Places |
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Accession Number | AWM2017.1.182 |
Collection type | Film |
Object type | Last Post film |
Physical description | 16:9 |
Maker |
Australian War Memorial |
Place made | Australia: Australian Capital Territory, Canberra, Campbell |
Date made | 01 July 2017 |
Access | Open |
Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
Copyright |
Item copyright: © Australian War Memorial![]() |
Copying Provisions | Copyright restrictions apply. Only personal, non-commercial, research and study use permitted. Permission of copyright holder required for any commercial use and/or reproduction. |
The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (VX23667) Sergeant Richard Leslie Spunner, 2/22nd Australian Infantry Battalion, Second AIF, 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 (VX23667) Sergeant Richard Leslie Spunner, 2/22nd Australian Infantry Battalion, Second AIF, Second World War.
Film order formVX23667 Sergeant Richard Leslie Spunner, 2/22nd Australian Infantry Battalion, Second AIF Died at sea (Montevideo Maru) 1 July 1942
Story delivered 1 July 2017
Today we remember and pay tribute to Sergeant Richard Leslie Spunner.
Richard Spunner was born on 20 September 1916 to William and Eliza Spunner of the Melbourne suburb of Mentone.
Known to his friends as “Dick”, Spunner grew up near Mentone beach, was a keen participant in the local scout group, and came to be a leading member of the Mentone Life Saver Club. After his education, he worked as a school teacher in the Foster district, a dairying and grazing community south-east of Melbourne.
Spunner enlisted on 25 May 1940. He was posted to the 2/22nd Battalion, which moved to Trawool in central Victoria for training in July. In late September, the battalion made the 235 kilometre journey on foot to Bonegilla on the New South Wales–Victoria border.
Spunner’s capacity for leadership soon became apparent, and he was promoted to acting lance corporal in December.
After further training, Spunner and his battalion were sent to Sydney in April 1941 to prepare for active service in New Britain. Arriving at Rabaul on 26 April, the battalion formed the main element of Lark Force.
Tasked with protecting the airfields at Lakunai and Vunakanau, and the seaplane base at Rabaul, the battalion spent the following months constructing defences and training for operation in a tropical environment.
Spunner’s promotions continued and on 1 January 1942 he was promoted to sergeant.
It was about this time that the Japanese bombing of New Britain began, increasing in intensity as the month continued. By 22 January 24 Squadron had been virtually destroyed and its three remaining aircraft were withdrawn. As there was no use for the airstrips, they were destroyed, and Lark Force withdrew from Rabaul, waiting on the western shores of Blanche Bay for the inevitable Japanese landings.
These began at 1 am on 23 January. Overwhelming Japanese strength, and Australian communication failures, quickly cracked the cohesion of the Australian defence. Realising the futility of the situation, Colonel John Scanlan ordered a withdrawal on the basis of “every man for himself”. Over the following days, groups and individuals sought escape along New Britain’s north and south coasts. Some found small boats and got away on their own; others were picked up by larger vessels operating from New Guinea. Around 400 members of Lark Force managed to return to Australia.
A grisly fate awaited those who were captured. On the 4th of February, a group of 160 were massacred at the Tol Plantation shortly after their surrender.
Sergeant Spunner was lucky enough to avoid this fate. He was among the group of approximately 850 military prisoners and 200 civilian internees that were ordered to board the Montevideo Maru on the morning of 22 June.
Eight days into the voyage to Hainan, the Montevideo Maru was spotted by the American submarine USS Sturgeon, which manoeuvred into position to fire its stern torpedoes. Survivors from the Montevideo Maru’s Japanese crew reported two torpedoes striking the vessel followed by an explosion in the oil tank in the aft hold.
The vessel sank in as little as 11 minutes. Over 1,000 prisoners died. According to a surviving Japanese crewman, Australians in the water sang “Auld Lang Syne” to their trapped mates as the ship sank beneath the waves.
The sinking is considered the worst maritime disaster in Australia's history.
Unaware of the ship’s loss, the families of those on the Montevideo Maru – including Sergeant Richard Spunner – continued to send letters in the belief that their loved ones were being held as prisoners of war. It was not until after the war that they discovered the fate of those lost on the Montevideo Maru.
Today, Sergeant Richard Spunner is commemorated at the Rabaul Memorial, at the Montevideo Maru memorial in Ballarat , and the Rabaul and Montevideo Maru memorial here at the Australian War Memorial.
Spunner’s name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, among some 40,000 Australians who died while serving in the Second World War.
This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Sergeant Richard Leslie Spunner, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.
Duncan Beard Editor, Military History Section
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Video of The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (VX23667) Sergeant Richard Leslie Spunner, 2/22nd Australian Infantry Battalion, Second AIF, Second World War. (video)
Related information
Conflicts
Places
- Oceania: Australia, Victoria, Ballarat
- Oceania: New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago, New Britain, Gazelle Peninsula, Rabaul
- Oceania: Pacific Islands, Bismarck Archipelago, New Britain, Gazelle Peninsula, Rabaul Area, Blanche Bay
- Oceania: Pacific Islands, Bismarck Archipelago, New Britain, Gazelle Peninsula, Rabaul Area, Vunakanau