The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (W1920) Stoker Second Class Jack Alfred Francis Crowle, HMAS Sydney (II), 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 Charis May, the story for this day was on (W1920) Stoker Second Class Jack Alfred Francis Crowle, HMAS Sydney (II), Second World War.

W1920 Stoker Second Class Jack Alfred Francis Crowle, HMAS Sydney (II)
KIA 20 November 1941
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 19 November 2014

Today we remember Stoker Second Class Jack Alfred Francis Crowle and the ship’s company of HMAS Sydney (II), lost after engaging the German surface raider Kormoran in 1941.

A modified Leander-class light cruiser, Sydney was armed with eight 6-inch guns and was the pride of the Royal Australian Navy. Built in England, the cruiser was commissioned into the RAN in 1935.

Jack Crowle was born on 6 May 1923 in Prahran, Melbourne, the son of Herbert and Ellen Crowle. Herbert Crowle invented the “Crowle gun”, and had volunteered for the Australian Imperial Force in 1915 but did not serve overseas. When Jack Crowle enlisted in the RAN on 6 January 1941 he was five feet two inches – 157 centimetres – tall with brown hair and eyes.

Crowle was posted as a stoker third class to HMAS Cerberus, the navy’s training establishment some 70 kilometres south of Melbourne, near Crib Point on Hann’s Inlet, Western Port Bay. After five months at Cerberus, he was rated as having very good character with satisfactory efficiency, and in May he was promoted to stoker second class and a fortnight later was posted to the crew of Sydney.

On 19 November Sydney was steaming back to Fremantle, having escorted a troopship part of the way to Singapore. At about 4 pm the cruiser spotted a suspicious merchant ship and decided to investigate. By 5:30 pm, Sydney had almost drawn alongside the vessel when it suddenly revealed its true identity as a German raider.

Hoisting the German naval ensign, Kormoran opened fire with its guns and torpedoes. Its first salvo slammed into Sydney’s bridge. The Australian cruiser returned fire, but Kormoran’s second and third salvos again hit Sydney’s bridge and amidships. The cruiser’s three main turrets were soon out of action, but a fourth kept up fast and accurate fire that hit the raider’s funnel and engine room. Sydney, in turn, was hit by a torpedo. Mortally damaged and ablaze, Sydney turned away from the raider but continued to fight, using its secondary armament and torpedoes.

Kormoran was also burning. At 6.25 pm its captain gave the order to abandon ship. As the German sailors evacuated their stricken vessel, they watched the Australian cruiser, now only a distant glow on the dark horizon, disappear into the night.

By midnight Sydney was lost with all 645 hands, including Crowle. He was 18 years old.

Knowing the inherit risks of active service, Crowle had written a letter to his mother to be delivered to her if he should be lost at sea. His words were meant to comfort her, saying he was not afraid of death and would prefer to die doing his duty. He wrote: “remember that I lived and died an Australian and I don’t think there is any greater honour”.

Jack Crowle is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial in Britain. His name is also listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, along with around 40,000 others from the Second World War.

This is but one of the many stories of courage and sacrifice told here at the Australian war Memorial. We now remember Stoker Second Class Jack Alfred Francis Crowle, and all of those Australians who have given their lives in service of our nation.

Dr Karl James
Historian, Military History Section