The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (PA1819) Able Seaman Martin Curtis James, HMAS Sydney (II), 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 Richard Cruise, the story for this day was on (PA1819) Able Seaman Martin Curtis James, HMAS Sydney (II), Second World War.

PA1819 Able Seaman Martin Curtis James, HMAS Sydney (II)
KIA 20 November 1941
Photograph: P06554.001

Story delivered 26 February 2016

Today we remember Able Seaman Martin Curtis James and the ship’s company of HMAS Sydney (II), who were lost after engaging 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. Built in England, the cruiser was commissioned into the RAN in 1935 with a mixture of ages and experiences on board.

Martin James was born in Ballarat, Victoria, on 10 December 1921, the son of Lewis and Roseann James. The family later moved to Newcastle, New South Wales. Enlisting in the navy on his 18th birthday, Martin James stood about 173 centimetres tall, with brown hair and eyes and what was described as a fresh completion.

He was posted to HMAS Cerberus, the navy’s training establishment some 70 kilometres south of Melbourne, on Western Port Bay. He remained at Cerberus for several months before being posted to HMAS Sydney in mid-April 1940.

The cruiser 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. In December that year James was promoted to able seaman, and the following February Sydney returned home to Australia where it received a hero’s welcome.

On 19 November HMAS Sydney was steaming back to Fremantle, having escorted a troopship part of the way to Singapore. At about 4 pm the cruiser spotted a suspicious merchant ship and decided to investigate. By 5:30 pm, Sydney had almost drawn alongside the vessel when it suddenly revealed its true identity as a German raider.

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

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 the Australian cruiser, now only a distant glow on the dark horizon, disappear into the night.

By midnight, Sydney was gone, lost with all 645 hands, including James. He was 19 years old.

Martin James is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial in Britain. His name is also listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, along with around 40,000 others from the Second World War. His photograph is displayed today beside the Pool of Reflection.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Able Seaman Martin Curtis James, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Dr Karl James
Historian, Military History Section