Letter to merchant seaman Robert Rose from Department of Veterans' Affairs regarding application for Prisoner of War benefits

Author Department of Veterans' Affairs

Date30 April 1981

Object number00047634

NameLetter

MediumInk on paper

DimensionsOverall: 295 x 210 mm

ClassificationsEphemera

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Robert Rose

Terms

DescriptionTwo postcard photographs of prisoner-of-war groups, a handwritten page 'Traded on Australian coast....' stating Rose's war experience, two photocopied letters from Department of Transport and a letter from Department of Veterans' Affairs, relating to Rose's application for benefits as a prisoner-of-war, and a manuscript letter signed Hardy dated 17-9-1979 concerning numbers of merchant navy casualties in World War II.HistoryThese postcards and letters relate to merchant seaman Robert Rose's wartime memorabilia and experiences. Two postcard photographs are of prisoner-of-war groups. A handwritten page 'Traded on Australian coast....’ describes Rose's war experiences. There are also two photocopied letters from the Department of Transport and a letter from the Department of Veterans' Affairs, relating to his application for benefits as a prisoner-of-war, and a manuscript letter signed Hardy dated 17-9-1979 concerning numbers of merchant navy casualties in World War II. The newspaper article includes a photograph of a docked ship with the captions 'S.S. Mareeba, which was sunk by the Kormoran' and 'Prisoner of the Kormoran by James Taylor (author of Gold/ From the Sea), reviewed on this page'. It is annotated 'S.M. Herald July 15th 44'. This news cutting relates to Robert Rose's wartime manuscript that describes the sinking of Rose's ship the MAREEBA by the German raider KORMORAN in the Indian Ocean on 26 June 1940; 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. Rose's wartime 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. 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'.SignificanceThese items form part of a collection of material relating to Robert Rose's wartime experiences. They provide 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.