Diary of Stanley Alfred Gedling, 1913-1918

Gedling, Stanley Alfred (Leading Signalman, b.1894 - d.1969)

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Places	Africa: Egypt, Suez Canal Africa: Egypt, Suez Canal, Port Said Asia: Ceylon, Colombo Europe: Gibraltar Europe: United Kingdom, England, Merseyside, Birkenhead Europe: United Kingdom, Scotland, Firth of Forth Europe: United Kingdom, Scotland, Scapa Flow Mediterranean: Malta Middle East: Yemen, Aden North & Central America: Caribbean North & Central America: Caribbean, Bermuda North & Central America: Caribbean, Lesser Antilles, Windward Islands, St Lucia North & Central America: Cuba North & Central America: Cuba, Ciudad de la Habana, Havana North & Central America: Honduras North & Central America: Jamaica North & Central America: Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad Oceania: Australia, New South Wales, Sydney Oceania: German New Guinea Oceania: German New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago, New Pomerania, Gazelle Peninsula, Rabaul Oceania: Pacific Islands, Bismarck Archipelago, New Britain, Herbertshohe Oceania: Pacific Islands, Fiji Oceania: Pacific Islands, New Caledonia Oceans: Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean Oceans: Atlantic Ocean, North Sea Oceans: Indian Ocean, Cocos Keeling Islands
Accession Number	RCDIG0001153
Collection number	PR02076
Collection type	Digitised Collection
Record type	File
Item count	1
Object type	Diary
Physical description	89 Image/s captured
Maker	Gedling, Stanley Alfred
Place made	At sea, Australia, United Kingdom
Date made	1913-1918
Conflict	First World War, 1914-1918
Copying Provisions	Digital format and content protected by copyright.

Description

Diary relating to the First World War service of Leading Signalman Richard Keith Gedling, Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Written and compiled by Gedling during the war, this account details his service aboard the light cruiser HMAS Melbourne and spans the period 1913 to 1918. It begins with Gedling’s enlistment in 1913, in which he provides and a summary of the beginnings of his naval service. Gedling provides a service history of the Melbourne during the First World War, recording the specifications of the ship, including armament and compliment, the daily routine on board, and the weather conditions. He documents the outbreak of the war and movement to Sydney, the deployment to French New Caledonia and Fiji before meeting the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF) at German New Guinea, the capture of Rabaul and Herbertshohe in September 1914, and the various Royal Navy (RN) ships and others (such as HIJMS Ibuki) that the Melbourne encounters. Gedling then writes of Melbourne’s role as an escort of the first Australian Imperial Force (AIF) convoy in November 1914, providing a diagram of the positions and names of the Australian and New Zealand ships of the convoy, and details the battle between HMAS Sydney and SMS Emden, including a sketch of the movements of both ships during their battle. After being deployed to the West Indies (Caribbean) to sink the German light cruiser SMS Karlsruhe, he writes of the Melbourne’s actions in the West Indies from early 1915 to September 1916. Gedling then documents the ship’s deployment to the North Sea as part of the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron in late 1916, including major repairs at Birkenhead from January to June 1917, and its service in the North Sea with the Grand Fleet until the end of the war. Having served on the Melbourne for the entirety of the war, Gedling provides a summary of the miles travelled during his service with the RAN, coaling and distance statistics for the Melbourne. He records details on the surrender of the German High Seas Fleet on 21 November 1918 and the Grand Fleet ships escorting the German fleet.