Princess Royal Fortress Military Museum > Records

Mayor of Perth ‘Letter of Sympathy’ for Stoker Francis Bernard KEENAN

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1941

Overview

A typed letter on the white letterhead paper of the Lord Mayor of Perth. A Coat of Arms is printed in the top center of the paper and the address of the Mayoral chambers to the right side of this, both printed in blue. The letter is signed by the Lord Mayor in brown ink. The letter is mounted on brown board.

Historical information

This letter was sent by the then Lord Mayor of Perth Sir Thomas William MEAGHER who served in this position throughout the war years from 1939 to 1945, to the mother of Stoker Francis Bernard KEENAN. Stoker KEENAN was killed in action aged 25 when HMAS Sydney II was sunk in the Indian ocean by the German auxiliary cruiser HSK Kormoran on 20 November 1941. Stoker Keenan was born in Wagin WA in 1916, worked as a miner in the WA goldfields and enlisted on 9 June 1939.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-12-2007.15.1

Item type

Letters

Themes

War and Conflict > World War 2

Material

Board

Ink

Paper

Width

203 mm

Height or length

254 mm

Weight

58 g

Inscriptions and markings

“LORD MAYOR’S ROOM, / COUNCIL CHAMBERS, / PERTH. / 4th December, 1941. / Mrs. C. Keenan, / Cornwall Cottage, / Orrong Road, / CARLISLE. / Dear Mrs. Keenen, / I was very sad to hear that your / dear son was amongst those who took part in the / last gallant action of H.M.A.S. “Sydney”. On / behalf of the Lady Mayoress, the Councillors of / the City of Perth and myself, I wish to offer / you my most sincere sympathy in your great loss. / It is tragic to think that the / bravest and best of our young manhood must make / the supreme sacrifice, but it is because such / men as your son have always answered our Nation’s / call that we have become and will remain a great / Empire. / Would you kindly convey our / expressions of sympathy to the members of your / family. / Yours sincerely, / LORD MAYOR.”

Contextual information

On 19 November 1941, HMAS Sydney, a light cruiser of the Royal Australian Navy with an impressive record of war service, was lost following a battle with the German raider HSK Kormoran in the Indian Ocean off the Western Australian coast. The loss of the Sydney with its full war complement remains Australia’s worst naval disaster. Apart from two pieces of debris, no sign was found of Sydney or the 645 aboard. It was the largest loss of life in the history of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), and the largest Allied warship lost with all hands during World War Two. HSK Kormoran was also sunk, but 317 of its crew of 397 were rescued. A memorial to the ship and its service personnel was dedicated in 2001 in Geraldton WA. The exact location of the two wrecks was unknown until 16 March 2008 when the wreck of the Sydney was discovered at a depth of 2400 metres, 112 nautical miles west of Steep Point WA.

Keywords

Second World War

HMAS Sydney

Royal Australian Navy

Geraldton

HMK Kormoran

Place made

Perth, Western Australia, Australia

Year

1941

Primary significance criteria

Historic significance