The Epic Story of the Krait

[kookaburra]

Part One

One of the most famous small boats in all of WW11 was the 'Z' Special Operations Force vessel the Krait - a former Japanese shipping boat named Kofuku Maru (meaning 'Happiness,' or perhaps 'Happy Boat.')

The means to an end - which was a double kayak or 'folboat' raid on shipping in Singapore Harbour on Sept 24-26, 1942 (two attempts were made), by Australian and British commandoes, and in which three two-man crews sank or severely damaged seven Japanese vessels with magnetic limpet mines, the Japanese losses totalling almost 40,000 tons.

Sailing from northern Australia, the Krait spent a perilous 33 days in enemy waters, survived many close shaves with discovery, and brought all her men home safely - a remarkably feat. Operation Jaywick was the most successful of all such raids that are known, in the still-secretive files of special operations.


But there are a number of remarkable stories of heroism and tragedy connected with this, even a beautiful romantic interest, and I am going to touch on some of this.


At the heart of the Krait story was a remarkable Englishman, Lieutenant-Colonel Ivan Lyon, of the Gordon Highlanders, who conceived Operation Jaywick. And who, emboldened by its success, if that was possible with this adventurous man - was to die in the disaster-stricken Operation Rimau that followed it, seeking similar objectives.

The first time I ever saw the Krait was from the deck of a yacht I owned then, and from memory it was at Palm Beach on Sydney's Pittwater in the early 1980s. About 20 years earlier the 70ft vessel had been discovered hauling timber logs up rivers in Borneo. A public subscription was raised and she was brought back Australia in 1964.

She was in the hands of Volunteer Coastal Patrol when I first saw her, used for training and recreation, but even among those aboard there was a sense that she was just
too significant for that, and there was constant talk of how she could be displayed publicly. Some years ago she was loaned to the Australian National Maritime Museum, below Sydney's imposing skyline, where she is now a modest-looking but prize exhibit on permanent display.

This year, a group supported by the Australian Defence Force set out to re-create the Krait's famous voyage in another vessel - but, unlike her, their engines failed, and they were eventually forced to turn back to Sydney. On Pittwater, and Broken Bay, I had been unaware that Ivan Lyon had trained his Australian commandoes in a camp in bushland behind a high cliff at Refuge Bay. Inaccessable except by water, this steep basin-shaped cove is a favorite place for yachts to anchor in company, and a particular favorite with all 'yachties' on New Years Eve.


In spirit, Ivan Lyon could have been one of us. He was a 'yachtie' too. In 1939, the adventurer-soldier had come to Australia, and acquired a yacht, Vinette on which he and a companion set out for Singapore to rejoin his regiment. Sailing up the WA coast he stepped off and courted a daughter of the famous Durack family, the poineer-pastoralists with noted literary connections. On reaching Singapore, not long before its fall, however, Lyon was to discover someone even more fascinating. In a mess, a regimental officer told him about a fabulous French beauty, Gabrielle Bouvier (pictured below) , living on the prison island of Poulo Condore, where her father was the Governor.

Lyon almost immediately set sail for a look-see, landing on the pretence that his yacht was in need of repairs, which would take several days. Then, seeing that the reports of the beauty exceeded even his best expectations, began his campaign to win her. Which he did, Ms Durack meantime having found someone else anyway.

With the Fall of Singapore, Gabrielle Lyon and their son Clive were evacuated to Australia, while Lyon later made a daring escape to Ceylon on a commandeered trading vessel, Sederhana Djohanes (Lucky John), being stafed by a Japanese plane along the way.


The Australian-owned Kofuku Maru (later Krait), meantime had also arrived in India, where intelligence officers immediately saw her possible value as a vessel which might penetrate Japanese waters. Lyon and the Krait's fate were to become entwined as she was sent to Australia, and he set out for Melbourne to convince General MacArthur and the Australians authorities of his daring plans for Singapore.


So sadly, the beautiful Gabrielle Lyon and their son had set sail for India, intending to join him there, just as Lyon was leaving. Her ship was intecepted by the German raider Thor, and she and their son were eventually passed into captivity in Japan. The couple never saw each other again.


Next: The Krait, Operation Jaywick, and Operation Rimau.

Some of the photos below are scanned from a book by Sydney author Lynette Ramsay Silver, The Heroes of Rimau: Unveiling the mystery of one of World War 11's most daring raids (Sally Milner Publishing Ltd, 1990) for which the research of Major Tom Hall is credited.

Major Hall's 28-year military career was another incidental casualty of the 'Z' Special Force's war-time operations. In 1958, from an incidental connection, he had become fascinated by the story and spent years researching it, but faced many obstancles in the secretive world of special operations. He had finally written to then-Prime Minister Robert Menzies - and received a letter instructing him to stop asking questions. He persisted, and was court-martialed (see dust-jacket notes below), the first stage in closing of his military career.

He is also seen doing commando training in a folboat in the last picture here. He is the officer in the rear.

[kookaburra]

Part Two: Operation Jaywick.

With a speed of 6 1/2 knots and a range of 11,000 miles, the Krait puttered up the NSW-Queensland Coast, giving engine trouble all the way. The weapons were loaded at Exmouth Gulf in Western Australia, and by the time they entered the Lombok Straits,.A.N. skipper Lt Edward Carse, had found the way to manage her moods.
There were 17 Australians and four Brit aboard, with Ivan Lyon in charge.

On mid-Sept the commandoes were to set off for Dongas Island, eight miles from the Singapore Roads, using this as their operational base, and planning to rendezvous with Krait at Pompong Island, 28 miles back, on October 1. With seven men aboard, the little former Japanese fishing boat had to putter around the enemy waters for 16 days, try to look inconspicuous.

Defeated by tides in their first attempt to get in, the exhausted raiders came back two nights later. Canoe #1 attached limpets by the engineroom propellor shaft of a 10,000 ton freighter. Canoe #3 twice crossed the Harbour boom and placed limpet mines on the 6000-ton Taiyso Maru , another 5000 ton freighter, and a similarly-sized
tanker. Canoe #3 narrowly avoided being spotted by warship sentries at a lighted wharf and 'loaded up' the modern freighters Nasusan Maru and Yamataga Maru.


By dawn they were back at Dongas waiting for the show, which came with seven huge explosions between 5:15 a.m. and 5.50 a.m.

Despite furious sea and air patrols, they made their rendezous with Krait - and safely back to Australia.


The photos below show some of the elation for this brilliant success. But in that very triumph were the seeds of death for Ivan Lyon (first pic) and many of his companions, in combat, by captive medical experiment, and by mass beheadings, later.





Part Three: Operation Rimau

[John Odom]

Great Story! Thanks for the post. This is the kind of thing we Americans never heard of.

[kookaburra]

Part3: Operation Rimau.

After Jaywick, one might have thought that Ivan Lyon had done enough - but he seems to have been the kind that a desk was anathema to him.

One year later, he set out for Singapore, and Keppel Harbour again, with six of the original Jaywick crew with him. For Operation Rimau 'Tiger' in Malay) they sailed from a base near Perth on the submarine HMS Porpoise , and were equipped with special motorized submersible canoes for the actual raid.


On Sept 28, the submarine stopped and seized a local junk Mustika, and Lyon's men loaded their stores from it on Merapas Island. After that the plan went badly wrong for everyone. On Oct 10, hours before the raid, the junk was challenged by a local police patrol boat as they approached Singapore. One of the commandos peremptorily opened fire on it, compromising the entire operation.

Lyon ordered the junk back the Merapas Island, where it and the raiding party's secret stores were destroyed - but he made one last-ditch effort to salvage part of the mission.

In the early hours of October 11 Lyon and six other men penetrated the Harbour and managed to mine three ships. He then dispersed his men. But the pursuit for them this time was hot and furious.

The submarine was to pick them up from Merapas on Nov 7, almost a month away. The raiding party passed through Pangil Island, and their presence was eventually betrayed by a local man, Raja Mun. On Soreh Island the Japanese caught up with them, and in a series of pitched gun battles, in which he killed more than 60 of the enemy, Lt-Col Ivan Lyon and Lt Bobby Ross were eventually killed by a hand grenade as they were trying to cover the escape of wounded members of their party.

In all, 13 members of the Operation Rimau team were killed, and 10 captured. They were tried for espionage in Singapore and beheaded at Butik Timah on July 7, 1945, barely a month before the war ended.

For many years the details of the raid remained little known. But in 1994 - almost 50 years after the event - the bodies of two men who had put up another brave rearguard action on Merapas Island, AIF Sergeant Colin Cameron, and Sub-Lt G. Riggs, RNVR, both 21, were recovered on Merapas and brought to Singapore to be buried with their former comrades in Kranji War Cemetery on August 27, with relatives of the lost men present.

Six others lie in unmarked graves in Indonesia. By the way, Ivan Lyon was just 29 years old when he died - and most of his men were barely into their twenties.

[kookaburra]

There are a number of small memorials for the raids on Singapore around the Australian coast, mainly at places where Krait passed. A telemovie, The Heroes, was made in the 1990s. The DVD shown here is a documentary. Well, that's it. The Story of the Krait, and its tragic aftermath.

[herakles]

Truth certainly is stranger than fiction. This is a wonderful story - Boys Own material and it's made my day.

What a remarkable man Lyon must have been. And so must have been the members of his crew.

There were many remarkably brave men who worked to undo the Japanese. Men working behind enemy lines as coast watchers or commandos and the such. And regrettably often unsung heroes. There are some breath-catching stories that can be told of their exploits.

Thanks for posting this story K. :)

[kookaburra]

I meant to have the first photo here in my second last post. I thought the body language of the times was interesting.
The second shows Ivan Lyon's modest decorations compared to his feats. This man deserved the V.C. imho.

I am not sure, but I think there was some provision by which special operatives understood that their work may not get full official recognition in terms of medals and awards etc.

[RogerP]

Hello 'Kookaburra',

Thanks for posting the excellent photo's of the "Krait" and her crew. I remember hearing the story on the radio in the late fifties I think, not long before we finally bought a TV.

I also have the very good mini series (both "The Heroes" and "Heroes II") and the movie, taped off TV a few years ago now and now with my interest in "Allied Light Coastal Forces" the "Krait" fits into this theme very well..............well I certainly think it does.

One of my future models to do in 144th scale will be the "Krait", once I work out how. The museum in Sydney where she is moored (or was it the AWM?) very kindly sent me some plans. She is down the list a bit, but I'm positive I can do it.

What I'm doing is a range of models, predominantly 144th scale, utilising the growing number of card models as a basis and I will also be venturing into 72nd and 35th scales as well. The RAN's Fairmile B class ML 825 comes out at almost three feet long in 35th scale and is my most ambitious project.

Watch this space, but please be patient as I'm still very much in the 'tinkering' stage, but I am VERY happy with the way the boats/ships are looking.

Roger Pearson.
Bendigo, Australia.
"Roger's Little Ships".
debrogerp@hotmail.com

[kookaburra]

Good luck with your model projects Roger: a beautiful way to pass time, not the least in very beautiful Bendigo, the Queen City of Regional Australia. We look forward to seeing the model photos.

The Krait is on kind of permanent loan from the Volunteer Coastal Patrol to the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney's Darling Harbour.

[herakles]

Like fishing, I marvel at the patience and fortitude of those who make models. And they are always so good!

Ballaarat is the Queen city by the by. :rolleyes:

[whidbeyboy]

Hi - read your posts with great interest as I have just finished McKie's "The Heroes." Saw that another book is out entitled "Kill the Tiger" and if I remember right, the authors claim they have new evidence that the men of Rimau were betrayed by the Americans at that time, who knew of their capture, and who were unwilling to send in a rescue at the expense of letting the Japanese know they knew their code. Have you heard/read this? Also, what became of Lyon's wife & child, held in Singapore? Were they there when he was executed?

I heard the Japanese built a memorial to the men of Rimau in Singapore. When I was there in 1999 with the US Navy I tried to find it, but only found a small bronze plaque to the men of Operation Jaywick (Z Force) - which appeared to be Australian in origin, located downtown on a planter.

Finally, is Hiroyuki Furuta the interpretor still alive? McKie alludes to a story Furuta published in a "contest" and took first place regarding the men of Rimau. Ever find that?

Here are some interesting things I found:

1. Fiction based on truth: http://tls.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,25339-2630465,00.html
2. New color DVD coming out with actual footage of ZES training, including a shot of Lyon or Page carrying one of the flotboats? http://www.youtube.com/user/ozbunkerproject
3. Gut wrenching story of the guy who had the "Krait" before Jaywick: Bill Reynolds, http://blog.awm.gov.au/awm/2008/10/30/bill-reynolds-mbe/ and http://pete-n-pam.com/special%20items/krait.htm

[kookaburra]

Hi - read your posts with great interest as I have just finished McKie's "The Heroes." Saw that another book is out entitled "Kill the Tiger" and if I remember right, the authors claim they have new evidence that the men of Rimau were betrayed by the Americans at that time, who knew of their capture, and who were unwilling to send in a rescue at the expense of letting the Japanese know they knew their code. Have you heard/read this? Also, what became of Lyon's wife & child, held in Singapore? Were they there when he was executed?

I heard the Japanese built a memorial to the men of Rimau in Singapore. When I was there in 1999 with the US Navy I tried to find it, but only found a small bronze plaque to the men of Operation Jaywick (Z Force) - which appeared to be Australian in origin, located downtown on a planter.

Finally, is Hiroyuki Furuta the interpretor still alive? McKie alludes to a story Furuta published in a "contest" and took first place regarding the men of Rimau. Ever find that?

Here are some interesting things I found:

1. Fiction based on truth: http://tls.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,25339-2630465,00.html
2. New color DVD coming out with actual footage of ZES training, including a shot of Lyon or Page carrying one of the flotboats? http://www.youtube.com/user/ozbunkerproject
3. Gut wrenching story of the guy who had the "Krait" before Jaywick: Bill Reynolds, http://blog.awm.gov.au/awm/2008/10/30/bill-reynolds-mbe/ and http://pete-n-pam.com/special%20items/krait.htm


Whidbeyboy, thanks for the reply and the interesting links: I need to re-read my source material (mainly Lynette Ramsay Silver's book, 'The Heroes of Rimau,' (Mil;ner Publishing, 1990) based on the (years of) research by Major Tom Hall, to answer your main questions, and unfortunately I can't get to that task today.

Just to answer one of you subsiary questions: No, Gabrielle Lyon and their small son Clive were not in Singapore at the time of Ivan Lyon's death (btw, Lyon was not one of those captured and then executed in Singapore - the Operation Rimau party had split up, and Lyon and his companion Lt Bobby Ross died in a firefight with a Japanese landing force on Soreh Island on the approaches to Singapore on Oct 16, 1944, during which, using bren guns from perches in a tree, they inflicted immense losses on their attackers. They and a third member of their group, Corporal Archie Campbell, who was throwing grenades from a shelter nearby, killed 60 of the 110 Japnese attacking them.

Lyon and Ross were finally killed by a grenade themselves, but Campbell escaped from that fight to be killed two days later on nearby Tapai Island with Lt. Commander Donald Davidson.

Gabrielle and Clive Lyon (Lyon's wife and son): With the fall of Singapore they were evacuated to Australia, while Lyon and his companions made a perilous boat journey to Colombo, and went on to India, where the commando raids on Singapore were conceived. They were to be executed from Australia. Lyon wrote to his wife - being cared for by the De Pledge family in Perth - to wait there. But they had already left on the SS Nankin en route to Bombay to join him by the time his letter arrived.

It's an awful story. The Nankin disappeared at sea without trace, and was reported lost with all aboard - a terrible blow for Lyon, who nonetheless took it stoically. And it was wrong. In March 1942 it was learned through intelligence sources that the Nankin had been captured by the German raider Thor, and that there were NO casualties. It had been steamed to Japan, where Mrs Lyon, her son, and the other passengers were held in Fukushima Internment Camp, where they spent the war. Lyon was thrilled to receive a report through the Red Cross that they were both well - but he never saw them again before his death on Operation Rimau.

After the war, when she learned of her husband's death, and those of her parents - murdered by pro-Japanese Vichy French compatriots - Gabrielle Lyon went to England, where she died in 1978. At the last report I've seen (2007), Clive Lyon was alive and well and still living in England.

Japanese Code-breaking and cover-up of refusal to send a rescue party to the aid of the Rimau survivors.
]Ah, I think I've seen references to this, but I'd prefer to look at the material again rather than answer here carelessly. It would not be surprising - many sacrifices were made to protect the vital secrets that the Japanese and German codes had been broken during the war.

Interpreter Furuta : I'm afraid I don't know whether he's still alive, and just for the moment can't think of a way of finding out short of a fairly major exercise among old colleagues in Japan, and I'm rather hesitant to put them to that trouble. There's a lot on the Net and I think a search might find it. No, I hadn't heard of Furuta's contest-winning book.

Finally, I should say I'm no expert or specialist on this particular subject - just some books I had on the shelves.

Well, thanks again for your interest and keep looking - it's a tremendous story of heroism and sacrifice in war. Oh, I'll see what I can dig up here about the question of a plaque or memorial. I think I posted some images of the gravesites below.

Oh, on the question of Lyon and the VC. I'm now reminded by the Silver/Hall book that it was recommended, but blocked by some technicality, probably something to do with Lyon's status as a special ops man I'm guessing. K.

[ABMM]

Hi everyone,

I just thought I'd chime in here...

We have just released an hour long DVD consisting of full colour footage of SRD's training facility on Fraser Island in Queensland shot between February and July 1944.

In the course of my research prior to releasing the DVD, I spoke to surviving Army Z special Unit and other SRD veterans about their time at the Fraser Commando School and their operational experiences.

I asked them about their feelings about Operation RIMAU and the majority of them answered in a way that I found surprising.

Here's a dot point summary:

- RIMAU would have been a massive coup if it had suceeded
- Lyon, although an effective officer, was a show pony
- You "do not pull the same stunt twice" - everyone apparently knows that
- Both JAYWICK and RIMAU were heavily influenced by Lyon's desire for news about his family at that time thought to be interned in Singapore.
- Lyon sent many good men to an early grave due to a personal crusade.

Now as I have said, this angle comes from many of the Men themselves. My own feelings on the matter are very similar to Kookaburra's as stated above.

There are some contradictions in the story as told by the Z Specials themselves, especially regarding the location of Lyon's family at the time the Jaywick and Rimau operations were planned and conducted.

Great thread though, a really great read.

Cheers

[ABMM]

I just thought I'd add a couple of "nautical" captures from the footage.

The first shows two unidentified SRD officers lacing the spray skirt onto a folboat - these are the exact same type of collapsible canoes as used on JAYWICK.

The second shows an SOE link cavity charge (an early type of flexible linear shaped charge) taking down the forward mast of the wrecked SS Maheno on Fraser Island. Interestingly enough, this wreck is still accessible, but the bulk of the hull is buried almost three storeys (!) under the sand.


I was in the army so I pride myself on not being able to tell a fishing trawler from an aircraft carrier, but I will be posting another screen capture shortly which shows an SRD vessel anchored off Fraser Island. I have been told it was the lugger "Charm", but I've also been told it was the "Tigersnake". Any assistance to ID the vessel would be most appreciated.

For those interested in the details of the Krait's operational history with SRD following JAYWICK, I would strongly recommend a book called "Krait - SRD Connection" by author Shirley Myles Gleghorn. Mrs Gleghorn is the "official scribe" of the Z Special Unit Association of NSW and an affiliate member - an honour usually reserved for family members of departed SRD Men - the book is an amazing resource about the Krait and other small ships used by SRD and the Allied Intelligence Bureau in the SWPA during WWII. If anyone is interested, I am happy to give you Mrs Gleghorn's contact details.

Cheers

[kookaburra]

Thank you very much for those interesting insights into the Special Ops men's views on Operation Rimau, ABMM.

You will find three pics of HMAS Tiger Snake here, at Post #63, and more info in Post #65.

http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3756

Regarding SS Maheno, and Fraser Island for those who don't know it: Fraser Island is the World Heritage-listed world's largest sand island off the south coast of Queensland, 120km long, almost 2000 sq km in area, still pretty unspoiled although a popular visitor destination.

Here's Wikipedia's notes on the wreck of the Maheno:

The S.S. Maheno was originally built in 1905 in Scotland as a luxury passenger ship for trans-Tasman crossings. During the First World War the ship served as a hospital ship in the English Channel, before returning to a luxury liner. In 1935, the ship was declared outdated and on June 25, 1935 the ship was being towed from Melbourne when it was caught in a strong cyclone. A few days later, on July 9, 1935 she drifted ashore and was beached on Fraser Island. During the Second World War the Maheno served as target bombing practice for the RAAF. The ship has since become severely rusted, with almost three and a half storeys buried under the sand.

This doesn't tell you, but she was a 5,282 ton ship.

[johnnylawless]

That is Bob Page in the youtube link that was posted! He is at the rear carrying the folboat. Strange to actually see real footage of him. Can't tell who the person in front is, I don't imagine that it is Lyon.
It wasn't Campbell who was captured on Soreh Island after the firefight with Lyon and Ross, it was Clair Stewart. Campbell was injured (along with Davidson) in the initial firefight, and it was to help their getaway that Lyon, Ross and Stewart made a stand.

[Nate]

I agree, that's Bob Page at the rear and I think the other officer is Lieutenant Walter Carey.

It would certainly be interesting to read Furuta's account that he put forward for the contest if anybody knows how to get a copy of this.

Interestingly, Col Courtney (SRD) has written in his book, Silent Feet, that all documentation to do with the Rimau men was destroyed after the official announcement of surrender (as was standard then) and that the Japanese officers in the intervening period of being held in jail and Major Wild interviewing them would have written the 'trial documents' there and then once they had realised they had been sprung - therefore the so called trial being a sham. Furuta was also held in jail to begin with until Major Wild released him and therefore could have possibly participated in writing the Military Court Translations....

[ABMM]

Hi guys,

Just thought I'd let you know that the full reports on both Rimau and Jaywick from the Official History of Special Operations Australia are now available on Scribd for online viewing and download here (http://www.scribd.com/full/25365730?access_key=key-xxc6d21zwq8cjvxasl6) , and the accompanying maps for for ops Jaywick and Rimau are available here (http://specialoperationsaustralia.com/soa/images/stories/pdf/jaywick.pdf) and here (http://specialoperationsaustralia.com/soa/images/stories/pdf/rimau.pdf) respectively.

Nate, thanks for the possible ID on Carey. I'll follow that up.

I'm looking for folks to help out with the SRD Para-Naval section of the Special Operations Australia (http://www.specialoperationsaustralia.com) website. Any contributions will be fully credited of course. If you're interested, please shoot me an email at info@specialoperationsaustralia.com .

Cheers,

Craig

www.specialoperationsaustralia.com (http://www.specialoperationsaustralia.com)
Australia's Secret War in the Pacific

[Nate]

Thanks Craig, just had a quick look at your new website which looks great – I had bought the Z force Training DVD from you earlier last year - amazing footage of the time and fantastic that it survived for posterity.

I had heard that there may be a chance that the captured Rimaus were not executed on 7th July but after the Japanese had surrendered in August 45, and that the original Japanese documentation would show the changes that had been made. I'm not in Oz at the moment otherwise I would have been very interested to have checked this out. Just wondered if you're contacts in Z special unit or SRD had heard anything similar?


Whidbeyboy, from my understanding, having done a little reading around Rimau from Kill the Tiger, The Heroes of Rimau and some of the official documents, is that there would seem to be a couple of issues that led to the final outcome of this tragic end to such remarkable men, perhaps the main ones are:

• Mustika – the question remains of whether the Rimaus fired upon the police boat first (accidentally or not) or whether the police boat actually challenged the men. Regardless, this was obviously the start of the end for Operation Rimau’s success.

• The RV with the sub, this time being the HMS Tantalus – the procedure agreed for the sub pick up of the Rimau men off of Merapas Island was to arrive on the east coast of the island and travel to the RV point, Hammock Tree, between dusk and dawn from November 7th, and if necessary for the next thirty nights until the submarine had returned. If Major Chapman, the conducting officer for the pick up, waited from dusk till dawn and there was no sign of the men, he would know something was wrong.

What happened was that there seemed to be a failure of communications between Major Chapman and Captain Mackenzie of HMS Tantalus. They only returned on one night, that of the 21st November and Chapman landed on the wrong side of the island and was therefore greatly impeded with his journey to the RV point. In actual fact, he did not arrive at the RV until after dawn. Chapman stayed there until dusk and then left the RV point to be picked up by the sub. In Mackenzie’s and Chapman’s reports they had agreed that as the men weren’t there at the RV (in daylight, seemingly forgetting that the RV had been agreed between dusk till dawn) that the operation must have been compromised and that there would be no point in returning. The Rimaus that had made it this far were on their own now.

One party had already split and headed for Australia following the Japanese raid on Merapas; and the other party remained on Mapor (neighbouring island) visiting the RV at Merapas until the thirty nights were up and then started to head for Australia. These remaining men were either captured or died evading capture.

• The radio and walkie talkies – there was to be a radio on Merapas that Carey and the three men with him were to operate. The men also had walkie talkies in which to contact the sub. The captured Rimaus did mention in their trial that they had tried to raise the sub but had no luck – this was most likely as Mackenzie had taken his sub out of range hunting enemy ships (with little success). There is also the possibility that the radio had been damaged when the Japanese found Carey’s campsite on Merapas.

• The ULTRA signals – various communications by the Japanese had been intercepted by ULTRA that could, if passed to the right personnel in SRD, helped to raise the alert to Tantalus that the men were in difficulty. The fact that the messages were not relayed is most likely mainly due to maintaining the secrecy of ULTRA, also there seemed to have been a lot of politics between the different agencies under Allied Command and communication therefore not at it’s optimum.


Hope this helps.

Cheers

[ABMM]

G'day Nate,

Thanks for the kind words about the website - it's a work in progress as I'm doing all the AIB stuff, not just ISD/SRD. I had a quick look at the DVD again today to see if I recognised anyone else and in the PT segment there's a close up on a bloke who's grinning ear-to-ear. I'm pretty sure that's LT Sargent, also of RIMAU. That, plus the fact that H.A. Campbell was the CO of the FCS at the time the footage was shot, would indicate maybe January 1944 for the footage?

I've also heard about the RIMAU survivors being executed after the surrender. It seems to be the general consensus of the SRD Vets that that was indeed the case. I haven't gotten to RIMAU as yet, but I'll find out one way or the other.

It seems that for a long time after the war, the fairytale told by the Jap interp Furuta was taken as gospel. Essentially he said the RIMAU POWs were treated with the highest honour and respect in the Bushido tradition prior to their execution. We now know this was totally incorrect. If you visit the downloads page on www.specialoperationsaustralia.com, I've uploaded a booklet produced at the unveiling of the SRD memorial at Garden Island in 1952. It repeats Furuta's story.

I don't really want to bring it up, but what was the deal with PTE Warne during the initial contacts after they were compromised? His name has been expunged from the NAA POW investigation on RIMAU.

Those were awesome questions posed about the main reasons for the bitter end of RIMAU. I'll concentrate on them in my research when I get to that Op and see what I can come up with. My archive of primary source materials on SRD is more extensive than what you see on the National Archives thanks to a kind donation from a source who didn't destroy records as ordered. Just gotta find the time to do it justice. I'll be making the bulk of that material available to the public down the track in a database on the website. The more researchers working on this fascinating period of Aus mil history the better I say.

Cheers,

Craig

Thanks Craig, just had a quick look at your new website which looks great – I had bought the Z force Training DVD from you earlier last year - amazing footage of the time and fantastic that it survived for posterity.

I had heard that there may be a chance that the captured Rimaus were not executed on 7th July but after the Japanese had surrendered in August 45, and that the original Japanese documentation would show the changes that had been made. I'm not in Oz at the moment otherwise I would have been very interested to have checked this out. Just wondered if you're contacts in Z special unit or SRD had heard anything similar?


Whidbeyboy, from my understanding, having done a little reading around Rimau from Kill the Tiger, The Heroes of Rimau and some of the official documents, is that there would seem to be a couple of issues that led to the final outcome of this tragic end to such remarkable men, perhaps the main ones are:

• Mustika – the question remains of whether the Rimaus fired upon the police boat first (accidentally or not) or whether the police boat actually challenged the men. Regardless, this was obviously the start of the end for Operation Rimau’s success.

• The RV with the sub, this time being the HMS Tantalus – the procedure agreed for the sub pick up of the Rimau men off of Merapas Island was to arrive on the east coast of the island and travel to the RV point, Hammock Tree, between dusk and dawn from November 7th, and if necessary for the next thirty nights until the submarine had returned. If Major Chapman, the conducting officer for the pick up, waited from dusk till dawn and there was no sign of the men, he would know something was wrong.

What happened was that there seemed to be a failure of communications between Major Chapman and Captain Mackenzie of HMS Tantalus. They only returned on one night, that of the 21st November and Chapman landed on the wrong side of the island and was therefore greatly impeded with his journey to the RV point. In actual fact, he did not arrive at the RV until after dawn. Chapman stayed there until dusk and then left the RV point to be picked up by the sub. In Mackenzie’s and Chapman’s reports they had agreed that as the men weren’t there at the RV (in daylight, seemingly forgetting that the RV had been agreed between dusk till dawn) that the operation must have been compromised and that there would be no point in returning. The Rimaus that had made it this far were on their own now.

One party had already split and headed for Australia following the Japanese raid on Merapas; and the other party remained on Mapor (neighbouring island) visiting the RV at Merapas until the thirty nights were up and then started to head for Australia. These remaining men were either captured or died evading capture.

• The radio and walkie talkies – there was to be a radio on Merapas that Carey and the three men with him were to operate. The men also had walkie talkies in which to contact the sub. The captured Rimaus did mention in their trial that they had tried to raise the sub but had no luck – this was most likely as Mackenzie had taken his sub out of range hunting enemy ships (with little success). There is also the possibility that the radio had been damaged when the Japanese found Carey’s campsite on Merapas.

• The ULTRA signals – various communications by the Japanese had been intercepted by ULTRA that could, if passed to the right personnel in SRD, helped to raise the alert to Tantalus that the men were in difficulty. The fact that the messages were not relayed is most likely mainly due to maintaining the secrecy of ULTRA, also there seemed to have been a lot of politics between the different agencies under Allied Command and communication therefore not at it’s optimum.


Hope this helps.

Cheers

[Nate]

G'day Nate,

Thanks for the kind words about the website - it's a work in progress as I'm doing all the AIB stuff, not just ISD/SRD. I had a quick look at the DVD again today to see if I recognised anyone else and in the PT segment there's a close up on a bloke who's grinning ear-to-ear. I'm pretty sure that's LT Sargent, also of RIMAU. That, plus the fact that H.A. Campbell was the CO of the FCS at the time the footage was shot, would indicate maybe January 1944 for the footage?


Hi Craig,

Thank you very much for your reply. Blimey, sounds like you do have your hands full!

The chap grinning certainly has a very similar face Lt Sargent, but the chap named ‘Snowy’ has the right hair for him, what do you think? His face does seem really familiar.

The footage must have been taken from around that time – guess any time from September ‘43 to January ‘44 – when did Campbell take charge of the FCS?


I've also heard about the RIMAU survivors being executed after the surrender. It seems to be the general consensus of the SRD Vets that that was indeed the case. I haven't gotten to RIMAU as yet, but I'll find out one way or the other.


Do you know how the SRD Vets came to think this?

From what I understood, the Japanese trial documents today, with age, are showing that amendments were made to the dates – that it was September and not July that they were executed. However, as the British were in the harbour by 5th September would this be possible? I believe these documents are not on show but they are possible to view on request.

If this were to be the case, why did the Japanese wait so long to carry out the executions and by carrying out these executions post surrender they must have been afraid – of being found out for the treatment they gave the men?

Again, if this was found to be true, could this have anything to do with the way in which the investigation was handled by the Allies?

Perhaps another point lies with the Exhumation Report, which was pretty brief compared to others I have read.

It seems that for a long time after the war, the fairytale told by the Jap interp Furuta was taken as gospel. Essentially he said the RIMAU POWs were treated with the highest honour and respect in the Bushido tradition prior to their execution. We now know this was totally incorrect. If you visit the downloads page on www.specialoperationsaustralia.com, I've uploaded a booklet produced at the unveiling of the SRD memorial at Garden Island in 1952. It repeats Furuta's story.


Furuta certainly did seem to convince many for a long time of his story on the Rimaus. I have read his interrogation reports and much of his statements that were provided to Tom Hall and covered by Lynnette Silver’s book.

The difficulty will be in being able to separate the fact from fiction – it is certainly quite elaborate in places and perhaps impossible to ascertain all these years on.


I don't really want to bring it up, but what was the deal with PTE Warne during the initial contacts after they were compromised? His name has been expunged from the NAA POW investigation on RIMAU.


Yes, I noticed this too. Perhaps, one is to assume that the treatment by the Japs of Warne on Soerabaya would not have fitted the way in which they wanted to portray the fate of Rimau, and therefore expunged it?

I also noticed that there were still some restricted pages within the official documents and wonder on the contents?


Those were awesome questions posed about the main reasons for the bitter end of RIMAU. I'll concentrate on them in my research when I get to that Op and see what I can come up with. My archive of primary source materials on SRD is more extensive than what you see on the National Archives thanks to a kind donation from a source who didn't destroy records as ordered. Just gotta find the time to do it justice. I'll be making the bulk of that material available to the public down the track in a database on the website. The more researchers working on this fascinating period of Aus mil history the better I say.


Thank you for the response on the questions, I must admit that much of this has come from the deductions made in the books I have read.

There is some repetition in the official documents which can seem also rather limited as you have probably seen for yourself, and it has felt that there is certainly some information missing.

That’s fantastic news that you have even more extensive records from your source, and it will be interesting to see what they reveal and perhaps the reason why they had wanted the records to be destroyed. There was so much secrecy surrounding these things understandably for the most part at the time.

It would be good to get to the truth, as these men deserve. They will always be remarkable men and heroes. If there is anything I can do to help, please do let me know I would be very pleased to – I’ll keep an eye on my PMs as well as this post.

My apologies for the length of my response and for raising even more questions!

Cheers

[ABMM]

Nate, I'm sending you a PM so I don't totally hijack the thread.

I've been going through some official records and I found this interesting list:

SRD Para-Naval vessels -


Arranged by location on VP Day


Darwin:


Edouardo
Karina
Grasssnake
Seasnake
Krait


Morotai:



Blacksnake
Riversnake
AM 1499
AM 1629
AM 1830


Tawi Tawi:



AM 1985


Brunei:


AM 1983


Sydney:


Anaconda
AM 2409
Am 2003
AM 2004
Nyanie
Mothersnake


Refitting -


Taipan (formerly Bandoeng)


Under construction in Melbourne -


Coralsnake
Diamondsnake
Mamba
Tarneit


Under construction in Western Australia -


AV 1358


Under construction in Sydney -


Misima
AM 2834


I hope it's helpful to someone.

Cheers.

[Pete J]

Great thread.

I've read several books about Jaywick and Rimau. I first became interested whn I saw the tv dramatisations of both, Jaywick(the heroes) and Rimau (the heroes II). Both are available on youtube now.

A couple of years ago i was fortunate enough to go on a bit of a pilgrimage, spending a week in singapore, with my jaywick/rimau books in hand, trying to figure out what was what. Outram road has its own metro station but i couldnt find the old prison, and found out it had been knocked down, but an old picture of it i found, showed a row of palm tree's on a ridge, which still appears to be present behinf the hawker market by the metro station on outram road.

Also went to the nature reserve at buket timah but couldnt find anything ref the execution sites.

Next step of the trip was darling harbour to see the krait, which was very special.

The Z special force training clips are fantastic, to see Bob Page in a clip is amazing. In the 3 min clip, a chap 'assaults' a man from behind and gets thrown over the man he's assaulting's shoulders. Could the man who carries out the assault and gets thrown be Ivan Lyon?

Maybe my next pilgrimage will take me to exmouth gulf, fraser island, broken bay, and maybe even merapas!

Also, there is a a book called "the widow and her hero" which came out in 2009. It's fiction, but almost wholey based on rimau/jaywick down to the last detail, just with names changed. The 'teller' of the story is Grace waterhouse, who is clearly based on Roma Page.

I guess the nice thing about this book, is that it's almost a happy ending in that the loose ends are all tied up, and finally at the end of the book, the story 'ends'. I guess I like that, as the reality we've been exposed to are that there are still question marks over what happened in real life. When were the executions, did SRD now of the US intercepts?

Sad stuff.....

[johnnylawless]

on this link:

http://www.youtube.com/user/ozbunkerproject

at 3.42, is the man who gives a bow Happy Huston? It sure looks like him.
Anyone know of any others identified in these videos apart from Page?

[bbragg2]

I was very fortunate in the 1980s to have a tour of the Krait at HMAS MORETON when it was doing a tour of Oz. To walk over the Krai and see tset up was increditble. I was astounded at the time spent onboard with the number of personnel they had! And no VCs!! Typical of the era!!

[johnnylawless]

just a quick post to see if anyone is still as interested as I am in Rimau, and exactly what happened. Has anything new been released?

[kazard]

Hi Johnnylawless,

Yes, certainly am still interested in Operation Rimau - have dropped you a PM

Cheers

[Waterhen]

Hi Everyone, as a new comer to this forum site I believe my late wife's uncle, the late Donald Sharples, P.A. 1543,(leading telegraphist) was the Kraits radio operator on the first stage of it's passage up the East Coast of Australia to Darwin.

I read the story a long time ago.

I also remember him talking about it many years ago when he showed me his WW2 medals, including his long service and good conduct medal.

He has three sons still living in Eastern Australia. My children communicate with one who lives in Canberra, Rowan, a retired ex RAAF pilot.

regards, " Waterhen," Southern Tasmania.

[ludsie]

There is a monument to the commandoes at pialba in hervey bay on old. Can't remember the exact details but am sure that it indicated that training occurred on Fraser island.

Trent

[arpie]

I recently found a copy of Ronald McKie's "The Heroes" - and it is a terrific read. As a youngster back in the 60s (from memory,) I remember seeing the Krait moored in Pittwater & was always intrigued by the tales of the men's extraordinary feats - such a shame that the 2nd expedition went belly up with all lost either in battle or execution.

McKie's version of "Scorpion Force", which was originally planned to attack the Japanese held port of Rabaul in New Guinea but canned when the Yanks wouldn't supply a 'pick up submarine' after losing one in the area previously - when they used Townsville as a practise target after undergoing rigorous training - without telling anyone that it was 'on' and the aftermath when 45 limpets were found on 15 ships and assumed to be a Japanese attack - is well worth the making of a movie in itself!

...From Wikipedia (note: McKie claims 15 ships were 'mined' not the 10 mentioned here) 'Raid' on Townsville - By the end of March 1943, Carey had assembled a team of nine men on their base at Magnetic Island. Lyon and Mott arranged to have Carey's unit perform a mock attack on Townsville, although they were careful not to commit anything to paper. Townsville was a busy harbour full of troop transports, merchantmen and naval escort vessels, and tight security was maintained due to the constant threat of Japanese air and submarine attack. At midnight on 22 June 1943, the unit left Magnetic Island and paddled by folboat through the heavily mined mouth of Townsville Harbour. Dummy limpet mines were attached to ten ships, including two destroyers. The men rowed into Ross Creek, dismantled and hid their folboats, then travelled into Townsville to find a place to sleep. Around 10:00 am, the limpets were discovered, and panic ensued. Carey was arrested, and despite producing Blamey's letter and earnest assurances that the mines were dummies, they refused to allow him to leave or to allow the removal of the mines, which the RAN feared were real and might accidentally detonate. Mott was able to arrange Carey's release, but only on the condition that he left Z Special Unit.[9] Operation Scorpion was scrapped due to a lack of submarine transport, but Mott and Lyon had learned many valuable lessons from the raid.[8].....

Some of these guys trained for Jaywick, too, I believe.

I am sure there are many of these 'top secret' missions that will only make the light of day in the next 20 years or so - after everyone concerned (including the 'brass' back home) are well & truly passed on!

The many war documentaries that are popping up on SBS & other channels just now, after the 50th annniversary of the ending of WWll are a real eye opener - and I guess some other stories may be filed 'never to be opened'?

cheers

Arpie

[jainso31]

As an Intro to the above-which is a terrific story.Thanks for sharing arpie

In 1942 some ambitious officers of the Allied Intelligence Bureau (AIB) wanted to strike the Japanese in their secure strongholds. 28 year old Captain Ivan Lyon of the Gordon Highlanders teamed up with 61 year old Australian Bill Reynolds and hatched a plan to attack the Japanese in Singapore harbour where they would launch collapsible canoes carrying commandos who would attach limpet mines to the Japanese shipping.

It was considered too difficult to sneak into Singapore Harbour from the west, hence Special Operations Executive (SOE) decided to send Lyon to Australia to develop a plan to come from the south east.

Lyon was given personal introductions by General Wavell to some of Wavell's former British colleagues in Australia including The Governor of Victoria, Sir Winston Joseph Dugan and the Governor-General Lord Gowrie. He was also apparently given an introduction to General Douglas MacArthur.

Lyon reported to General Gordon Bennett when he arrived in Fremantle. Bennett sent Lyon to Melbourne to Lieutenant Colonel G.S. Mott, Chief of the Services Reconnaissance Department in Melbourne. Mott also apparently introduced Lyon to two senior United States Intelligence Officers, who showed no interest in Lyon's ambitious plan.

On 17 July 1942, Lord Gowrie arranged for Lyon to meet Commander R.B.M. Long, the Director of Naval Intelligence in Melbourne. Commander Long was the established SOE contact in Australia. Long recommended Lyon's plan to Admiral Royle and the Naval Board. Royle reluctantly accepted the plan.

Lyon's idea to attack Singapore was eventually taken up as Operation Jaywick under the control of Lt. Col. Mott.

jainso31

[J Chapman]

My input is on Operation Rimau only. My father was Major Walter Chapman Royal Engineers who was the SOE person who Lyon met in London who helped support and equip the expedition and went out on Porpoise and Tantalus. He later served with the units bringing in PoWs. I have 30 minutes of cine film he shot before the operation showing the submersibles in training and loading on to Porpoise. One of the submarines sinking a cargo vessel. Mustik and Lyon's party boarding and leaving. There are also shots taken during his 24 hours on Merapas when Tantalus returned to attempt to RV with the party. There are some excellent shots of some of the expedition personnel and good background footage of Fremantle, I assume. I also have the english transcripts/translation of the trial the captured Rimau personnel went through. I hope to visit the National Records Office to see whether they have these.

[Nate]

Hi J Chapman,

Thank you so much for your post, and very interesting to read.

It would be wonderful to see some of the shots that your father took and also to hear if you know any more information to do with Operation Rimau that your father may have related to you.

Cheers

PS also sent you a PM