Japanese ensign reportedly flown aboard MV KRAIT during Operation Jaywick
Date1943
Object number00055854
NameEnsign
MediumTextile, dye, thread, ink
DimensionsOverall: 950 × 720 mm
ClassificationsVisual communication
Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection purchased with the support of the Australian Government through the National Cultural Heritage Account and the Australian National Maritime Museum Foundation through the generosity of the families of Ted Carse's brothers.
DescriptionThis Japanese ensign was reportedly flown aboard MV KRAIT as a form of subterfuge during Operation Jaywick. It features handwritten signatures and notations of Operation Jaywick members Horrie Young and Arthur Jones, DSM inscribed in 1988, in its lower right and left corners, respectively.HistoryThis Japanese ensign was reportedly flown aboard MV KRAIT as a form of subterfuge during the vessel's involvement in Operation Jaywick in 1943. It was reportedly souvenired by KRAIT's commander, Lt H.E. 'Ted' Carse, RANVR, at the conclusion of the raid.
The ensign was one of two manufactured in secrecy by Mrs Manderson, the wife of SOE-Australia operative Harry Manderson. Part of the work on the home front to support and enhance the war effort, Mrs Manderson reportedly stitched a red circle to a white background, and generated the circle's deep red colour by dyeing it in the family's bathtub at their home in the Melbourne suburb of Camberwell. The dye reportedly was of excellent quality, because it 'left a red tidemark, or ring, in the tub that took months to disappear'.
On the night of 26 September 1943, six members of Australia’s Z Special Unit carried out a daring clandestine raid against Imperial Japanese shipping in Singapore Harbour. To avoid detection, the men had been transported deep into enemy territory aboard a Japanese-built fishing vessel, assumed the appearance of local fishermen, and launched their attack using folding kayaks and limpet mines. The mission, Operation Jaywick, was a complete success, resulting in the damage or destruction of seven Japanese ships and no Allied losses.
Hubert Edward Carse had joined the Royal Australian Navy as a 13 year old Cadet Midshipman and resigned his commissionin 1921. Following the outbreak of the Second World War, he was mobilised by proclamation and reported for duty with the rank of Sub-Lieutenant in the Royal Australian Naval Reserve. He was promoted Lieutenant (provisional) on 4 January 1943, joined Z Force later the same month, and was assigned command of KRAIT during Operation Jaywick.
Following the raid’s successful conclusion, Carse continued to work with Z Force. Most of the commandos who participated in Operation Jaywick were tragically killed in a follow-up raid on Singapore Harbour called Operation Rimau. Carse was one of the few Jaywick operatives to survive the war, was mentioned in despatches in 1944, and discharged from military service in 1946.
He was later instrumental in facilitating the return of KRAIT to Australia from Borneoduring the 1960s. KRAIT is a nationally-significant object in the collections of the Australian War Memorial, but has been on display at the Australian National Maritime Museum since 1988. Carse died at Newtown, New South Wales in 1970.SignificanceThis Japanese ensign is exceptionally significant due to its association with MV KRAIT and Operation Jaywick. It was a critical element of the vessel's subterfuge as a Malaysian fishing boat, and was instrumental (in part) to the raid's successful outcome. Only two faux ensigns of this type were manufactured for Operation Jaywick, and the fate/current disposition of the other is currently unknown. 
