GREENBANK NAA NEWSLETTER GREY FUNNEL DITS Disclaimer: The material contained in this publication is in the nature of entertainment for the members. Contributions are acknowledged, with thanks, from service organisations. The editor expressly Disclaims all and any liability to any person, whether an association member or not. Views expressed may not necessary be those held by the Executive or the members. Editor: Tony Holliday [email protected] 0403026916 Series No. 3 Date: September 2020 No.9 GREENBANK NAVAL ASSOCIATION Sub Section Events for September and October 2020 Tuesday 01 September 1900-2100 Normal Meeting RSL Rooms Wednesday 30 September 1000-1030 Executive Meeting RSL Rooms Tuesday 06 October 1900-2100 Normal Meeting RSL Rooms Wednesday 28 October 1000-1030 Executive Meeting RSL Rooms Great news with the awarding of the Australian Victoria Cross to Ordinary seaman Teddy Sheean. Great pride for his family and us Gunnery Jacks. Editors Request: Articles for the newsletter can be handed in at meetings, or by email: articles may be edited to fit the newsletter. The contents of this edition of the newsletter have been obtained from information provided from Len Kingston-Kerr whom I thank greatly, various publication publications and NAA information emailed in. 1 ROYAL USTRALIAN NAVY - PERSONALITY Commodore W A Kemp: William Alexander Kemp was born in the tiny village of Woomelang in Victoria’s Mallee Region on 29 February 1928. He joined the Royal Australian Navy as a Cadet Midshipman (Supply), at HMAS Cerberus, on 30 January 1946. After initial training he went to sea as a Midshipman (Supply) in the sloop HMAS Warrego (1946) and the heavy cruisers HMA Ships Shropshire (1946-47) and Australia (1947-48). William Kemp was then posted to HMAS Lonsdale and promoted Sub Lieutenant in May 1948. In late 1948 Sub Lieutenant Kemp was sent to England for training courses with the Royal Navy and on his return in 1949 he joined the cruiser Australia as a junior Supply Officer. He was promoted Lieutenant in April 1950 and shortly after joined the destroyer HMAS Bataan as the Supply Officer. In late June Bataan was en route to Japan for service in the British Commonwealth Occupation Force when the Korean War broke out. The destroyer was quickly diverted to Korea and saw service there from July 1950 until late May 1951. She carried out a variety of duties such as patrolling and blockading the North Korean coastline, providing naval gunfire support for land forces and escorting aircraft carriers. For his service in Korean waters, Lieutenant Kemp was awarded a mention in dispatches. Lieutenant Kemp was posted to HMAS Kuttabul during 1951-52 where he worked as a Staff Officer to the Flag Officer commanding the NSW area, before he became the Secretary to the Senior Officer in Command of the 1st First Frigate Squadron. During his tenure he served in the frigates HMAS Shoalhaven (1952-53) and Quadrant (1953-54). In 1954 he served in the destroyer HMAS Tobruk as the Destroyer Squadron Supply Officer before being posted to Navy Office (then in Melbourne) as a Staff Officer in the Directorate of Supply and Secretariat. In mid-1957 Lieutenant Kemp was posted to the United Kingdom to work on the staff of the RAN Liaison Officer, at the Australian High Commission, and was promoted Lieutenant Commander in April 1958. He returned to Australia in 1960 where he served at the Supply School (HMAS Cerberus), before becoming the Squadron Supply Officer of the 1st Destroyer Squadron (embarked in HMAS Vendetta) in February 1961. During his time in Vendetta the ship operated in Australian waters and was also part of the Far East Strategic Reserve based in Singapore. Kemp then served briefly at the RAN Apprentice Training Establishment HMAS Nirimba, from May- December 1962, before being promoted Acting Commander and posted to HMAS Leeuwin where he served as the Executive Officer during the period January 1963-July 1964. He was confirmed in the rank of Commander in December 1963. Commander Kemp then joined the staff of Fleet Command serving as the Secretary for three successive Fleet Commanders (Rear Admiral HO Becher, Rear Admiral TK Morrison and Rear Admiral VAT Smith). During that time his service alternated between ashore at HMAS Kuttabul and at sea in various ships when the Fleet Commander was embarked. In February 1967 he was posted to Navy Office Canberra as the Deputy Director Fleet Supply Duties and Administrative Planning. 2 In late 1968 he took up his final sea posting when he joined the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne as the Supply Officer. During his time in Melbourne the ship operated in Australian and South East Asian waters. On the night of 3 June 1969, when the carrier was operating in the South China Sea, it collided with the United States Navy destroyer USS Frank E Evans which was cut in two. Her bow section sank and 74 US personnel lost their lives. Melbourne returned to Australia for repairs to her bow during July-October 1969. In April 1970, Commander Kemp returned to Navy Office resuming the role as Deputy Director Fleet Supply Duties until promoted Captain in December 1971 after which he became the Director of Fleet Supply Duties. In February 1974 he was appointed as the Director of the Administrative Plans Branch. That branch was later renamed the Directorate of Naval Logistics Plans and Coordination. In January 1976, Captain Kemp was appointed in command of the RAN’s premier training establishment, HMAS Cerberus. He relinquished command of Cerberus in early 1978 and returned to Navy Office as the Director General Logistics Branch - Navy and was promoted Commodore on 26 August 1978 (with seniority backdated to 26 April 1978). Commodore Kemp’s final posting in the RAN, in March 1981, was as the Chief of Staff in Naval Support Command. He retired from the RAN in early 1983 after 37 years of service. Following his retirement, he resided in Canberra. Commodore William ‘Bill’ Kemp passed away in Canberra on 26 December 2014, aged 86. ROYAL AUSTRALIAN NAVY - ADMIRALS RADM M F Bonser: Marcus ‘Mark’ Frederick Bonser was born in Sydney on 7 August 1952 and educated at Manly Boys High School and Macksville High School. He joined the RAN College as a senior entry Cadet Midshipman in January 1971. Bonser was promoted Midshipman and joined the fast troop transport HMAS Sydney in September 1972 for training, which included the ship's last deployment to Vietnam (during 23-24 November 1972) to deliver humanitarian aid to Cambodia (which was trans-shipped from Vung Tau). He was promoted Sub Lieutenant in December 1973 and appointed to the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne, in August 1974, to obtain his bridge watch-keeping qualification. Sub Lieutenant Bonser joined the patrol boat HMAS Advance in June 1975 as Executive Officer. During his year of service in her the ship operated from Darwin conducting fisheries protection and maritime surveillance patrols in northern Australian waters. Bonser was promoted Lieutenant in March 1976 and undertook short training courses at HMAS Watson and HMAS Cerberus in mid-1976 before joining the training ship HMAS Duchess, in September 1976, as an Officer of the Watch. 3 Duchess was a Daring Class destroyer which had been converted to a training ship in mid-1974 and took groups of midshipmen to sea for sea experience and navigational training. She operated mainly in Australian, New Zealand and South West Pacific Waters. Duchess conducted her last training cruise, to Fiji, in late 1977 and on returning to Australia was decommissioned on 24 October 1977.In October 1977, Bonser transferred to the new training ship HMAS Jervis Bay as an Officer of the Watch and served in her until April 1979. During his time on board the ship also conducted training cruises to ports in Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia and the South West Pacific to provide ‘at sea training’ for RAN College midshipmen and trainees from other Commonwealth navies. He joined the hydrographic vessel HMAS Diamantina (a former WWII frigate) in April 1979 for her deployment to Northern Australian waters and Singapore with a number of embarked scientific staff conducting experiments with anti-submarine towed array systems. Diamantina returned to Sydney in August 1979, but more testing was undertaken off the east coast in October-November. Lieutenant Bonser departed the ship in November and returned to the patrol boat force in December 1979 as the Commanding Officer of HMAS Aware. While in command of Aware the patrol boat was based in Darwin, as part of the Third Patrol Boat Squadron, and conducted fisheries patrols and border protection duties. Bonser relinquished command in January 1982 and then served briefly in the Landing Ship Heavy HMAS Tobruk, during February- April 1982. He then proceeded to the United Kingdom to undertake the Principal Warfare Officers (PWO) Course and he subsequently qualified as a PWO (Anti-Submarine Warfare). Bonser then served on exchange with the Royal Navy in the destroyers HMS Antrim and HMS Glamorgan. He was promoted Lieutenant Commander on 31 December 1983 and returned to Australia in mid-1985. Lieutenant Commander Bonser was appointed to the guided missile destroyer HMAS Perth in June 1985 as the anti-submarine warfare officer. During his service in Perth the ship operated in Australian and Southeast Asian waters conducting various training activities and exercises. On 14 October 1985, while conducting Exercise CORAL SEA off the coast of New South Wales, Perth undertook the rescue of 24 crewmen from the Singaporean vessel MV Hoelien, the ship sank later that day. Perth also took part in the Navy’s 75th anniversary celebrations during 1986. In early 1987 he completed training at HMAS Watson before joining HMAS Torrens as Executive Officer in April 1987.