Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Patrick Stephen Jocelyn O’Connell Primrose (known as Prim) was born in Hong Kong on 31 May 1900. There is a discrepancy in Prim’s age on some official records as he put his age back a year so he could join up in World War I. His father Phillip Spencer Primrose was a Master mariner with the British Merchant Navy born in Lambeth England 1866. His mother was Alice Rosamond Smith who died when Prim was about three years old. He had two elder brothers Phillip and Charles and a younger sister Eileen. Prim was educated in England and Belgium before leaving school at the age of 14 after he threw an inkwell at a teacher and ran away to sea as a cabin boy in the Merchantile Marine. He joined the Royal Naval Air Service in 1917 before transitioning to the newly formed RAF. Rising to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant Prim relinquishing his rank on 01 September 1921.
On joining the RNAS in June 1917 I was sent for six weeks training – squad drills lectures etc. About 40 of us were on the course, and being probationary flight officers had to be addressed as sir. A regimental sergeant major of the Royal Marines took our first drill. A magnificent specimen of a man, straight as a gun barrel fine waxed moustache and a swagger stick under his arm, looking up and down the ranks, for some considerable time, a look that clearly indicated that we were something the cat dragged in, he roared “Sirs, before I proceed in trying to make Naval Officers out of you, and by the look of you I doubt if I can, I want you to remember and never forget, there are only two men on this station that matter I and the Admiral” – and by heavens he was right. A friend of mine came on parade incorrectly dressed. Looking him up and down the RSM roared “Mr Kafoops sir, two paces forward march”, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye he then stated in a very low voice “ the good book said that Jesus wept, but if he saw you now he’d ‘owl”.
In the middle of March 1918, I gained my pilots wings. While I was at Cranwell training on fighters, Sopwith Pups and Camels. I was as an ex seaman and not likely to be seasick when required to fly, selected for flying spotting aircraft off battleships. A platform was built over the forward big guns of the ship, which was then turned into the wind at full speed and the aircraft took off by quick release method. A Sopwith Pups was put into flying position, the tail skip being attached to a strong post driven into the ground. When maximum revs were reached, a lever in the aircraft was pulled, releasing the skid and after a very short run the Pup was airborne I did about six of these quick releases quite successfully but then, the Sopwith Pup was a dream of an aircraft to fly. Up to the time I did my first solo in camels I really enjoyed piloting a plane. Once I got off the ground in the Camel I knew I had met my master. It was dihedral on the bottom wing and straight on the top wing. The Camel had a vicious tendency to go into a spin in the right hand turn, our engines were rotary, this means that the whole engine and propeller turned around a fixed crankshaft. I never was game to do a right hand turn the few hours I flew a camel and eventually I turned a Camel over on its back taking off. This was caused by my knees bumping together in fear. This was my first prang, hanging upside down and unhurt. I think, one of the happiest moments of my life. I never flew Camels again.
I passed out on twin engine Hanley Page heavy bombers. After about 3 hours in command, all daylight flying, I also did a few circuits and bumps in B2C’s night flying. I was then posted to Stonehenge. Checked out on Morris Farman Shorthorn and FE’s daylight flying and FE’s night flying and bombing. After a couple of hours night flying on Hanley Page I was posted to France, with 213 squadron RAF attached to General Franchard’s independent Air Force. I never was a first class pilot having had three prangs of my own and one with somebody else. In normal raids we certainly did not depend on our navigators. I had a beauty an empty headed man called Barr who joined the Air Force to get away from the trenches. On raids he never failed to ask “and where are we?” Fortunately we only flew on moonlight nights. Our navigational aids were on our side of the line – fixed lighthouses flashing various numbers of dots.
In the interwar years Prim moved around Asia and the Pacific, managing mines and plantations in Fiji, Malaya and Papua.
I left the Air Force in April 1919, and left for Malaya about September the same year to become a rubber planter with Dunlop plantations. After nearly four years in what I consider to be grandest country I have worked in, I sailed for London in 1924 on leave. Unfortunately, severe bouts of malaria forced me to resign from Dunlop’s whilst I was in London. I then got a job as a clerk with a grain firm called Louis Dreyfus and Company, the biggest wheat and grain firm in the world. I was supposed to be trained for a job with the firm in South America, but when I found the firm really intended sending me to India, decided to leave them directly I could find another job.
When I came out to Australia in 1924 I went jackarooing on the 65,000 acre property called Kings Plains situated between Glen Innes and Inverell. The owner was a man called Dr Vivers, a really amazing man about 6’3”, quite distinguished looking, an upturned moustache. He used a monocle on all possible occasions. He took about eight years to get his medical degree but fortunately he never practiced. His three large sheep stations saved his patients from this.
After several more farming jobs Prim moved overseas.
I could see no future on the land I accepted a job in Fiji with a gold prospecting company as Confidential Clerk. The gold mining lease was situated on a mountain about 1200 feet above sea level on the Fijian island of Vanualolo (possibly Vatukoula?) – a most god forsaken place, but then most gold mines are found in god forsaken places of the earth. It rained every day of the 21 months I was there. Malcolm Cameron, later of Goroka (PNG highlands), who had spent 5 years on Mt Cassie mine which was next to our lease, told me that it had rained every day during his stay there. I returned to Sydney in 1937, got interested in the cement business financed by Arthur Onslow, father of Ted and Denzil Onslow. Everything looked promising, but Arthur Onslow died suddenly and my prospects of making oodles of money went up in smoke. I then took a job as Field Secretary with the Papan Apinaipi Oil Company at a place on the coast called Aiopa on the Gulf of Papua.
When war broke out Prim joined the RAAF in the General Duties category (later transferring to Admin and Special Duties) but did not undertake flying duties nor did he attend a RAAF Intelligence course. The situation at the time meant that positions had to be filled by whomever was available.
I was then posted to 23 Squadron at Archerfield an aerodrome just outside of Brisbane. Sometime late in 1939 or 1940, Air Chief Marshall Sir Charles Barnett of the RAF was on his was from London to Melbourne to take up his appointment as chief of the air staff of the RAAF. On his way through he dropped in on the Squadron and had lunch with us. Being the only first war bloke he talked to me quite a lot and questioned me on me service in the RNAS and RAF in the first show. Out of the blue he asked ‘and what do you do in the squadron Primrose?’ ‘I’m the Intelligence Officer’ I said with great gusto and pride, ‘why?’ said he, ‘buggered if I know’ said I, which rather rocked him until the CO told him I was from Papua where every second word we used was bugger- he forgave me.
In December 1940 Prim’s next posting was as 3 Squadron’s first Intelligence Officer where he spent over a year in the Western Desert. 3 squadron was most fortunate in having Prim as their first Squadron Intelligence Officer as he had experience in a squadron from the previous war, he was well travelled, mature, mixed well, liked a good yarn and a drink with his squadron mates. He also knew when the crews were tired and under pressure and relieved this where possible as recorded by John Jackson in his diary.
22 January 1941. I am operations officer today, though Prim has done most of it for me. Last night, as ops officer, I had to sleep in the operations tender all night and to decipher any “immediate” signals that came through, and Prim very decently offered to sleep in the tender also to assist me with the deciphering, which I don’t understand. It’s pretty tough that pilots have to stay up all night on this sort of job when we have two cypher officers and their two clerks on the station. I’m going to lodge an objection today – would never have finished the signals last night only from Prim.
On completion of his tour in the Middle East in April 1942 Prim was posted to HQ Northeast Area in Townsville where he became the Area Intelligence Officer. During this time he was attached (22 Aug – 06 Nov 1942) to Operational Base Fall River, the code name for Milne Bay and was there for the famous battle. Though, sadly, Prim did not pass on any information about of his time in Milne Bay he did talk about an incident that occurred in Townsville.
Whilst acting Senior Intelligence Officer and stationed at Townsville, headquarters of north eastern area. Mum (Nancy) and I had a flat on the Townsville waterfront. Arriving home one afternoon Mum greeted me with the news that a convoy was sailing the next day. I promptly rang my opposite number in the RAN a 2 ½ striper and asked him if the news was correct. Being the silent service the Navy wallah never told me anything and was quite concerned, and demanded to know Mum’s source of information. I told him the baker had given Mum the news. And how the devil did he know? Well the day before the convoy was due to leave over 1000 loaves of bread were ordered. Large orders of bread were always ordered the day before convoys were due to sail. I don’t think the Navy ever found the answer to this one.
In February 1944 to June 1945 Prim was posted to the Far Eastern Liaison Office (FELO) also known as Section D of the Allied Intelligence Bureau. FELO was responsible for propaganda and deception against the Japanese.
Security can certainly be carried to stupid limits. The last unit I served with – Psychological warfare – dropping leaflets and broadcasting to the enemy -called themselves for some unknown reason, the Far Eastern Liaison Office or FELO and were so security minded that all maps were covered with blinds. I might mention that the unit’s mention in war histories is anything but flattering. I personally got a most enjoyable five months temporary posting to India, attached to Lord Mountbatten’s South East Asian command based in Candy in Ceylon.
After the war Prim and his wife Nancy ran a café with attached mini golf course in Surfers Paradise from sometime. It was in Cavill Avenue – where McDonalds is now. Unfortunately they could not buy the cafe, but only leased it. Much of the profits were eaten and drunk by old airforce friends who would come down for weekends “to help”. In 1951, they bought a house in Mermaid Beach. Prim and Nancy moved in and soon after he was offered a job in New Guinea by Bobby Gibbes an old 3 squadron mate. He was Branch Manager for Gibbes Sepik Airways in Goroka. He had a small acreage outside Goroka where he grew vegetables, which were mainly sent to Lae and Port Moresby. He then got a job with the Papua New Guinean Government as a clerk with the Transport Department. He was still working there when he died in November 1968 at the age of 68.