VOL 72 No3 - Navy League of Australia

HMAS HOBART AT BERBERA . . . continued
and winds would prevent the boat getting ashore
Punjabi troops arriving aboard
safely so he anchored off and he and Able Seaman
HOBART during the evacuation
Vivian Lewis, who were both strong swimmers,
of Berbera.
were able to swim ashore. On the beach Synnot
and Lewis found three badly dehydrated men from
the Kings African Rifles and, after supplying them
with fresh water, swam back through the surf with
them to the motor-boat. Howden later wrote that
this was ‘A most creditable performance’.
At 0845 on 19 August 1940, HOBART departed
Berbera and steamed across the Red Sea to Aden
where she arrived at 1500. The tug ZEILA was also
steamed to Aden with CPO Grigor in command.
The smaller tug QUEEN was inadvertently scuttled
on the 18th, due to some mis-communication, as
Howden had intended that she also steam to Aden.
One of HOBART’s men later wrote: “The next three
days showed us an army in retreat. The bridge had
been blown up before our troops could retire and
many had to make a wide detour. They staggered
in - in twos and threes. Some had been wandering
in that hell of a desert for two days without food
and water. Our trucks were constantly running into
the desert to search for survivors. All were utterly
exhausted and as they reached the pier were embarked to the ships. Our The majority of these awards were to men who served in the various tugs
sick bay and waists were full of wounded on stretchers and medical staff or boat crews that assisted with the evacuation.
were busy operating constantly.
Ultimately the Navy’s role at Berbera was, as in many cases before and
On Sunday night all cars and stores on shore were fired. We watched the since, an enabling role; without which the operations ashore could not
shore for stragglers as Berbera burned. Until we left, our fast motor boat have been conducted. HOBART went on to serve in other theatres of war
skirted the shore for survivors and a keen watch was maintained from the but her ‘minor episode’ in the British Somaliland campaign was now over.
ship. As we steamed out we could see the Italian forces in the hollow of
distant hills waiting to move in when our guns had finished firing and as
we steamed away we watched eagerly to see if there might not be one
more man to be saved from the shore before it receded from our sight”.
AFTERMATH
Despite the failure to defeat the advancing Italian forces, which
outnumbered the Commonwealth forces significantly, the actions of
the Navy in providing support to the forces ashore and organising and
controlling an orderly evacuation stood out as a highlight of the short
campaign. Captain Howden was made a Commander of the Order of the
British Empire (CBE) For good services in the Somaliland Force whilst in
command of HMAS HOBART and as Senior Naval Officer – Berbera.
In a style typical of Howden, and one that many modern day naval officers
could learn from, he made sure those under his command were also
equally rewarded for their efforts. Lieutenant Morrison was made an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and Commissioned
Shipwright Gooch was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire
(MBE). British Empire Medals (BEM) were awarded to Chief Petty Officer
Grigor, Chief Yeoman of Signals Griffiths, Engine Room Artificer 3rd Class
Samuel Chambers and Sick Berth Petty Officer Trulsson.
Several Mention in Dispatches, including three to the anti tank gun crew,
were also awarded. The recipients included Lieutenant Commander
Crawford, Lieutenant Synnot, Lieutenant Malleson, Flight Lieutenant
Davies, Chief Shipwright Alfred Robinson, Engine Room Artificer 1st
Class Jonathon Gordon, Petty Officer Roy Hancock, Petty Officer Hugh
Jones, Petty Officer James Unsworth, Petty Officer Stoker Norman Brown,
Leading Seaman Geoffrey Smith, Leading Seaman Thomas Spencer,
Leading Seaman Alexander Stripe, Leading Stoker John Drake, Able
Seaman William Hurren, Able Seaman Vivian Lewis, Able Seaman Hugh
Sweeney, Able Seaman Robert Wood and Signalman Cyril Martin.
26 THE NAVY VOL. 72 NO. 3