Lieutenant Colonel Hyacinth Ralph (Jump) Honner

Service number WX15
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
  • 2/11th Australian Infantry Battalion
  • 39th Australian Infantry Battalion
Places
Conflict/Operation Second World War, 1939-1945
Description

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

Timeline

Date of birth 17/08/1904 Fremantle, WA.
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.