Cocos

Rich Horne wrote this account of experiences had as a toiler of the sea on a naval ship, the HMAS Sydney, before and at the beginning of WWI. He describes the Pacific during 1913 -1914 from his ...

http://cocossydney.blogspot.com/2008/08/blog-post_6318.html

  “Mia Mia” Esplanade, Hampton 22.5.1916 Dear Bert, This is just a short account of my wanderings from the time I left England in July 1913. Well, we arrived in Sydney with our new Fleet ...

http://cocossydney.blogspot.com/2008/08/blog-post_8196.html

Melbourne is our head-quarters and our depot, and while we were in Melbourne, I was sent to depot to go through the Gunnery School for “Gunlayer”. I was one of the first two classes of Gunla...

http://cocossydney.blogspot.com/2008/08/13.html

It was fine going up to Thursday Is, winding in and out, through the reefs, day and night, it happened to be lovely moonlight nights and there is absolutely no better place to be at sea than in...

http://cocossydney.blogspot.com/2008/08/2.html

They had a gig wireless station on the island, but it was too far inland for us to take it then and I suppose we had other work on, so we left that day until we got land troops and took possessi...

http://cocossydney.blogspot.com/2008/08/blog-post.html

Early in the morning we got a good laugh, although we were all a bit mad over losing our submarine, we spied a small boat under sail and oars, pulling for their lives, as we bore down upon them,...

http://cocossydney.blogspot.com/2008/08/4.html

Well, we began to get into good spirits at the idea of returning to Sydney but, when we got over half way, and with the “Australia” all ready for harbour and a chance of a run ashore, for som...

http://cocossydney.blogspot.com/2008/08/5.html

We weren’t in Fiji long, before we were sent to Sydney at full speed to dock, coal, provision and paint ship, as quickly as possible (we couldn’t do it under 4 days) and proceed to Albany W....

http://cocossydney.blogspot.com/2008/08/6.html

Well, to tell you all about it as I remember it, was that at about 7.30 in the morning, we altered course, and left the convoy, and we began to gather speed until we were doing about 20 odd knot...

http://cocossydney.blogspot.com/2008/08/7.html

I looked round and saw my gunlayer laying on the deck crumpled up and the gun’s crew gone, I stepped out of the tub of water and quite unconsciously was on my heels, I looked down at my right f...

http://cocossydney.blogspot.com/2008/08/8.html

For me it was a kind of wild nightmare, but is was real fine when it was over, and you knew you had won. I cheered and then properly broke down as they had just moved my gunlayer away, dead. My i...

http://cocossydney.blogspot.com/2008/08/9.html

Although the ship was very crowded with Germans etc. the ship’s crew were being very hard worked, we were looked after very fine, the lads and the officers did absolutely everything they could...

http://cocossydney.blogspot.com/2008/08/10.html

Well I had a very rough time of it in Hospital for a time, and quietly I thought they were going to send me “dotty” but I pulled through alright, but I was glad when we left Ceylon and we h...

http://cocossydney.blogspot.com/2008/08/11.html

Rich Horne had settled in Hampton, Melbourne, when he wrote this letter. He made a career as a public servant there and he married Milly. They lived in a house named 'Cocos' . All their children ...

http://cocossydney.blogspot.com/2008/08/12.html

Battle of Cocos by Neil Horne

http://cocossydney.blogspot.com/2008/08/3.html