Knitted scarf : Lieutenant P Goldrick, 808 Squadron, HMAS Sydney

Navy blue scarf made with 4 ply viyella, a wool and cotton blend yarn. The scarf is knitted in basket stitch with a moss stitch border.

Captain Peter Goldrick, RAN, was born in Sydney in December 1927. In January 1941, at the age of 13, he joined the Royal Australian Naval College at Flinders Naval Depot in Victoria as acadet midshipman. He graduated as a midshipman in August 1944 and joined the British Eastern Fleet, aboard HMS Kenya. He took part in operations in the Burma campaign and in May 1945 was transferred to the British Home Fleet where he joined HMS Birmingham. In 1946 he was promoted Acting Sub Lieutenant and undertook further training in Britain. He returned to Australia in 1947 and was confirmed as Sub Lieutenant. In November 1947 he joined HMAS Warramunga. On his twentieth birthday he gained his watchkeeping certificate, after service with the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces in Japanese waters. Promoted Lieutenant on 1 July 1948, he joined the newly established RAN Fleet Air Arm. After completing over two years of training in the United Kingdom Goldrick was selected as a fighter pilot and was posted to 808 Squadron, attached to the aircraft carrier HMAS Sydney. In July 1951 the Sydney, with 805 and 808 Squadrons of Sea Furies and 817 Squadron of Fireflies, was sent to Korea and operational flying began in October. Goldrick was wearing this scarf when, on 5 January 1952, he participated in a strike on gun positions along the Yesong River, on the north side of the Han estuary, close to the neutral area around Panmunjom. He was hit in the arm by a bullet during this sortie but managed to return and land safely on the Sydney. He was sent home to recover and rejoined the squadron when it returned to Australia in March. He had earlier had another lucky escape during the operational work up as HMAS Sydney travelled towards Korea. Goldrick's aircraft landed heavily on the flight deck, breaking a wheel, which caused it to skid over the side. Goldrick was able to escape the aircraft but witnesses said that he surfaced on the opposite side of the ship, having presumably passed under the ship's keel. Peter Goldrick continued as a pilot with the RAN for several more years, qualifying as one of the RAN's first two flying instructors as well as becoming the RAN's first jet pilot, training in Vampires. For the remainder of his career Goldrick held a wide range of posts including the command of HMAS Stuart and participation in the Far East Strategic Reserve in the 1960s. He retired from the RAN with the rank of Captain in December 1977.

This scarf was made for Goldrick by Caroline Purcell, his future wife. They first met in 1944 shortly after he graduated as a midshipman, when she was 13 and he 16. In 1948 they met again, by now 16 and 20 respectively, at a Sydney University ball, where Caroline had just begun studies. The couple became romantically involved but Goldrick was posted to England in July 1948 to undertake two years flying training. Although they were not engaged, before he left Australia he asked Caroline to promise not to become engaged to anyone else while he was away. Both Peter and Caroline formed other romantic attachments during the two years he was away but they were reunited on his return. They were 'unofficially' engaged when HMAS Sydney left for service in Korea, announcing the engagement officially on Goldrick's return. Their marriage took place on 26 June 1952.