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Crew beside a ship's 6-inch gun
Crew beside a ship's 6-inch gun

Crew beside a ship's 6-inch gun

Date1920s
Object numberANMS0823[202]
NamePhotograph
MediumBlack and white photographic print on paper.
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Margaret Kiley-Balas
DescriptionThis photograph belonged to John Berchmans Kiley, who served on HMA Ships SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA and MELBOURNE. It shows three crew members standing beside a BL 6-inch Gun Mark XI on the deck of a Royal Australian Navy ship, possibly HMAS SYDNEY.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 went on to join HMAS SYDNEY and travelled to England, returning home on HMAS AUSTRALIA's (II) maiden voyage to Australia in 1928. Kiley also served in HMAS MELBOURNE, and 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 photograph is part of a collection belonging to John Berchmans Kiley, and is an important historical record of the life of a boy sailor in the Royal Australian Navy in the early 20th century.