Thimble from the ditty box of RAN sailor John Berchmans Kiley

Date1925-1930

Object number00036202

NameThimble

MediumMetal

DimensionsOverall: 18 x 21 x 21 mm, 10 g

ClassificationsTools and equipment

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from John B Kiley

Terms

DescriptionThis thimble belonged to John Berchmans Kiley and was stored in his ditty box while serving aboard Royal Australian Navy ships.HistoryJohn Berchmans Kiley was born on 29 January 1910 and joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1925. He began his naval service on HMAS TINGIRA, a ship for boy sailors moored at Rose Bay in Sydney, where he trained for 15 months. He served on HMAS SYDNEY for around 12 months before joining HMAS HMAS MELBOURNE on its last voyage to England in 1928, returning home on the new HMAS AUSTRALIA in the same year. John undertook four years of training at HMAS CERBERUS studying a range of gunnery courses. Kiley reached the rank of Leading Seaman, and to his great disappointment was invalidated out of the navy around 1930 due to respiratory illness.SignificanceThis thimble is part of a collection of personal effects belonging to John Berchmans Kiley. It is an important historical record of the daily life of a boy sailor in the Royal Australian Navy in the early 20th century.