The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (S5801) Able Seaman Allan Richard Maunsell, HMAS Australia, 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 (S5801) Able Seaman Allan Richard Maunsell, HMAS Australia, Second World War.

S5801 Able Seaman Allan Richard Maunsell, HMAS Australia
DOW 21 October 1944

Today we remember and pay tribute to Able Seaman Allan Richard Maunsell.

Allan Maunsell was born on 16 February 1923 in the Sydney suburb of Bankstown, the son of Lewis and Merle Maunsell.

Allan’s father was a legal officer who worked for for the Municipality of Bankstown, and had served during the First World War. Lewis had been awarded the Military Medal for repairing phone lines under heavy fire at Flers in 1916.

His brother, Allan Richard Livingstone Maunsell, had served with the 3rd Battalion and died of wounds received during the battle of Pozieres in July 1916 at the age of 21.

Young Allan was named in his honour. He grew up in Bankstown and attended school locally. After leaving school he was employed as an insurance brokers’ clerk.

As the Second World War began, Allan’s father again enlisted for service in the army, sailing for service in the Middle East in late 1940.

Allan joined the Royal Australian Naval Reserve on 7 August 1941 and began full-time duty. His sister Marcia joined the Royal Australian Air Force in April 1943 shortly after her 18th birthday. She would go on to serve in RAAF headquarters in Sydney.

Allan Maunsell was sent to HMAS Cerberus for his initial training. By the end of October he had been noted for good seamanship and had passed his gunnery course with 75.6 percent accuracy.

After completing his training, Maunsell was posted to HMAS Rushcutter in late November. This posting was brief and on 22 December he was posted to HMAS Australia, which had recently returned to home waters to become the flagship of the Australian Squadron. Two months later Australia became flagship of ANZAC Squadron.

During March and April 1942 Australia supported US naval forces in the south-west Pacific in an attempt to stop the southwards expansion of the Japanese. The following month Maunsell saw his first major action during the battle of the Coral Sea where HMAS Australia attacked Japanese transports and light cruisers that were reportedly heading for Port Moresby.

On 21 June Maunsell was rated as Able Seaman (Radar) and in early Julyhe was posted back to HMAS Rushcutter to attend a radar course. He qualified at the end of August and was posted to the armed merchant cruiser HMAS Westralia. For the next month Maunsell was involved in patrolling the Australian coast. Westralia returned to Sydney in late September and Maunsell was again posted to Australia.

In early 1943 Australia was patrolling the east coast of Australia and in April was sent to investigate reports of Japanese landings in the Gulf of Carpentaria, which proved to be negative.

From November 1943 to September 1944 Australia was involved in bombarding enemy-held islands in the south–west Pacific, from Cape Gloucester to Morotai, prior to allied landings. During this period of time Maunsell was awarded a good conduct badge.

By mid-1944, the Allies were preparing to return to the Philippines. On 20 October, American forces landed on Leyte Island in the Philippines. The Japanese fiercely opposed every phase of the American offensive. During the morning of 21 October, the cruiser was hit by a Japanese dive bomber. The aircraft crashed into Australia’s foremast, causing an explosion and an intense fire on the bridge. There were nearly 100 casualties, with many men suffering terrible burns.

Allan Maunsell was among the casualties. The severity of his burns proved mortal and he died that day. Allan Maunsell was 21 years old.

A couple of days later, Maunsell, 30 officers and other ratings, including Australia’s commanding officer, Captain Emile Dechaineux, were buried at sea.

Allan Maunsell’s name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, among almost 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 Able Seaman Allan Richard Maunsell, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Michael Kelly
Historian, Military History Section