The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (24396) Able Seaman Glen Morton McKechnie, HMAS Sydney, Royal Australian Navy, Second World War

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Nicholas Schmidt, the story for this day was on (24396) Able Seaman Glen Morton McKechnie, HMAS Sydney, Royal Australian Navy, Second World War.

c24396 Able Seaman Glen Morton McKechnie, HMAS Sydney (II)
KIA 20 November 1941
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 11 October 2013

Today, we remember Able Seaman Glen Morton McKechnie and the ship's company of HMAS Sydney (II), lost after a bitter engagement with the German surface raider Kormoran in 1941.

A modified Leander-class light cruiser, Sydney was armed with eight 6-inch guns and was the pride of the Royal Australian Navy, commissioned into the RAN in 1935. Following the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, Sydney was one of several Australian warships sent to the Mediterranean. Here Sydney demonstrated its fighting prowess, sinking the Italian cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni in the battle of Cape Spada in July 1940. Sydney's crew boasted a range of ages and experiences; some men were seasoned sailors whereas others, such as Able Seaman Glen McKechnie, had only recently gone to sea.

Born in Henley Beach, South Australia, McKechnie had been a student before joining the Navy in June 1940 - four months before his 18th birthday. After training at HMAS Cerberus on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula, he was posted to Sydney in February 1941. Joining the Navy was McKechnie's opportunity to see the world, visiting Singapore, Noumea, Auckland, and Suva with the cruiser. In one letter he had vividly described the excitement and apprehension of going to action stations:

& men running up and down ladders, turrets training, their guns swiftly elevating, the ship accelerating. Hatches being closed, all the doors being shut, guns being cleared, and down in the bottom of the ship next to the magazine is me in the handing room.

On 19 November, Sydney was steaming back to Fremantle after escorting a troopship part of the way to Singapore. At about 4 pm the cruiser spotted a suspicious merchant vessel and set off to investigate. By 5.30 pm, Sydney had nearly pulled alongside the vessel when it revealed its true identity as a German raider.

Hoisting its German naval ensign, Kormoran opened fire with its guns and fired torpedoes. Kormoran's first salvo slammed into Sydney's bridge. Sydney returned fire, but Kormoran's second and third salvos again hit Sydney's bridge and amidships. The three main turrets were soon out of action, but "X" turret kept up fast and accurate fire that hit Kormoran's funnel and engine room. Sydney, in turn, was hit by a torpedo. Mortally damaged and ablaze, Sydney turned away from the raider but continued to fight, using its secondary armament and torpedoes.

The crippled Kormoran was also burning. At 6.25 pm its captain gave the order to abandon ship. As the German sailors evacuated their stricken vessel, they watched Sydney, now only a distant glow on the dark horizon, disappear into the night. By midnight Sydney was lost with all 645 hands - including McKechnie.

Sydney's loss was one of the enduring Australian mysteries of the war. Countless rumours, speculations, and conspiracy theories have swirled around the ship's fate. It was not until 2008 that the wrecks of Sydney and Kormoran were finally located.

Able Seaman Glen Morton McKechnie's name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, along with around more than 40,000 others from the Second World War.

His is but one of the many stories of courage and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Able Seaman McKechnie and all those Australians who have given their lives in the service of our nation.