“H.M.A.S. PERTH” 1939 -1941 From the diaries of P.O. George Hatfield Published in Sydney Australia in 2009 Publishing layout and Cover Design by George Hatfield Jnr. Printed by Springwood Printing Co. Faulconbridge NSW 2776 1 2 Foreword Of all the ships that have flown the ensign of the Royal Australian Navy, there has never been one quite like the first HMAS Perth, a cruiser of the Second World War. In her short life of just less than three years as an Australian warship she sailed all the world’s great oceans, from the icy wastes of the North Atlantic to the steamy heat of the Indian Ocean and the far blue horizons of the Pacific. She survived a hurricane in the Caribbean and months of Italian and German bombing in the Mediterranean. One bomb hit her and nearly sank her. She fought the Italians at the Battle of Matapan in March, 1941, which was the last great fleet action of the British Royal Navy, and she was present in June that year off Syria when the three Australian services - Army, RAN and RAAF - fought together for the first time. Eventually, she was sunk in a heroic battle against an overwhelming Japanese force in the Java Sea off Indonesia in 1942. Fast and powerful and modern for her times, Perth was a light cruiser of some 7,000 tonnes, with a main armament of eight 6- inch guns, and a top speed of about 34 knots. She had a crew of about 650 men, give or take, most of them young men in their twenties. Her life began as the British ship HMS Amphion in 1936 but, with the clouds of war gathering, she was bought for the RAN by the Australian government and re-named, along with two sister ships, HMAS Sydney and HMAS Hobart. In 1939, a crew of Australian sailors was shipped over to Britain to collect her and bring her back. George Hatfield was one of them, and he sailed with Perth until the night they both died. For security reasons, navy sailors were not permitted to keep a diary on board ship, but a lot of them ignored that rule and secretly wrote of their experiences and their thoughts in the privacy of the mess decks. History should be grateful that they did. As I have researched the story of HMAS Perth for a book of my own, I have read many of these diaries and have never failed i to be moved by them. Despite their often lowly rank, many of these sailors were well educated, observant and articulate and they have left us a priceless picture of their times. They were the best and brightest of a remarkable generation of Australians, ordinary men who performed extraordinary deeds. George Hatfield’s diary is special. He saw good times and bad. There were happy days and long months of great danger, and he wrote of them all with an acute eye for detail and the unusual, often expressed with a wry sense of humour. His humanity and decency shine from between the lines. In short, he’s the sort of bloke you would like to have known. I feel privileged that his son, George Jnr, allowed me to read them. Publishing them in this form means they will be a priceless heirloom for generations of Hatfields to come. Mike Carlton Sydney 2009 ii Contents Forward By Mike Carlton i Preface v Acknowledgements vi First Voyage Book 1. 20th. May – 14th July 1939. 1 Leaving Melbourne, Durban, Madeira, Portsmouth, London. Book 2. 14th. July – 2nd October 1939. 23 London, Portsmouth, New York, Patrolling the Caribbean Sea Jamaica, Trinidad, Tobago Island, Book 3. 3rd. October 1939 – 5th January 1940. 51 Kingston / Jamaica, Bermuda, Halifax / Nova Scotia, Patrolling the Caribbean Sea Jamaica, Bermuda, Haiti and Cuba. Book 4. 6th. January – 30th March1940. 79 Jamaica, Panama, Tahiti, Fiji, Sydney /Australia. Photos and mementos of Perth’s first voyage from his personal Photo Album iii Second Voyage Book 5. 15th December 1940 – 12th August 1941. 101 In Australian waters convoying allied shipping; then on to the Mediterranean theatre of war. Colombo, Aden, Suez, Alexandria, Cairo, Libya, Crete, Athens, Malta, Port Said, Haifa, Tiberias, Nazareth / Palestine Perth, Sydney /Australia. Ray Hatfield’s memoirs of George’s early life. 157 George’s last meeting with his brother, Ray. 163 Hatfield Family Tree Photo of the five diaries on back cover iv Preface This is a book of my father’s five diaries onboard HMAS Perth, covering two voyages at the beginning of World War II, while serving in the Australian Navy. His first voyage (four note books) begins on the 20th May 1939 and tells of his cruise from Australia onboard the SS Autolycus to England for the commission and manning of the naval cruiser HMAS Perth. After sea trials in England, they visited the 1939 World Fair in New York City and intended to return to Australia via the Panama Canal. On the 3rd of September while travelling down the East Coast of America, war was declared against Germany. Perth remained in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea guarding merchant convoys and hunting German ships from Nova Scotia, Canada, to Trinidad and Tobago, South America, with their main base being Jamaica, West Indies. After numerous pursuits, but no contact with the enemy, Perth’s crew arrived back in Australia on the 30th March 1940, 10 months after leaving on the Autolycus. His fifth diary begins on the 15th December 1940 with the Perth convoying merchant shipping through Australian waters, then leaving Australia via the Suez Canal to the bloody theatre of war in the Mediterranean Sea and finishes on the 12th August 1941 back in Sydney, Australia. His diaries are now seventy years old and becoming frail. I have published the diaries in an effort to preserve his experiences for his extended family and others interested in history. v His final diary, (I presume he had one), was lost with him on the Perth when it was sunk by a Japanese task force in the Sunda Straits off Java in the early hours of 1st March 1942. As I never met my father, these diaries have left me with a window, not only into his experiences, but also his character and what type of person he was. It took me ages to two finger type his hand written words and on occasions tears would come to my eyes as he spoke about his feelings for my mother and at other times I found myself smiling at his humour. How times have changed over the last seventy years. The original dairies were hand written with an ink pen. I have now typed them out on a computer and while doing so, followed his voyages around the world on Google Earth. Who knows how they will be read, viewed or experienced in another fifty years from now! Acknowledgements I would like to give thanks to my cousin Robin Hatfield, son of Ray Hatfield, for kindly giving me permission to include parts of his father’s memoirs. To Susan Hatfield for her help and assistance in composing the Hatfield Family Tree. To all the other members of the Hatfield family who have assisted with family photos and proofing. To my wife, Lorraine Hatfield, for the proof reading of this book. And a special thanks to Mike Carlton who kindly wrote the foreword to this book. George Hatfield Jnr. vi THE DIARIES OF GEORGE E. HATFIELD vii viii Book One (May 20th. – July 14th. 1939) Rough Diary of Events during World Cruise per SS AUTOLYCUS and HMAS. PERTH By Leading Seaman George E. Hatfield Book 1 started at Melbourne, Australia on May 20th 1939. Saturday 20th May. Left Port Melbourne at 10.15 a.m. aboard Autolycus being farewelled by a large crowd of wives, sweethearts, friends and relatives. Mother and Charles arrived unexpected at Station Pier. Younger men were visibly affected at parting. Clearing Port Philip heads the crew listened to speech by C.O. Commander Harries in which he pointed out methods of overcoming physical and mental boredom. Crew were still unsettled and a certain amount of confusion reigned everywhere. Slung hammocks at night and found less room than HMA ships. Slept well. Sunday 21st May. At Sea. Hands called at 6.30 a.m. and comparing watches, found that clocks had been retarded ½ hour. Went to church and slept all afternoon. Exercised at night on deck to get rid of stuffy air in lungs. Ship rolling a little, O.D’s sick everywhere. So far food is very satisfactory. Hot and cold dishes at each meal. Talk of a bob in all round appreciation for ship’s cooks. Slept well. Monday 22nd May. At Sea. Started training classes in seamanship during forenoon. I am an instructor of ordinary seamen. Lecture by P.O. Walker on methods of controlling riots, street fighting, etc. Afternoons at sea are free for recreation. I am thinking of doing a bit of bayonet fighting practice which will require a quick eye and brain as a means of overcoming monotony. P.O. Don Walker is a good instructor in the art. A meeting decided to collect one shilling per man for cooks. Tuesday 23rd May. At Sea. Training classes this morning and demonstrations of bayonet fighting with P.O. Walker. Took charge of a squad for 1 rifle drill, a little difficult owing to a slight swell. Sea has subsided a lot. Canteen opened last night with Foster’s Export at 9 pence per bottle.