Quiet Courage by Tony Matthews

Author:Tony Matthews
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781922387592
Publisher: Big Sky Publishing

Wreckage being cleared aboard the Empire Star following the Japanese attack, 12 February, 1942.

—Courtesy of the Australian War Memorial.

Accession number P09909.010.

for the following four hours as more dive-bombers and heavy bombers arrived at the scene of the battle to drop their bombs from heights varying from a few hundred feet up to ten thousand feet. The Empire Star managed to avoid most of these bombs by carrying out violent evasive measures for which Captain Capon was later highly praised. He subsequently stated that he had been aided in these endeavours by two officers: Captain George Wright, an employee of the Singapore Pilot Service, and the third officer of the Empire Star, James Peter Smith, both of whom had, ‘... coolly kept the attacking aircraft under close observation, keeping me at the same time advised of their manoeuvres and their probable and eventual angle of attack,’ as Captain Capon later wrote.22.

Precise details of these attacks were never recorded but it was believed that the ship had been attacked by about forty-seven twin-engined Japanese bombers. The lifeboat that had been damaged during the first attack was completely destroyed. The ship experienced several near misses from the large bombs, some exploding close on either side of the vessel, partially lifting it from the water. Those on board at the time, particularly those in the holds, could feel the ship lifting as the bombs exploded nearby.

The chief engineer and his engineer officers worked at keeping the ship’s engines running and also keeping the fire pumps in operation thus releasing men from the engineering staff to help the damage control parties fight fires. The ship’s boatswain and carpenter worked tirelessly, leading the damage control parties and also leading those who were attempting to get the wounded to the ship’s hospital.

The sea all around was a mass of explosions. The two escort ships were taking defensive action, firing heavily at the Japanese bombers, while the other merchant vessel, the Gorgon, was also coming under attack.

While the bombs were exploding and the Empire Star was careering crazily around in the water attempting to evade them, other Japanese aircraft were mercilessly raking the thronged decks with machine-gun fire. For the hundreds of people on deck there was little cover, all they could do was to crouch behind equipment or cargo (such as the lorries on deck) or deck-housings in a desperate attempt to evade the deadly sprays of bullets. It was at this moment that the two Australian nurses, Margaret Anderson and Vera Torney, placed their lives on the line to aid those in their care. The decks were severely overcrowded and those who were wounded were crying out for assistance. Medical staff were doing what they could under dangerous and difficult conditions but the Japanese were making life tenuous indeed.

At this particular point in the drama the attacks on the ship appeared to ease momentarily. Margaret Anderson and Vera Torney were in a small cabin tending to a number of wounded soldiers who were being smothered by the heavy smoke and flames of the fires.

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