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Wartime Log written by Robert Rose
Wartime Log written by Robert Rose

Wartime Log written by Robert Rose

Author (Australian)
Date1941-1945
Object number00044998
NameManuscript
MediumPaper
DimensionsOverall: 174 × 122 × 19 mm, 277 g
Copyright© Robert Leslie Rose
ClassificationsBooks and journals
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Robert Leslie Rose
Collections
DescriptionA manuscript account of the experiences of Australian merchant seaman Robert Rose (1917-1989) in World War II. he manuscript begins: "The last voyage of the Steamship MAREEBA left Sydney on Friday 18th April 1941 in the early hoursof the morning. This was to be the trip of my life. All of the future was to be affected by the happenings of this voyage". HistoryRose's manuscript describes the sinking of his ship the MAREEBA by the German raider KORMORAN in the Indian Ocean on 26 June 1941, eight months imprisonment at sea in two German ships and a submarine, imprisonment in a prisoner of war camp in Germany until his release in 1945, and transfer to England before repatriation to Australia. The account is written in pen and ink in a Wartime Log for British Prisoners provided by the War Prisoners' Aid of the YMCA in Geneva. It appears to have been written shortly after the events recounted. It includes family snapshots sent to Robert Rose in the prison camp, and detailed records of sporting events held in the camp. It also contains 16 snapshots of Robert Rose's wife and family sent to him at the prison camp, and photographs of the 'Sale RUFC' and other sporting teams at the camp. It contains the names and addresses of a number of people he met in the camp or in England after his release. It also contains meticulous records of Rugby Union, cricket and athletics matches and competitions held in the camp, which Robert Rose was active in organising Rose was aware of the deep effects these events had on him, and at the end of his account he commented on the changes he saw in himself, chiefly a loss of 'my old faith in the human race'.SignificanceRobert Rose's Wartime Log provides a rare insight into the experience of merchant seamen as prisoners of war - a much lesser-known story than that of members of the armed forces. It also gives a rare account of the imprisonment of captured seamen on board raiders and other enemy vessels until they could be landed.