REVEREND Allan Ward of the Wagin Uniting Church spoke of the links to his father’s cousin and Win Piesse’s brother to the sinking of HMAS Sydney in his Anzac Day address:
HMAS Sydney was an Amphion-class light cruiser of the Royal Australian Navy, one of three ordered in 1931 and launched in 1934.
The ship had great success in the first years of World War II, patrolling and escorting in the Indian Ocean and blockading Italy, serving in the Mediterranean where she sank the Italian destroyer the Espero and assisted with the sinking of the light cruiser the Bartolomeo.
After a refit in Sydney her home-port became Fremantle from where she continued to patrol and escort in the Indian Ocean.
Controversy and mystery surrounded the loss of the battle-hardened Sydney and her crew in November 1941.
Her sinking with all hands represents the greatest ever loss of life in an Australian warship; it was the largest vessel of any country to be lost with all hands during the war.
After years of searching, the wreckage of the German vessel that sank HMAS Sydney, the auxiliary cruiser Kormoran, was found on March 12.
On March 17, the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced the wreck of HMAS Sydney had been discovered on March 16.
Sydney was found 150 kilometres from Shark Bay and 22.6 kilometres from the Kormoran.
Initial evidence suggests that despite devastating damage to the nerve centre of the ship, she continued fighting with her remaining guns and torpedoes until the Kormoran was mortally wounded.
With most of the super-structure destroyed and extensively ablaze the Sydney then attempted to make the coast but went down quickly with all hands when her torpedo damaged bow broke away. Her crew fought to the end.
Recently, we read in the Argus the story of Leading Stoker Cyril Aumann who served and died on HMAS Sydney, the brother of Win Piesse.
The Reverend Ward said he would like to add another story that is his link to the ship:
Able Seaman Fred Ward was born in Perth on April 15, 1919; 10 days prior to Anzac Day - he would have had his 90th birthday as we commemorate 90 years in June since the end of the Great War.
He was the eldest of three children born to Frederick and Sophia Ward. The couple separated when the children were young. The children were left with their father.
He was not able to support them and care for them so they were placed in the Methodist Home for Children in Victoria Park.
The middle child, Dorothy, died, we believe of tuberculosis, at the age of 14. Fred worked as a farm labourer until, in February 1940, he and his young brother Keith joined the navy.
Fred started as an ordinary seaman on the Cerberus. He then served on the Sydney from September 1940 to March 1941.
He probably joined the ship at Alexandria and served on her and saw action during the remainder of her time in the Mediterranean.
During this time he became an able seaman. He returned on the ship to Sydney and then to Fremantle.
In July he rejoined the ship, and is shown, in Naval records, as being on her until November 20, 1941; the day after the battle with the Kormoran.
In fact he and his 644 shipmates are still on her and their mortal remains will be there forever.
Today we remember those 645 seamen; perhaps by focusing on Leading Stoker Cyril Aumann and Able Seaman Fred Ward.