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courage
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Peter Nelson, RAN, received the British Air Force Cross for gallantry while on loan to
the Royal Navy during the 1991 Gulf War. In fierce wind and rain, Nelson flew his Sea
King as low as 50 metres above the desert into the midst of a tank battle to recover two
casualties from a forward dressing station.
In a naval context, courage displayed by a team can often mean more to group success
than that shown by an individual. This clearly will have most application when
considering unit cohesion at sea, but it is certainly not unknown ashore. 4 Around
midnight on 4 December 1976, flames engulfed ‘H’ hangar at HMAS Albatross, which
contained almost all the RAN’s fleet of Grumman Trackers. Some 100 naval personnel
and local Nowra fire fighters risked their lives battling the flames while trying to drag
aircraft from the building. The Trackers’ fuel tanks were fully loaded with aviation fuel,
and despite the inherent danger, personnel ran into the building and climbed into the
cockpits of aircraft to release the brakes and tow them clear. In most cases the planes
were already ablaze, yet some rescuers used their own cars as towing vehicles. In all,
five of the aircraft in the hangar were moved clear, but unfortunately just two were
fit to be repaired and returned to service. The courageous actions of those involved
nevertheless drew high praise from the then Minister for Defence, Jim Killen, who
said after visiting the site: ‘If any people in this country think guts has gone from the
Services, I invite them to reflect on what happened in the early hours of this morning’. 5
Courage also requires taking charge in difficult and dangerous situations. Commander
Stanley Spurgeon, RAN, coincidentally the first Australian to be decorated in World
War II, was a passenger in SS Britannia when the ship was sunk by the German
merchant raider Thor in the mid-Atlantic in March 1941. More than half of those on
board the merchant vessel perished in the action and aftermath. While abandoning
ship, Spurgeon came across a naval nurse visibly distressed and fearful that she could
not manage the descent into the already crowded life raft below. He immediately lifted
her down the 10 metre rope ladder, injuring his foot and rupturing a shoulder tendon
in the process. Spurgeon was now in great pain, but found himself the senior officer
of a 25-foot open lifeboat, holed in several places, equipped with negligible food and
water, and crammed with 67 other men and women. He immediately established a
system of rationing and a suitable routine to maintain morale. Largely due to Spurgeon’s
leadership none of his charges died, and after six days adrift a Spanish steamer picked
up the boat. Spurgeon was interned for four months, but later received a commendation
for his ‘courage and fortitude’.
These are all outstanding acts of courage but they involve situations which many
will never have to face. How do these acts relate contemporarily? Men and women
who serve in the RAN are expected to do the right thing no matter how hard it
is. They reject improper behaviour, including bullying, harassment, lewdness,
drunkenness, fraud and crime.