HMAS SYDNEY cap tally
Date1941
Object number00040534
NameCap tally
MediumCloth
Dimensions30 x 1010 mm
ClassificationsClothing and personal items
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Norma Wales
Description19 November marks the anniversary of the tragic loss of the light cruiser HMAS SYDNEY in battle against the German raider HSK KORMORAN. This rating's cap was given to a young friend of the donor when the ship returned to Sydney in February 1941 after a long but successful service in the Mediterranean. The owner is unknown, as is whether he went on to serve in SYDNEY during its fateful voyage or was transferred to another ship.
History19 November marks the anniversary of the tragic loss of the light cruiser HMAS SYDNEY in battle against the German raider HSK KORMORAN.
At the outbreak of World War II, HMAS SYDNEY undertook local patrol duties until April 1940 when it joined the 7th Cruiser Squadron in the Mediterranean Sea. Action soon followed with the bombardment of Bardia (Libya) and the Battles of Calabria (Italy) and Cape Spada (Crete). On 19 July, off Cape Spada in Crete, HMAS SYDNEY and five British Royal Navy destroyers fought against the Italian cruisers BARTOLOMEO COLLEONI and GIOVANNI DELLE BANDE NERE. The resulting sea battle saw Sydney's accurate gunfire cripple the COLLEONI and damage the BANDE NERE.
Returning after long and hard service in the Mediterranean, HMAS SYDNEY was welcomed into Sydney Harbour on 10 February 1941 by thousands lining the foreshores. Vantage points along Farm Cove offered the perfect view of the cruiser with its geometric, dazzle painted scheme (later called camouflage). The grey colours were painted on immediately after the Cape Spada action of July 1940. The ship then underwent a refit and was posted to convoy duties in the Indian Ocean.
There, on 19 November 1941, SYDNEY went into battle with the German raider KORMORAN. Unbelievably, SYDNEY was completely lost - the ship plus all 645 crew.
The loss of HMAS SYDNEY was devastating for the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian public. Theories about the disappearance abounded until the discovery of the two wrecks off the western Australian coast in March 2008.
This rating's cap was given to a young friend of the donor Norma Wales when the ship was in Sydney in February 1941. The owner is unknown, as is whether he went on to serve in SYDNEY during its fateful voyage or was transferred to another ship.
SignificanceThis HMAS SYDNEY cap tally is significant for its links to the wartime loss of the light cruiser HMAS SYDNEY in its encounter with the German raider HSK KORMORAN in November 1941. The circumstances of the disappearance of the SYDNEY remained a mystery until the remains of the two vessels were located off the Western Australian coast in March 2008.
