The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (PM3050) Able Seaman James Vincent Kelly, 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 (PM3050) Able Seaman James Vincent Kelly, HMAS Sydney (II), Second World War.

PM3050 Able Seaman James Vincent Kelly, HMAS Sydney (II)
KIA 20 November 1941
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 25 May 2015

Today we remember Able Seaman James Vincent Kelly and the ship’s company of HMAS Sydney (II), lost after engaging the German surface raider Kormoran in November 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. There was a mixture of ages and experiences in Sydney’s company.

James Kelly was born on 2 March 1922 in Echuca, on the banks of the Murray and Campaspe Rivers, on the Victoria/New South Wales boarder. He was the son of James Kelly, a senior constable in the Victorian Police force, and his wife, Vera. The family later moved to the Melbourne suburb of Heidelberg.

After leaving school young James Kelly took up a trade and became a carpenter with Roth and Co. timber merchants. On 23 September 1940, at 18 years old, Kelly enlisted in the RAN. He was 173 centimetres tall with brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion.

In late September 1940 Kelly was posted as ordinary seamen to HMAS Lonsdale, the navy’s training establishment in Port Melbourne, before being posted to HMAS Cerberus on Western Port Bay in mid-November. In late February 1941 he was posted to HMAS Penguin in Sydney Harbour for just over a month, finally joining Sydney’s company on 28 March on the cruiser’s celebrated return from the Mediterranean. In late August he was promoted to able seamen.

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 it was 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 fired 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 between turrets. 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 Kelly. He was 19 years old.

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

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Able Seaman James Vincent Kelly and all of those Australians who have given their lives in service of our nation.

Dr Karl James
Historian, Military History Section