HMAS Manoora 1939-1946 World Naval Ships Forums Archive

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HMAS Manoora 1939-1946 World Naval Ships Forums Archive

HMAS Manoora 1939-1946

Posts 1 to 29

Hi guys is there anyone with photos of HMAS Manoora during WW2.My Pop served on this ship for a little while during the war and would love to see some photos. Thanks Andrew

[QUOTE=churchy;27370]Hi guys is there anyone with photos of HMAS Manoora during WW2.My Pop served on this ship for a little while during the war and would love to see some photos. Thanks Andrew[/QUOTE] Dammit Andrew, you sound like just the man I've been looking for. I have this book here about HMAS [I]Manoora[/I] - 'Taken By Storm: The true story of HMAS's experiences in the South West Pacific Theatre of War - by ex-Signalman Mervyn Eather RANR and ex-AIF sapper Bill Galmes. It was published through the HMAS Manoora Association. Anyway, the point is I was just about to throw it out. Look, it's not expensively published or anything, semi-hard cover, but quite a few photos and long lists of names, maps etc. 252 pages, A-4 size, and in just about mint condition too. Do you think you might save me the trouble of tossing it, and PM (private message) me with an address where I might send it. Let's see if we can get this done before Christmas - your Dad should have it, not me. Meantime, I'll look through some other books and post some pics of Manoora in a further post anyway. Cheers K. Here's the cover and some title pages of the book I'm throwing away. As I say, sort of amateurishly produced, but probably some memories for anyone who was on the ship.
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"K" what a wonderful gesture ! This is what it is all about.. Regards, Bob.

Bob, I couldn't have said it better. What a fantastic site this is to be sure. Chalky

Agree with all comments! Outstanding Kookaburra!

Thanks gents - I'm blushing. Andrew I didn't thus far find as many photos etc of the old Manoora in other books as I expected. I'll post if I find more. Here's a scrappy selection of various sizes, including some I picked up off the net which you probably already have: 1. Frank Norton's painting of HMAS Manoora intercepting the Italian [I]M.V. Romolo [/I] in the Pacific just after Italy's entry to the war is pretty famous. Happened June 12, 1940. Italian scuttled herself in the face of [I]Manoora's[/I] might. Your Dad has probably already seen it in the war-time services annual 'H.M.A.S.' Pic 5 is Manoora's escape (undamaged) from Singapore. Others are in her various civilian guises, and war-time initially as an Armed Merchant Cruiser, and then Landing Ship Infantry. The chap in the white uniform - which I just happened upon - is Chief Petty Officer James Cooke.
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Hi Andrew, My uncle, Charles William Delbridge served on HMAS Manoora in 1940 -41 as a gunner. His brother Frederick John Delbridge was a stoker. Both transferred to HMAS Perth in Nov 1941. Fred was KIA and Charles survived as a POW. I have enclosed a photo of Charles and some of the crew taken on Manoora. He is the last on the right (standing). Don't know if your dad was on her then but if so it may jog a few memories. Cheers Bruce
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Hi guys thanks for the photos and thanks to Kookaburra PM sent.My pops name was Ernest Churchman he also served on the river class HMAS Barcoo during the war.I am currently getting a picture framed of the Barcoo, the picture is the Barcoo in front of the Sydney harbor bridge it looks arwsome. Andrew

Also does anyone have photos of HMAS Leeuwin during the war.I cannot find any on the net. Cheers Andrew

Hi Guys just thought I would post again to see if anyone has photos of HMAS leeuwin. Andrew

I'm not sure if you mean the ship or the training establishment. Here's something for starters: [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMAS_Leeuwin[/url] [url]http://www.leeuwin28th.com/[/url]

[QUOTE=churchy;29120]Hi Guys just thought I would post again to see if anyone has photos of HMAS leeuwin. Andrew[/QUOTE] Andrew, HMAS Leeuwin was the name of a shore recruit training establishment at Fremantle. It's a bit confusing because in the late 1950s there was a Harbour Defence Motor Launch (HDML) - HDML 1325 - that took the name SBD [I]Leeuwin[/I] , but I'm pretty sure there was no ship of that name during the war. Are you sure you haven't got this confused with the place your dad has perhaps mentioned as the place where he did his recruit training? . K

Hmmm. HMAS Leeuwin (A 245) is the lead ship of the Leeuwin Class of Hydrographic Survey vessels of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). She was launched 1997. It is the first ship of that name in the RAN. The navy base operated between 1940 and 1986. [B][/B]
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Hi, My dad was a Chief Petty Officer on the Quickmatch and the Manoora during WW2. I have 2 pics of the Manoora returning with troops in 1945 through the Harbour if you are interested. Regards Jeannie

Hi Jeannie, Firstly, welcome to WNSF....I hope you enjoy it here....it's a great forum. Also, although I don't have anything to do with this thread (or the Manoora) I'm sure that the people of the forum would love it if you could share your pictures here. As you can see by the last date (Dec. 2008)... this thread has been inactive for a while (probably through lack of any more info)...but I'm sure that there will still be interest out there. (Especially from Spruso/Bruce, who is currently not logged on.) Looking forward to seeing your pictures. Regards, Bee (daughter of a late WW2 Coastal Forces veteran.)

[QUOTE=Jeannie;100247]Hi, My dad was a Chief Petty Officer on the Quickmatch and the Manoora during WW2. I have 2 pics of the Manoora returning with troops in 1945 through the Harbour if you are interested. Regards Jeannie[/QUOTE] Hi Jeannie, Welcome, and just re-inforcing what Bee has said, I'm sure many here would love to see the pics you refer to of Manoora in the harbour. Thanks for offering. Do you know how to go about it - i.e. the pics need to be scanned into a 'My Pictures' file in your computer, and then attached in a message here to the thread [i.e. by the paperclip symbol above, which will take you to a field for downloading], after which, when the downloading is complete, you minimize that download field to return to your message field, press preview [which will show the pic below your message], and then...press submit. Not too hard in practice, but let's know if you need help. Look forward to seeing them. Bests, Kookaburra.

I too would love to see them Jeannie. All I can add to Kookaburras excellent advice regarding uploading pictures here is to select the 300dpi size when scanning them in to your computer in the first place. :)

Hi Kookaburra, Have the pics in My Pictures but when I click on the paperclip I either get an error or nothing at all happens. SOS Jeannie [QUOTE=kookaburra;100271]Hi Jeannie, Do you know how to go about it - i.e. the pics need to be scanned into a 'My Pictures' file in your computer, and then attached in a message here to the thread [i.e. by the paperclip symbol above, which will take you to a field for downloading], after which, when the downloading is complete, you minimize that download field to return to your message field, press preview [which will show the pic below your message], and then...press submit. Not too hard in practice, but let's know if you need help. Look forward to seeing them. Bests, Kookaburra.[/QUOTE]

Hi Jeannie, I am a bit stuck as to why that should be happening ... I am going to go through the steps here myself so you can follow - but first, when getting started in a minute, I suggest you first [U]shut down [/U]this World Naval Ships Forum - in fact, shut down your computer for a few minutes - and then switch on again and come back to us. When back, don't take the steps too fast ...I don't know whether you are on broadband or ADSL, but give each page a few moments or so to complete uploading to your computer. I.E. Don't be too fast on the trigger ... Okay, now, step I ... I have pressed the 'Reply to thread' and written my message, that is, this message that you're now reading. step 2...To attach the photo, I'm clicking on the paperclip symbol up top, next to the smiley face. step 3...That took me to the uploading page with the set of little 'browse' windows up top.,I clicked on the top one and browsed through the 'My Picture' folders until I found the photo I wanted, and 'selected' it [by clicking on word 'select' at the top of the new set of options that appeared. Step 4... Once the code words for my selected photo then showed in the little browser window, signifying it was ready, I double-clicked on the 'upload' button on the lower right of that page and waited until my pic had uploaded [it's uploaded when the code disappears from the little 'browse' window, and a blue line message appears at the bottom of the page saying its uploaded]. Step 5. I then [U]minimised[/U] that page, and went back to my message field. Pressed the option 'preview post' at the bottom of the message page. Step 6. The thumbail of my selected photo appeared at the bottom of this message, so everything's okay [you can have a problem if your scanned photo is too big , say over 500kb, but let's put that aside for the moment, and assume your's is okay - as mine is here.] Step 7. Finish by clicking on the 'Submit Reply' button on the bottom of the page, and it will all go through quickly, with your message and the thumbnail pic at the bottom appearing on the thread. The thumbnail of your pic is there, ready to be clicked on and enlarged by anyone who wants to see it big. And you can edit your message if you wish to, by clicking 'edit'. THAT'S IT. LESSON FINISHED EXTRA POINT: PICTURE SIZE. If your photo has scanned too big, [anything much over 500 KB really] and they often do scan bigger, you will need to resize it or the server at WNSF may reject it. Re-sizing can be done in several ways, but let's hope you have the easy way, and that your photo is already appearing on your computer within a Microsoft Picture Manager format, with an 'edit photograph' function above the photo. Clicking that will bring up a re-sizing option, amongst others, on the righthand side of the page, and you will see where you can start to reduce your photo in percentage terms. Try to get it down to reading about 1200 x 800 pixels in the numbers below the 're-sizing option', which are spinning over as you take the percentage down. You will see what I mean - not as complex as it sounds. Anyway, if that's not all there and clear before you, well, we'll face that problem when we have too, but you would be wanting to find this Microsoft Picture Manager function in your computer, and starting to use it. There are other ways, one being the searching out of a free and automatic photo re-sizing service on the Internet, but as I say ...later... if we have to ... Let's try the LESSON STEPS. First, turn off WNSF, the Forum,now - in fact turn off your computer for a few minutes, re-boot and come back to us...and then, try following the steps above. Hope it all works, and very good luck. K.
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[QUOTE=kookaburra;100585]... If your photo has scanned too big, [anything much over 500 KB really] and they often do scan bigger, you will need to resize it or the server at WNSF may reject it. ...[/QUOTE]Usually I keep the original version and resize or edit a copy. Sometimes, someone might ask for a bigger picture sent to him.

Jeannie one last but [B]important [/B]point, which might well be the cause of your problems. Ensure that your pictures are JPEGs rather than Bitmaps. [If this is the case and you need help changing them over please say].

Hi Everyone, Thanks for all the help but I did work out what was wrong just after I sent the SOS I have posted the pics attached to the new member email I sent. Unfortunately I am working night shifts and I have only just seen the great help you gave me yesterday. The problem was my computer was disallowing the popup window. After I allowed it it was smooth sailing.Check out the pics. Jeannie

Great. They were very well worth the wait and interest Jeannie, as they are excellent and previously unseen pics of Manoora. Would you kindly take a look at a PM I'm sending. Thanks, K.

Hi, What is a PM? I am a nurse and all that means to me is Post Mortem:)

It's a 'Private Message' - look up in the top right corner of the Forum page and you'll see 'Welcome Jeannie' and below that a blue link line to your private messages. Don't worry Nurse - not many are dead there. Bests, K.

[QUOTE] Hi, What is a PM? I am a nurse and all that means to me is Post Mortem:) [/QUOTE] Jeannie, I've just finished my 12 hour nightshift working on the 999 ambulances, checked in on the forum before I go to bed for tonights shift. Your reply had me in stitches.....(pun intended):D:D made my day already!! Regards Alan

Made me laugh too Jeannie. Thanks. :D We don't have too many [B]p[/B]ost [B]m[/B]ortems on here...although sometimes the moderators do have to kill off some of the posts on various threads. Cheers, Bee

It's amazing how many of our members have a personal connection to HMAS Manoora. The Australian War Memorial has a number of photos showing the [I]Manoora's[/I] officers and crew, many of whom are identified in the accompanying description. The first 3 photos are dated October 1945 and show the crew for each watch of 8 hours and named Red, White and Blue Watch. Fourth photo is same date and of the Officers, and the fifth photo 1942. Here's the "Description" for each of the photos and the link to the AWM webpage. Although the photo quality is not so good, you can order copies of the original from the AWM. Perhaps some of the relatives our members are searching for are in the photos. regards Ash airlana [U]First Photo[/U] Group portrait of HMAS Manoora personnel of Red Watch grouped on A Deck. The ship's personnel are grouped into three watches (named Red, White and Blue) of eight hours duration. Identified, left to right, back row: eleven unidentified; Able Seaman (AB) M Collins (probably S7338 Francis Michael Collins); PM4661 Leading Seaman Noel Lugsden Grant, later awarded a Distinguished Service Medal. Second row: PA3028 Sig Noel McCartney; Coder Robert (Bob) "Blue" Eiszele; PM4835 AB Robert William (Tony) Allen; six unidentified; B4252 AB Frederick John Young; PM4989 AB Leonard Charles (Len) Haygarth; AB G Keeble; PM7094 Sig Basil Rex Hansford . Front row: 26059 Coder Stanley Willis; four unidentified; PM5021 Leading Seaman Dennis Henry George Rattray; B4133 AB Kenneth John Coombs; four unidentified; PM4867 AB John Alexander Banks. [URL="http://cas.awm.gov.au/photograph/118842"]http://cas.awm.gov.au/photograph/118842[/URL] [U]Second Photo[/U] Group portrait of HMAS Manoora personnel of White Watch grouped on A Deck. The ship's personnel are grouped into three watches (named Red, White and Blue) of eight hours duration. Identified, left to right, back row: five unidentified; PM4837 Oordinary Seaman Terence George Lonergan; unidentified; PA3116 Able Seaman (AB) Roderick Frank Kleinig; three uinidentified; AB Geoffrey Wilkinson (probably PM5048 Alfred Geoffrey Wilkinson); two unidentified: PM4792 AB Graham Walter Robinson. Second row: unidentified; AB R J Mobbs; five unidentified; PA2892 AB Reginald Edward Henry Coulter; unidentified; possibly Keith Gibson. Front row: seven unidentified; PM4988 AB Keith Charles James Kemeys; possibly PA2895 AB Laurence Gerald Ahern; PM4785 AB James Davison; three unidentified; 33887 AB Edward McCormick. [URL="http://cas.awm.gov.au/photograph/118841"]http://cas.awm.gov.au/photograph/118841[/URL] [I]Third Photo[/I] Group portrait of HMAS Manoora personnel of Blue Watch grouped on A Deck. The ship's personnel are grouped into three watches (named Red, White and Blue) of eight hours duration. Identified, left to right, back row: S10476 Able Seaman (AB) Glendon Albert (Glen) Simmonds; unidentified; F4399 AB Norman Edward Townsend; two unidentified; H2299 AB Robert John Flett; B3855 AB Arthur Ronald Imison; three unidentified; PA3215 AB Desmond Roy Roach; Stoker Colin Willington; Stoker George "Rocky" Gardner; Stoker Bill Sehloite?; four unidentified; B3546 Stoker Claude "Tubby" Turbet [Robert Ernest Claude Turbet]; two unidentified. Second row; five unidentified; S6977 AB John Robert (Jack) Timmins; S8309 AB William (Bill) Hird; all others unidentified. Front row: seven unidentified; S7250 Ronald Gordon Ayres; all others unidentified. [URL="http://cas.awm.gov.au/photograph/118844"]http://cas.awm.gov.au/photograph/118844[/URL] [U]Fourth Photo[/U] Group portrait of Officers of HMAS Manoora on A Deck. Identified left to right, back row: four unidentified. Second row: Lieutenant (Lt) N Cannington; PM4170 Lt Leo John Hugh Cantwell; PM3295 Pay Lt Archibald Keith Ritchie; unidentified; Lt Henry John George (Harry) Heath; unidentified. Third row: all unidentified. Front row: unidentified; Lt Commander (Pay) "Diamond Jim" Brady; Lt Cdr (E) J Hanlon or Eng Commander Burns; Captain Alan Paterson Cousin DSO RANR; three unidentified. [URL="http://cas.awm.gov.au/photograph/118845"]http://cas.awm.gov.au/photograph/118845[/URL] [U]Fifth Photo[/U] NSW ? c. 1942. Group portrait of the officers of the armed merchant cruiser (AMC) HMAS Manoora. Engineer Lieutenant Charles Short McVey RANVR (middle row fourth from left) served as a crew member on the Manoora's first voyage to Australia in 1935. His association with the Manoora was resumed after the merchant ship was commissioned into the RAN in 1939. McVey was given a commission in the RANVR and served on Manoora and her sister ship HMAS Kanimbla during several of the later amphibious landings in which the two ships took part. McVey remained in the RANR until he retired in 1956 with the rank of Commander and was awarded the VRD for his service. [URL="http://cas.awm.gov.au/photograph/P02357.001"]http://cas.awm.gov.au/photograph/P02357.001[/URL]
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Thanks everyone for this thread. My father and grandfather both served on the Manoora. Grandfather - Wilfred Arthur Vaughan during the second world war Father - John Richard Vaughan was on several tours to New Guinea and Japan after the war.

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