Primmer, John Foster Roy (Able Seaman, b.1922-d.1941)

Collection relating to the Second World War service of 23183 Able Seaman John Foster Roy Primmer, HMAS Sydney (II), Royal Australian Navy, Australia, Indian Ocean, and Mediterranean Sea, 1940-1941.

Wallet 1 of 1 – Consists of one diary of Able Seaman Primmer written aboard HMAS Sydney (II). The diary, which covers the period from January 1940 to January 1941, describes the Sydney's service in the Mediterranean. John Primmer, who was lost at sea when the Sydney was sunk in November 1941, left the completed diary with his mother in early 1941 when the Sydney returned to Australia. Significant events covered by the diary include the sinkings of the Italian cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni and destroyer Espiro. It also comments on the repainting and camouflaging of the ship, rates of fire achieved during operations, types of ammunition carried, and casualty figures.

A transcription of this collection is available (pdf)

Able Seaman John Foster Roy Primmer enlisted to the Royal Australian Navy on 8 May 1939. He served on the HMAS Sydney (II) in the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. On 20 November 1941, Able Seaman Primmer was killed in action, alongside all other crewmembers of HMAS Sydney (II), when the ship engaged in a naval battle with the German cruiser Kormoran and sank off the coast of Western Australia.

• Wallet 1 of 1 - Diary of John Foster Roy Primmer, 1940-1941