Thread: HMAS Perth Sinking 70th anniversay

I was only at Big W two hours ago looking at the photos of some of the Perth's crew in Mike Carlton's "Cruiser", his account of the life and death of the ship. A sad thing Bruce, gazing at all those young faces, never to grow old.

Bob.

Hi Bruce,
Well, My Uncle went down on The HMAS Perth in March 1942 ?
Unfortunately he was young & was a Stoker. So we know what happened to all of them, but, that was War.

It is amazing what these chaps went through . And ,most of them never said much about theri experiences .

My high school headmaster was a POW . He was on a hell ship bound for Japan and it was sunk by a US submarine . He was one of the few who was picked up by the sub and made it home .

My father was in Darwin during the first big raid , the 70th anniversary was last week. . His ship, HMAS Platypus was in the harbour with bombs falling all around . He didn't talk about it at all really .

Mike

Originally Posted by Anorak Bob

I was only at Big W two hours ago looking at the photos of some of the Perth's crew in Mike Carlton's "Cruiser", his account of the life and death of the ship. A sad thing Bruce, gazing at all those young faces, never to grow old.

Bob.

Ive got the Mike Carlton " Cruiser" book & its an excellent account of the HMAS Perth & the suffering. Also got a number of other books on the same subject.
Been tracking this history now for a long time.
There are some people in life that have a lasting impression & change things for the better, & for me, Vic Duncan was one of them, he features highly in the various books & not taking it away from any others, they all did an outstanding job, under conditions we have trouble comprehending.
Today, was a moving tribute to them all.
regards
Bruce
ps I also met today the grandson of the Captain of the HMAS Perth.. Hec Waller.
Hec Waller, was last seen on the bridge deck going down with the ship after the japs had torpedoed it, along with the USA ship USS Housten.
Both ships had run out of ammo, & had no chance.

Thank you for remembering.......

Billy Girvan - my uncle.

Lest we forget

SG

Originally Posted by Scribbly Gum

Billy Girvan - my uncle.

Lest we forget

SG

Just looked him up in my book called "Ship of Courage"by Brendan Whiting.
There he was listed as dying on the HMAS Perth
Girvan W.J.
Lest we forget.
Thanks fopr your message Scribbly Gum.
regards
Bruce
ps it was only 70 yrs ago.

I had a book, can't remember the name, but it was written by Ray Parkin who was on the Perth (I think) just reading the part regarding manoeuvering (sp) during the battle had me in a sweat.
I will have a looksee if I have it still, great book.
37

Originally Posted by robbo37

I had a book, can't remember the name, but it was written by Ray Parkin who was on the Perth (I think) just reading the part regarding manoeuvering (sp) during the battle had me in a sweat.
I will have a looksee if I have it still, great book.
37

Thanks, I do not have the book written by Ray Parkin but have a photo of him.
He is shown attending the 50th Anniversary Commemmorative Service.
That was 20 yrs ago.
The story about the HMAS Perth is amazing.
regards
Bruce

if this was placed in 'nothing to do with woodworking' more may read this. could the mods move it perhaps
Pete

]if this was placed in 'nothing to do with woodworking' more may read this. could the mods move it perhaps
Pete

Bugger, sorry Pete, I thought I was in the Metal work section
Robbo37

Originally Posted by fxst

if this was placed in 'nothing to do with woodworking' more may read this. could the mods move it perhaps
Pete

Perhaps, Pete, you may have not read my post of the 24th Feb.
In fact this has a lot to do with both Woodwork & Metalwork in that I was remembering as a tribute to Vic Duncan a Metalwork teacher who taught many of us the basics of Metalwork.
He assisted me in those early school days, to fabricate and machine up all of the parts for a woodworking lathe. A lathe that I have used for about 56 years.
This bloke, now dead, who fought for this country & was on the HMAS Perth went through untold suffering, then to become a metalwork trainer, mentor & teacher who changed the lives of many, many young students at that time, instilling in them a hands on theoretical & practical approach to manual arts & in particular metal work, heat treatment,machining using lathes, drills & travelling head shapers,hand filing,marking out, & a discipline that each & every student admired & respected.
He was a man who achieved a lot.
Thats all.
Bruce

OK
Here is the woodworking lathe I made at 14 yrs of age in conjunction with the valuable assistance of Vic Duncan previously mentioned.It was made around 1955 to 1956.
The headstock bearings were originally bronze plummer blocks with a 1" shaft machined with a No 2 internal morse taper.This assembly was mounted on hardwood riser blocks.
A little later the need for a ball bearing type headstock became obvious, due to the speeds needed in woodturning. I made a wooden pattern & had a cast iron mount made to accept the ball race plummer block bearings.
The faceplate was machined from a discarded cast iron automotive clutch plate, with slots cut into it using a hand hacksaw.
Toolrest base was fabricated from a 2" wide by 1" thick piece of black mild steel. The long elongated adjustment slot cut in it by hand hacksawing & filing over many hours.(The toolrest is overdesigned) Likewise for the other part of the toolrest hacksaw & handfile.
Tailstock was weld fabricated using 1" thick mild steel plate oxy cut to size & the round section to hold the quill was drilled out on a lathe using a 11/4" dia drill.Then welded to its mounting pieces.
The quill machined to fit with a No 2 Morse taper & 1/2" BSW thread at rear to accept the adjusting piece. The cast handle was found in a scrap bin & pinned to the adjuster shaft.
Tailstock base machined with a register to fit the lathe bed using travelling head shaper. Likewise all clamp plates machined the same way.
The bed I made from hardwood with angle iron "bedsteads" fastened to the hardwood.
The angle irons were hand filed on the top sliding surfaces.
Put simply, this was a big job at the time, a job I could not have done at 14 yrs of age without the assistance of that metal work teacher Vic Duncan.
Yes, I think this has a bit to do with metalworking
The lathe has served me well, with many jobs being accomplished on it.
regards
Bruce

Wow that's am awesome story thanks for sharing it. these days we would not even be allowed o make a project like that. heck im 16 and not allowed to even us a router a school.