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May 2011 Kangaroo Valley Voice www.kangaroovalley.nsw.au Page 36
May 2011 Kangaroo Valley Voice www.kangaroovalley.nsw.au Page 37 Special ANZAC memories (Continued from page 3) over and sank on 30 June. She was the first RAN loss from enemy action in World War II, but the fourth loss from the 10th Destroyer Flotilla. HMS Defender survived Waterhen by only a few days. On 11 July she too was bombed and sunk during her return run to Alexandria in company with HMAS Vendetta. The crew of HMAS Waterhen getting ready to abandon the sinking ship During the campaigns in Greece and Crete Waterhen (I) had escorted convoys on several occasions. When the Greek campaign was finally seen to be a lost cause, she played her Harry Eagle (1941) part in evacuating the Allied troops by embarking seventy men at Megara, Greece, on 26 April 1941 and disembarking them at Suda Bay. The following month she assisted in the evacuation of Crete. In May 1941 the regular 'Tobruk Ferry Service' for the supply and reinforcement of the beleaguered Australian garrison at Tobruk was instituted by destroyers of the Inshore Squadron. This duty occupied Waterhen (I) for the remainder of her career. On 28 June 1941 Waterhen (I) left Alexandria for Tobruk with Defender on what was to be her last run. At 7:45 pm on the 29th, off Sollum, both ships were attacked by dive bombers and Waterhen (I), though not directly hit, was holed by near misses and immobilized. Her ship's company and embarked troops were taken off by Defender. There were no casualties. As darkness fell, Defender took Waterhen (I) in tow, but it was soon apparent that she could not be saved and the working party was taken off. At 1:50 am on 30 June 1941 the twenty-three year old 'Chook', as she was affectionately known to her crew, rolled over and sank. She was the first ship of the RAN to be lost by enemy action in World War II. After the war he married Rona in 1947 and fathered eight children, worked as an owner driver on interstate trucking and lost his life aged 35 when his semi trailer overturned at Gundagai NSW in December 1957. Phillip’s father Andrew George Scott was born 12/9/1916 enlisted in the A.I.F. 12/5/41 2/4 Australian Pioneer Battalion. Demobbed 28/11/45 Originally despatched to fight in Singapore but on the way there Singapore fell so they were sent to defend Darwin and ended up staying for the duration. He also spent time at Pine Creek in N.T. The 2/4th Pioneer Battalion was raised at Greta army camp in February 1941. “Paddy” Scott (1939) After initial training, it arrived in Darwin in September 1941 and established headquarters at Noonamah. Its companies worked on defensive positions between Adelaide River and Darwin. On 14 February 1942 the battalion left Darwin and sailed with the “Sparrow Force” to Timor. Japanese aircraft bombing forced them to return following the Fall of Singapore. The ship arrived in Darwin Harbour on 18 February and was sunk by the Japanese during the attack on the harbour the next day. The battalion’s equipment went down with it. The 2/4th spent the next 13 months defending various locations in the Darwin area, until they were finally relieved in March 1943. After some leave the pioneers regrouped for jungle training on the Atherton Tablelands. However, the war was nearly when the battalion went overseas to support the 9th Division landing in Borneo. The OBOE operations aimed to reoccupy areas (Continued on page 44) FOR ALL YOUR EARTHMOVING REQUIREMENTS Dozers Graders Excavator Trucks Rural roads House/Shed sites Clearing Horse arenas Dam design & construction Decorative Rock work 44 651 177 Geoff & Tania Sharman Geoff 0409 289 122 Tania 0409 289 123
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