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Order of service from the dedication of a memorial to HMA Ships CANBERRA and SHROPSHIRE

Date1994

Object number00026791

NameOrder of service

MediumPaper, ink

DimensionsOverall (Closed): 209 x 134 x 1 mm
Overall (Open): 209 x 270 mm

ClassificationsEphemera

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionOrder of service from the dedication of two memorial stained glass windows for HMA Ships CANBERRA and SHROPSHIRE, heavy cruisers that were active in the Pacific area of operations during World War II. On 9 August 1942 during the Battle of Savo Island CANBERRA was struck by two torpedoes on the starboard side as well as more than 20 salvoes of 8-inch shellfire and was sunk. Of the 819 crew on board there were 74 missing believed killed, 10 fatal casualties and 109 wounded. As a result of the loss of CANBERRA, in December 1942 HMS SHROPSHIRE was transferred from the British Royal Navy to the RAN and served in a number of operations including the Battle of Surigao Strait in the Philippines. These windows were dedicated on the 50th anniversary of this battle.HistoryHMAS CANBERRA was one of two 10,000 ton County Class Heavy Cruiser built in Scotland by John Brown & Co Ltd between 1924 and 1929 as part of a naval development program. The ship arrived in Australia at the port of Fremantle in January 1929. Following the outbreak of war in 1939 CANBERRA spent nine months patrolling and escorting in home waters and the Tasman Sea. From June 1940 the vessel spent time on escort duty in the Indian Ocean between Fremantle and Cape Town and later on the shipping routes between Africa, India and the Malay States. CANBERRA rescued survivors of the wreck of cargo ship SS PORT BRISBANE which was sunk by the German raider PINGUIN in November 1940. With the outbreak of war in the Pacific in December 1941, CANBERRA continued the role of escort cruiser and carried troops in convoy to New Guinea, Malaya and Java. In June 1942 CANBERRA took part in offensive sweeps of the Coral Sea with US Ships as part of Task Force 44 and two months later took part in the American landings at Guadalcanal and Tulagi in the Solomon Islands. On 9 August 1942 during the Battle of Savo Island CANBERRA was struck by two torpedoes on the starboard side as well as more than 20 salvoes of 8-inch shellfire. Survivors were evacuated to US Ships PATTERSON and BLUE and the listing and powerless cruiser was finally intentionally sunk by US torpedo fire. Of the 819 crew on board there were 74 missing believed killed, 10 fatal casualties and 109 wounded. As a result of the loss of CANBERRA, in December 1942 HMS SHROPSHIRE, another County Class Heavy Cruiser, was transferred from the British Royal Navy to the RAN. SHROPSHIRE was built by William Beardmore & Co Ltd, also in Scotland, and was of similar vintage as CANBERRA, being commissioned in September 1929. SHROPSHIRE had served in the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean during WWII prior to the transfer. Following a re-fit, on 20 April 1943 the vessel was commissioned as HMAS SHROPSHIRE under the command of Captain John A. Collins RAN, but was not formally handed over to the Australian Government until 25 June 1943. Between December 1943 and May 1944 the ship took part in operations at Arawa (Solomon Islands) and Cape Gloucester (Papua New Guinea); was part of the operations of Task Force 74 that captured the Admiralty Islands; was in action at the Hollandia/Humboldt Bay operations; and was part of the Wakde Island operations in Dutch New Guinea. In October 1944 SHROPSHIRE formed part of the invasion fleet bound for the Philippines which had been occupied by the Japanese since early 1942. The allied fleet blasted the Japanese battleships during in the Battle of Surigao Strait on 25 October and sank YAMASHIRO. Later SHROPSHIRE was involved with the assault on Lingayen in January 1945. On 2 September 1945 it was one of the many ships present for the official Japanese surrender ceremony in Tokyo, remaining in Japanese waters until 17 November 1945, and later returning to Japan as Squadron representative in January 1947. In the few short years of service in the RAN the vessel had steamed more than 500,000 miles and was paid off into the Special Reserve in November 1949. In July 1954 the ship was sold for scrap to ship breakers in Scotland. On 23 October 1994, the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Surigao Strait, a memorial was unveiled to HMA Ships CANBERRA and SHROPSHIRE, in the form of two stained glass windows, by Rear Admiral Peter Sinclair AC, Governor of NSW. At the service a prayer of dedication and blessing was made by Fr. Roche, a former chaplain of SHROPSHIRE. On the top of the left window, dedicated to HMAS SHROPSHIRE, is the ship's badge with the motto FLOREANT AMBO which is also translated in English as MAY THEY BOTH FLOURISH. Below this are the dates of the vessel's service in the Royal Navy and the RAN, as well as wartime operations on two shields. The lower half of the window depicts the port side profile of the ship with the inscription 'Battle of Surigao Strait 25th Oct 1944’. The window on the right, of similar design, commemorates HMAS CANBERRA's service to the RAN between 1928 and 1942, depicting the ship's badge with the motto PRO REGE, LEGE ET GREGE which is translated below as 'FOR THE RULER, THE LAW AND THE PEOPLE'. Below this are two shields recording the ship's wartime operations, a starboard profile of the ship and below a smaller depiction of the ship sinking with an inscription of when, where and how many were killed and wounded when the cruiser sank. The last line of this inscription reads as 'In remembrance of HMAS CANBERRA and her gallant ship's company'. Among the dead were Australian, British and American defence staff.SignificanceThe traditions of the navy are reflected in the many ceremonial events associated with the life of a ship. This order of service is indicative of the strong role of ceremony in naval life.