The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (S/3980) Able Seaman John “Jack” Salmon, 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 , the story for this day was on (S/3980) Able Seaman John “Jack” Salmon, HMAS Sydney, Royal Australian Navy, Second World War.

S/3980 Able Seaman John “Jack” Salmon, HMAS Sydney, Royal Australian Navy
KIA 20 November 1941

Today we remember and pay tribute to Able Seaman John Salmon.

John Salmon was born on 21 December 1921 in the Sydney suburb of Homebush. Known as “Jack”, he was the second eldest of eight children born to railway employee Reginald Salmon and his wife Kathleen. As a young man, Jack developed a passion for horse racing. When the Second World War broke out in 1939, he was living in the Sydney suburb of Croydon.

Jack Salmon enlisted in the Royal Australian Navy on 12 February 1940. He was assigned the rank of ordinary seaman, and proceeded to HMAS Penguin, the depot and accommodation ship based at Garden Island in Sydney. He remained there until July 1940, when having completed his initial training, he was posted to the RAN’s premier training depot in Victoria, HMAS Cerberus. By October, Salmon had almost completed his training. He wrote home to his father:

“Just a few lines to let you know I am still alive and well … I went to the races last fortnight and [won 2 Pounds] in the first two races and then lost it all after that! I want you to come to the races with me when I get back. I’ve only got one week to go and I have finished my course, but I think I will be here for another week to prepare for sea, that is, getting gas masks, and doing gas drill … I will close now, hoping to see you soon, your loving son, Jack.”

Salmon completed his training at Cerberus before the year was out and in February 1941 was posted to his first operational ship, joining the crew of the light cruiser HMAS Sydney. By this time, Salmon had been promoted to able seaman and was ready to begin active service. His initial seatime took place at the end of February when the cruiser sailed from Sydney to Fremantle to undertake routine convoy escort duties off the coast of Western Australia.

Over the following months, Sydney continued her patrol and escort work on the Australia Station, escorting famous troopships such as the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth in southern Australian waters throughout early September. In late September, Sydney began operating off the Western Australian coast, escorting convoys from Fremantle to the Sunda Strait in the Netherlands East Indies. Arriving at Sunda Strait Sydney would hand the convoy over to other Allied warships that would then continue escorting the ships to Singapore. On 6 November 1941, Salmon wrote what would be his last letter home:

“Dearest Mother. How are you keeping these days? I hope you are well and not overdoing it at your work. I will come in and have a free feast when I get home. We found a mine on a beach at a port we are in today. They sent some sailors over to explode it and I had to take them in the motor boat so I saw everything that happened. They dug out all the sand from under it and every shovel he took we nearly died thinking it was all going to blow up. Then two fishermen came on board and said there were two more floating not far from where we are anchored so it looks like someone knew we were coming here and tried to trap us! Everything is [okey dokey] now, so will most likely be home for Christmas, providing nothing spectacular happens in the near future.”

Four days later, on 11 November 1941 Sydney steamed from Fremantle escorting the troopship Zealandia, carrying troops of the Australian 8th Division. On 17 November, Sydney handed the troopship escort over to HMS Durban before commencing the return passage to Fremantle.

On the afternoon of 19 November 1941, Sydney sighted what appeared to be a merchant ship some 200 kilometres west of Shark Bay, Western Australia and closed to investigate. Sydney signalled the ship to identify itself while continuing to close with the vessel as she did so. The ship replied that it was the Dutch steamer Straat Malakka, but in fact she was the heavily armed German merchant raider Kormoran, in disguise. Kormoran had already sunk ten unsuspecting merchant ships in the Indian Ocean and taken another as a prize.

Sydney drew closer, relinquishing her advantage of superior gunnery and range, demanding that the ship identify itself with its allotted secret call sign. The captain of the German raider, Theodor Detmers, did not have the response. With Sydney at about 900 yards on his starboard beam, or point blank range for naval gunnery, he ordered the immediate hoisting of the German battle ensign and opened fire. In the battle that followed, both ships were mortally damaged. Sydney, torpedoed and ablaze, sank during the early hours of 20 November 1941, with the loss of all 645 members onboard, including Able Seaman Jack Salmon.

The crew of Kormoran abandoned ship before the raider was scuttled. Approximately three-quarters of her crew survived to become prisoners of war.

With no grave but the sea, Able Seaman Salmon and his comrades are commemorated on the Naval Memorial in Plymouth, England among more than 23,000 service personnel who have no known grave.

Able Seaman Jack Salmon was 19 years old.

His 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 John Salmon, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meghan Adams
Researcher, Military History Section

Craig Tibbitts,
Historian, Military History Section