Cruiser: The Life And Loss Of Hmas Perth And Her Crew

by Mike Carlton
5 stars 4 comments

The definitive biography of the Australian cruiser HMAS Perth, and the brave men who sailed with her.

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Synopsis

Of all the Australians who fought in the Second World War, none saw more action nor endured so much of its hardship and horror as the crew of the cruiser HMAS Perth.Most were young - many were still teenagers - from cities and towns, villages and farms across the nation. In three tumultuous years they did battle with the forces of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, the Vichy French and, finally, the Imperial Japanese Navy. They were nearly lost in a hurricane in the Atlantic. In the Mediterranean in 1941 they were bombed by the Luftwaffe and the Italian Air Force for months on end until, ultimately, during the disastrous evacuation of the Australian army from Crete, their ship took a direct hit and thirteen men were killed.After the fall of Singapore in 1942, HMAS Perth was hurled into the forlorn campaign to stem the Japanese advance towards Australia. Off the coast of Java in March that year she met an overwhelming enemy naval force. Firing until her ammunition literally ran out, she was sunk with the loss of 353 of her crew, including her much-loved captain and the Royal Australian Navy’s finest fighting sailor, ‘Hardover’ Hec Waller.Another 328 men were taken into Japanese captivity, most to become slave labourers in the infinite hell of the Burma-Thai railway. Many died there, victims of unspeakable atrocity. Only 218 men, less than a third of her crew, survived to return home at war’s end.CRUISER, by journalist and broadcaster Mike Carlton, is their story. And the story of those who loved them and waited for them.

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Your Reviews

  1. SimRah5 stars

    2 December 2011 at 8:59pm

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    Thank you for researching and writing "Cruiser" the story of HMAS Perth. You have unearthed a missing part of my families history concerning the death of my Able Seaman Uncle Ronald 'Seamus' O'Brien in Burma. Uncle Ron served on the HMAS Perth and all we knew from the death telegram we received was that he perished through illness on the Burma Railway. Your detailed account of his death and personal dialogue with his mates just prior to his death may have given me chills up my spine when I read the extract at the time, but it has also given my family a sense of closure. I would love to get in contact with the living source of that very personal information concerning my uncle so I can say thanks on behalf of the family. Thanks again Mike for writing this important book.

  2. shaun jarvis0 stars

    20 February 2012 at 2:19am

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    this book was so good. i laughed and cried and took in all of the story. amazing. thinking back to that time these sailors really lived a life. to any one they should get the book and read it with great enthusiasm

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