sad day in the annals of Australian naval history despite the fact that the German raider was eventually scuttled by her crew and sank following the damage inflicted by the Sydney's guns. What remains a mystery, and gives rise to a number of conspiracy theories, is what happened to her crew and why no survivors were found.

An excellent account of the Sydney and her final battle is here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMAS_Sydney_%28D48%29

[MaryA]

Thanks for telling us about it Tina, hope you paid our respects as well as your own. That was a lovely moving tribute from you.

[Tina]

Certainly did Mary. One of the hardest things to watch was earlier footage of the ship arriving home to a glorious welcome by thousands in Sydney, wives in their hats, best frocks and white gloves, little boys in sailor suits, girls with their hair in plaits and ribbon bows, mother's dabbing their eyes with embroidered hankies. Men in their suits and trilbys. Then the march through the city of the crew.
D.S we had a wonderful naval historian on board, Bob Truscott who gave great talks about WW2. If you could see the video re-enactment of the first blow to the ship, it was obvious the crew didn't stand a chance. I won't go into details, just to say it was dreadful.
Tina thanks for your interest

[Fledge]

One of the hardest things to watch was earlier footage of the ship arriving home to a glorious welcome by thousands in Sydney, wives in their hats, best frocks and white gloves, little boys in sailor suits, girls with their hair in plaits and ribbon bows, mother's dabbing their eyes with embroidered hankies. Men in their suits and trilbys. Then the march through the city of the crew.

I had a lump in my throat reading that.

[Tina]

Thank you Fledge for caring.