Comments on: Bill Reynolds MBE

By: nicholas

nicholas — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 00:00:27 +0000

who is the oldest survivor of ww1

By: Lynette Silver

Lynette Silver — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 21:33:05 +0000

As Di Rutherford correctly points out, Reynolds was indeed a Master Mariner and had served with the British Navy in WW1, but at no time during WW2 was he a member of the Australian Armed Forces. As he had rejected a commission with the RAN, his status on the Jaywick mission was that of a civilian whose services were paid for by SOE in London, the original status of the mission being a combined SOE (Australia) and RAN mission. Had he remained with Jaywick, it would have been as a civilian.

At the time of his death Bill, having been infiltrated into the islands near southern Borneo, was working (solo) for the United States Bureau of Economic Warfare, a highly secret and very irregular organisation which, among other things, employed civilians with expert knowledge of certain areas to carry out covert work behind enemy lines. My grandfather Edward Farrell, who was even older than Reynolds and whose expertise lay in the waters off North Queensland and New Guinea, worked as a civilian for the same organisation, infiltrating personnel by sea behind the lines. He, like Reynolds, reported directly to General MacArthur’s HQ in Brisbane and was paid handsomely, in US dollars, by the Americans. The downside was, being civilians with no military status, they ran the great risk of being executed as spies if captured – the fate which befell Reynolds.

As someone who has maintained an active interest in Reynolds for twenty years, and being a great admirer of his bravery, I am pleased to see that his war effort and sacrifice are still attracting interest. Although he, like my grandfather, is not eligible to have his war service officially recorded by Australia, I do have satisfaction of knowing that Bill’s story is recorded in the pages of my books.

By: Dianne

Dianne — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 01:01:54 +0000

Bill Reynold’s story is certainly a fascinating one. We have been very pleased to be able to portray it in the Memorial’s Second World War galleries, where his MBE is on display, along with a model of his vessel, The Krait.

As well as being remembered in the Memorial’s galleries, Reynolds’ name is also recorded on the Memorial’s Commemorative Roll. This is on our website and in the Book displayed in the cloisters. The Roll records those Australians who died during, or as a result of, wars in which Australians served, but who were not serving in the Australian Armed Forces. They were therefore not eligible for inclusion on the Roll of Honour. In fact, Reynolds rejected a commission in the Royal Australian Navy during the war and remained a civilian.

Although Reynolds had served with the Merchant Navy in the past, he was not serving on a Merchant Navy vessel when he died. He was in fact working as a civilian on intelligence gathering for the Americans when he was captured, which is why he is not recorded on the Merchant Navy Memorial.

By: Peter Stanley

Peter Stanley — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 00:53:26 +0000

I’m delighted to see that Bill Reynolds’s experience has been recognised in this way. However, there is a sad curiosity associated with his story. Despite his clear contribution to the war effort (recognised by his OBE), and the suffering he endured before his death, Bill Reynolds is not actually commemorated by name at the Memorial. Because he was a merchant seaman he was explicitly excluded from the Roll of Honour, and he is not recorded on the memorial to merchant seamen dedicated outside the Memorial building. It is sadly ironic that such a gallant man, though hailed as a hero by the Memorial on its website, should have been excluded from the forms of commemoration that the Memorial embodies. Surely as an Australian who died at the hands of the Japanese, Bill Reynolds should be commemorated by the Memorial? What possible reason could there be for his omission from the formal commemoration? Can the Memorial explain his absence from all but its website?

Peter Stanley
Dickson, ACT