Service number | WX15 |
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Ranks Held | Captain, Lieutenant Colonel, Temporary Lieutenant Colonel |
Birth Date | 17/08/1904 |
Birth Place | Australia: Western Australia, Fremantle |
Death Date | 15/05/1994 |
Death Place | Australia: New South Wales, Sydney |
Final Rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
Service | Australian Army |
Units |
|
Places | |
Conflict/Operation | Second World War, 1939-1945 |
Lieutenant Colonel Hyacinth Ralph (Jump) Honner
Hyacinth Ralph Honner, born at Fremantle, Western Australia, on 17 August 1904, became one of Australia's best-known officers of the Second World War. Honner, who preferred to be known as "Ralph", became a teacher but after two years in the profession began to study law.
Honner married Marjory Bennett in June 1934. He joined the militia in 1936 and enlisted in the AIF in October 1939. He was given command of C Company, 2/11th Battalion and sailed for the Middle East in April 1940. After a period in Palestine, Honner's company fought at Bardia, Tobruk, and Derna before being sent to Greece.
In Greece, Honner commanded his men through a series of fighting withdrawals before superior German forces. They were evacuated to Crete where the fighting at Retimo took a heavy toll on the battalion. Honner escaped to Alexandria, was promoted to major, awarded the Military Cross for his work in Greece, and began to rebuild C Company around a nucleus of veterans.
Honner returned to Australia, was briefly reunited with his wife, and promoted to lieutenant colonel before being sent to Papua to command the 39th Battalion, then fighting the Japanese on the Kokoda Trail. Honner was ordered to hold the Japanese at Isurava. Taking up his new command on 16 August 1942, he was confronted by a group of soldiers already exhausted from difficult fighting in the most inhospitable of conditions, many suffering tropical diseases, and facing a large enemy force while waiting for reinforcement.
Honner's experience in the Mediterranean prepared him well for the Kokoda Trail and he conducted a skilled defence and fighting withdrawal back along the trail; his troops rested only when the tide had turned against the Japanese. His next battle, at Gona, on the Papuan coast, gave Honner another opportunity to demonstrate his skills as a combat commander. He turned his battalion from a demoralised force at Isurava to an effective unit that contributed to an important victory at Gona. For his role there Honner was awarded the Distinguished Service Order before seeing his battalion disbanded in July 1943.
Honner then took command of the 2/14th Battalion, leading them early in the campaign in the Ramu-Markham Valley before being seriously wounded in the hip. His combat career over, Honner was posted as General Staff Officer Grade 1 Directorate of Military Training at Land Headquarters in Melbourne. He left the Army towards the end of 1944 to chair the War Pensions Assessment Appeal Tribunal, a position he held until 1968. Having moved to Sydney in 1949, Honner served as President of the New South Wales United Nations Association between 1955-57. He also served as President of the New South Wales Branch of the Liberal Party from 1961-63.
Having retired in 1968, Honner became ambassador to Ireland. In his later years he travelled to Europe and returned to Crete. He died in Sydney on 15 May 1994.
Rolls
-
Honours and Awards:
- Unit
- 39th Australian Infantry Battalion
- Conflict
- Second World War, 1939-1945
- Rank
- Temporary Lieutenant Colonel
-
Honours and Awards:
- Unit
- 2/11th Australian Infantry Battalion
- Conflict
- Second World War, 1939-1945
- Rank
- Captain
-
Honours and Awards (Recommendation):
- Conflict
- Second World War, 1939-1945
-
Honours and Awards (Recommendation):
- Conflict
- Second World War, 1939-1945
Timeline
Date of birth | 17/08/1904 | Fremantle, WA. |
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Date and unit at enlistment (ORs) | 01/07/1924 | Enlisted as a private in the 11/16th Battalion. |
Date promoted | 1925-08-04 - 1927-06-30 | Appointed Sergeant. |
Date promoted | 03/08/1925 | Appointed corporal. |
Other | 1936 | Joined the Militia. |
Other units | 25/06/1936 | Appointed lieutenant 11/16th Battalion. |
Date and unit at enlistment (ORs) | 24/10/1939 | |
Other | 13/10/1939 | Given command of C Company, 2/11th Battalion. |
Date and unit at enlistment (ORs) | 13/10/1939 | Enlisted in the 2nd AIF. |
Date promoted | 13/12/1939 | Appointed captain. |
Date of embarkation | 04/1940 | Sailed for the Middle East. |
Other | 1940-07-22 - 1940-08-25 | Attended a course for company commanders at the Middle East Tactical School. |
Other | 19/05/1940 | Arrived in the Middle East. |
Other | 30/05/1941 | Honner, offered the choice between escaping Crete and surrendering by Major Sandover, managed to escape to Alexandria. |
Other | 05/01/1941 | 2/11th Battalion went into action at Bardia. |
Other | 20 May 1941 | The invasion of Crete began. |
Other | 25/04/1941 | 2/11th Battalion evacuated from Greece by sea. |
Date promoted | 13/10/1941 | Appointed major. |
Other | 11/04/1941 | 2/11th battalion deployed in Greece. |
Other | 26/04/1941 | 2/11th Battalion landed on Crete. |
Other | 01/09/1941 | Appointed temporary major. |
Other units | 29/10/1941 | Seconded as commanding officer 19th Australian Infantry Training Battalion. |
Other | 10/08/1941 | Arrived in the Middle East. |
Other | 25/01/1941 | 2/11th Battalion went into action at Derna. |
Other | 21/01/1941 | 2/11th Battalion went into action at Tobruk. |
Other | 16/08/1942 | Joined his battalion at Isurava. |
Other | 05/08/1942 | Arrived in Moresby. |
Other | 1942 | Receieved Commander in Chief of the Middle East Commendation for service in Cyrenaica. |
Other units | 1942-08-01 - 1943-07-05 | Appointed temporary lieutenant colonel and commanding officer of 39th Battalion. |
Other | 12/1942 | The 39th Battalion contributed to the victory at Gona. |
Date returned to Australia | 14/05/1942 | |
Date of honour or award | 31/03/1942 | Military Cross. 'This officer is the best Company Commander I have known in this or the last war. Throughout the campaign he has led his men on all occasions with courage, cheerfulness, calmness and skill. He commanded the rear-guard from KALABAKA through LARISSA to DOMOKOS and later distinguished himself at THERMOPYLAE.' Recommended for the award by T S Louch, commanding officer of the 2/11th. |
Date of honour or award | 21/12/1943 | Companion of the Distinguished Service Order. 'Lt-Col HONNER commanded 39 Aust Inf Bn which was under command 21 Aust Inf Bde in the GONA area from 2 Dec 42 till 21 Dec 42. From 6 Dec to 9 Dec (Both Inclusive) 39 Bn participated in the attacks on the Eastern enemy position at GONA Mission. These attacks culminated in the capture of GONA Mission area on 9 Dec 42. On 10 Dec Lt-Col HONNER was ordered to move through the jungle with his Battalion, and destroy a detachment of enemy about two miles we |
Other | 1943-05-19 - 1943-06-02 | Sick with Malaria. |
Date returned to Australia | 14/03/1943 | Returned to Cairns. |
Other | 1943-07-05 - 1943-12-23 | Appointed commanding officer of the 2/14th Battalion, leading them in the campaign in the Ramu - Markham Valley. |
Date wounded | 04/10/1943 | Wounded in action, gun shot wound to left thigh and buttock. |
Other | 02/08/1943 | Arrived in Moresby. |
Other | 23/12/1943 | Relinquished command of the 2/14th, unfit for duty due to gunshot wound to his right thigh. |
Other | 07/1943 | 39th Militia Battalion disbanded. |
Date promoted | 30/12/1943 | Appointed lieutenant colonel, the rank was back dated to 1 September 1942. |
Other | 14/10/1943 | Sick with Malaria. |
Other | 12/07/1944 | Medically downgraded to Class B2 due to his injury and deemed 'fit only for clerical work involving no walking or much standing should be retained in base area.' |
Other | 22/12/1944 | Again medically downgrade to Class D due to his gun shot wound. |
Date returned to Australia | 12/01/1944 | Returned to Sydney. |
Other | 31/08/1944 | Appointed general service officer grade 1, Director of Military Training, G Branch, Land Headquarters. |
Other | 1944 - 1968 | Chair of the War Pensions Assessment Appeal Tribunal. |
Other | 15/12/1944 | Relinquished his position as general service officer grade 1. |
Date of discharge | 03/01/1945 | |
Other | 03/01/1945 | Transferred to the Reserve of Officers. |
Other | 1955 - 1957 | President of the New South Wales United Nations Association. |
Other | 1961 - 1963 | President of the New South Wales Branch of the Liberal Party. |
Date of death | 15/05/1994 | Sydney, NSW. |
Related information
Conflicts
Units
Related Objects
- DERNA, LIBYA. INFORMAL PORTRAIT OF CAPTAIN HONNER, COMMANDER OF C COMPANY, 2/11TH BATTALION (ALL ...
- Scrapbook relating to Kenneth Tebbet Johnson, c. 1939 - October 1945
- [Interview with Ralph Honner (Images of Australia 'Decline and fall')]
- Kokoda front line [unedited]
- Kokoda the bloody track
- Interview with Lieut-Colonel Ralph Honner CO 39 Battalion (The Gona/Buna interviews)
- Kokoda (Anzac TV series)
- Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Hyacinth (Jump) Honner, WX15 interviewed by Peter Brune
- Captain Hugh Harold Kelly, VX117105 & V58819, interviewed by Peter Brune.
- Captain Donald James (Don) Simonson, VX117109 & V40104, interviewed by Peter Brune