Meeting the History Makers.

“We would have rather served under the Australian flag than a fake Japanese one!” said a sprightly Second World War veteran. He had just asked me if an Australian made replica Japanese flag was still on display. It was going to be used on Motor Launch (ML) 814 during Operation Mosquito in 1943 to confuse the enemy if they were spotted. It was around 2009 and I was honoured to find that I was talking to Marsden Carr Hordern a veteran who had sailed on ML 814 during Operation Mosquito.

When listening to Hordern, a quiet sense of pride in his and his crew’s achievements during the operation mounted in 1943 was still evident. He did not boast or brag. He was understated when talking about what he did during the operation. It was not until I researched the operation that I began to understand why he was proud of his achievements.

Hordern told me he had joined the Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve when he was a young man. He was only 20 when he reported for duty on 5 June 1942 and after serving on the minesweeper Abraham Crijnssen, he joined ML 814 as Sub-Lieutenant in February 1943. Fairmile motor launches were small, lightly armed wooden ships which depended on their speed and manoeuvrability if the enemy was encountered. Hordern spoke fondly of the Fairmiles but did say they could be uncomfortable in heavy seas. Fairmiles were designed in the United Kingdom but Australia began building them as a suitable ship to be used in and around Australian waters.  

It was on ML 814 that Hordern went into action during Operation Mosquito. The commanding officers of the MLs were told of the mission on 26 July 1943 and had to be off the coast of Timor on 29 July. Their mission was to re-supply guerrillas fighting on the island of Timor, insert an Australian Army signaller and evacuate civilians. This gave the crews of ML 814 and 815, based in Darwin, little time to prepare.  

It was during this short period of preparation that the use of fake Japanese naval ensigns was suggested to confuse the enemy if the MLs were spotted. Even though the flags had been made especially for the mission the idea of serving under a Japanese flag was rejected out of hand by the officers. It was stuffed into 814’s potato locker where Hordern retrieved it at a later date.  Even around the age of 87 the thought of serving under the Japanese flag still inflamed Hordern. He said they would rather fight under the Australian flag and take their chances with enemy patrols, than fight under a flag which for them represented a bitter enemy. 

Both ML 814 and 815 set off on their journey towards Timor on 27 July only to be recalled to Darwin on 29th as the mission had been postponed. The mission was rescheduled and on 2 August the MLs set off again for Timor. They had to cross approximately seven hundred kilometres of open sea which was still contested by Japanese forces. If the MLs were damaged or worse sunk they faced the prospect of trying to survive exposed to the elements in shark infested seas. The MLs managed to avoid contact with Japanese air and sea patrols. After arriving close to the rendezvous location at night and on receiving the correct identification form the shore, the crews of the MLs went to work delivering the supplies and inserting the Army signaller.

This was a risky part of the operation exposing the MLs and their crews to the danger of the Japanese forces on Timor. There was no way of knowing if the operation had been compromised and the possibility of sailing into an ambush. Working in the dark also has inherent dangers and the crews worked as quickly as possible to unload supplies to the guerrillas and load the desperate refugees. Hordern told me he was in command of a landing party and had helped take on the refugees. He also assisted an elderly gentleman, who was about to be left behind, from the surf on to 814. The refugees were in bad health and the crew cared for them as best as they could. The MLs arrived back in Darwin on 5 August were the refugees could get the medical attention they needed.

After researching what Hordern and his crew had done I began to have a small understanding of what his feelings might have been after Operation Mosquito. He and his crew had gone through ocean contested by the enemy undetected and successfully inserted a clandestine operator and helped refugees escape capture by the Japanese. They must have felt elated to have achieved the mission successfully and get back to Australia safely with a sense of humanity after rescuing the sick refugees. It is no wonder Hordern still displayed a sense of dignified pride regarding his and his crew’s action from the Second World War. 

As an Information Assistant working in the memorials galleries you get to meet many veterans from different conflicts. Meeting Hordern and other veterans is what I enjoy most about my job. I have the opportunity few people have, to hear history first hand. This helps me interpret not only veteran’s experience of conflict but that of Australia’s experience of war to visitors who do not have my opportunities to talk to veterans.