ID :
207113
Wed, 09/14/2011 - 14:26
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/207113
The shortlink copeid
Descendants honour missing WWI sub crew
SYDNEY (AAP) - 14 Sept - Robert Smail was just 16 when he went to sea.
Less than 10 years later he was among 35 men who lost their lives when Australia's first submarine disappeared off the northeast coast of Papua New Guinea during WWI.
The young Scotsman had joined the newly-formed Royal Australian Navy in 1908 and was serving on board submarine AE1 when it disappeared on September 14, 1914.
The wreckage and its crew have never been found.
Ninety-seven years later, descendants of the crew gathered at the Garden Island naval base in Sydney for the unveiling of a plaque to commemorate the loss.
"It's a very important day," said Robert Smail's nephew Jim.
"It was lovely to see the loss recognised ... and we are hoping that this will now lead to more interest (and that the submarine) will be found."
Mr Smail, who spent time in submarines during his 30 years in the navy, said submariners deserve respect for a "very dangerous existence, it's a tough job".
"It's flying under water," he said.
"(And) it's so beautifully quiet because the engines are all electric, you can't run diesels down below."
Governor General Quentin Bryce, who spoke at the ceremony, described the AE1 as a "shining symbol of an empowered Australian navy" and the men lost as "35 of our finest".
"We yearn for the day when the navy family and the families of the navy can close the book on this sad chapter," she told those gathered at the memorial.
President of the AE1 Incorporated, an organisation dedicated to searching for the lost submarine, said the memorial was the first formal recognition of the lives lost.
"We may never know with certainty what fate befell the AE1 but finding her is surely an important step in the journey of understanding," Dr Michael White QC told the gathering.
Mr White, who was himself a submariner in the 1960s, said the underwater crews have always been viewed as "a little different".
"Partly because of our living conditions and that unique smell which we all carried of diesel oil, cooking fat, battery acid and body odour," he said.
"Whenever we burst alongside a spick and span surface ship the air of disdain was palpable."
He said the reputation of submariners has since improved, to the point where they are "almost as pampered as the airforce."
Defence Minister Stephen Smith said he supported finding the AE1.
"When a ship or submarine is lost ... the descendants of the personnel concerned - the children, the grandchildren and sometimes the great-grandchildren just want to have closure so they know where their father or grandfather or great-grandfather is lying or is entombed," he told reporters on Wednesday.
The government has announced it will give tax deductions for any donation, of more than $2, made to AE1 Incorporated.
The disappearance of the AE1, which had been dispatched from Sydney to support military operations against German forces on New Britain just days after Australia declared war on Germany in August 1914, was the country's first major WWI loss.
Less than 10 years later he was among 35 men who lost their lives when Australia's first submarine disappeared off the northeast coast of Papua New Guinea during WWI.
The young Scotsman had joined the newly-formed Royal Australian Navy in 1908 and was serving on board submarine AE1 when it disappeared on September 14, 1914.
The wreckage and its crew have never been found.
Ninety-seven years later, descendants of the crew gathered at the Garden Island naval base in Sydney for the unveiling of a plaque to commemorate the loss.
"It's a very important day," said Robert Smail's nephew Jim.
"It was lovely to see the loss recognised ... and we are hoping that this will now lead to more interest (and that the submarine) will be found."
Mr Smail, who spent time in submarines during his 30 years in the navy, said submariners deserve respect for a "very dangerous existence, it's a tough job".
"It's flying under water," he said.
"(And) it's so beautifully quiet because the engines are all electric, you can't run diesels down below."
Governor General Quentin Bryce, who spoke at the ceremony, described the AE1 as a "shining symbol of an empowered Australian navy" and the men lost as "35 of our finest".
"We yearn for the day when the navy family and the families of the navy can close the book on this sad chapter," she told those gathered at the memorial.
President of the AE1 Incorporated, an organisation dedicated to searching for the lost submarine, said the memorial was the first formal recognition of the lives lost.
"We may never know with certainty what fate befell the AE1 but finding her is surely an important step in the journey of understanding," Dr Michael White QC told the gathering.
Mr White, who was himself a submariner in the 1960s, said the underwater crews have always been viewed as "a little different".
"Partly because of our living conditions and that unique smell which we all carried of diesel oil, cooking fat, battery acid and body odour," he said.
"Whenever we burst alongside a spick and span surface ship the air of disdain was palpable."
He said the reputation of submariners has since improved, to the point where they are "almost as pampered as the airforce."
Defence Minister Stephen Smith said he supported finding the AE1.
"When a ship or submarine is lost ... the descendants of the personnel concerned - the children, the grandchildren and sometimes the great-grandchildren just want to have closure so they know where their father or grandfather or great-grandfather is lying or is entombed," he told reporters on Wednesday.
The government has announced it will give tax deductions for any donation, of more than $2, made to AE1 Incorporated.
The disappearance of the AE1, which had been dispatched from Sydney to support military operations against German forces on New Britain just days after Australia declared war on Germany in August 1914, was the country's first major WWI loss.
