Tally band fragment

Datec1914

Object number00056046

NameTally

MediumSilk, gold thread

DimensionsOverall: 32 × 173 mm

ClassificationsClothing and personal items

Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection Gift from Judy Bull

Collections

New to the collection

Terms

DescriptionObjects souvenired from SMS Emden during the First World War by Stoker Petty Officer Raymond Victor Cranfield, RAN. The collection includes a partial Emden tally band, one copper-alloy Emden canteen token, one Mexican silver dollar, an Emden leave ticket, and a dinner plate that appears to be manufactured from either silver-plated 'Alpaca' or 'German silver'.SignificanceSMS Emden was the second and final member of the Dresden-class of light cruisers built for the Imperial German Navy. Named for the town of Emden, it was laid down at the Imperial Dockyard in Danzig in 1906, launched two years later, and completed in July 1909. Emden was armed with ten 10.5-centimetre (4.1-inch) guns and two torpedo tubes.

Emden spent the majority of its career overseas in the German East Asia Squadron, based in Tsingtao, China. In 1913, Karl von Müller took command of the ship. At the outbreak of the First World War, Emden captured a Russian steamer and converted it into the commerce raider Cormoran. Emden rejoined the East Asia Squadron, then was detached for independent raiding in the Indian Ocean. The cruiser spent nearly two months operating in the region, and captured nearly two dozen ships. On 28 October 1914, Emden launched a surprise attack on Penang; in the resulting Battle of Penang, it sank the Russian cruiser Zhemchug and the French destroyer Mousquet.

Müller then took Emden to raid the Cocos Islands, where he landed a contingent of sailors to destroy British wireless telegraphy facilities. While there, Emden was attacked by the Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney (I) on 9 November 1914. The more powerful Australian ship quickly inflicted serious damage and forced Müller to run his ship aground to avoid sinking in a celebrated naval engagement that became the Royal Australian Navy's first victory at sea. Out of a crew of 376, 133 were killed in the battle. Most of Emden's survivors were taken prisoner; the landing party, led by Hellmuth von Mücke, commandeered the schooner Ayesha and eventually returned to Germany. Emden's wreck was quickly destroyed by the elements, and its surviving hull broken up for scrap in the 1950s.

The items in this collection are of immense significance as they represent one of the few surviving physical remnants of Emden and its crew. Because very little of the vessel itself remains, these objects are an important source of information for documenting Emden's history and telling the story of this famous warship and its crew, and their role in Australia's first naval victory.