Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA: 1931 - 1954) Thursday 17 August 1944
CORVETTE IN PORT
Men Tell Of Their Experiences
Commissioned in June, 1942, the Australian-built corvette HMAS Ipswich has returned to an Australian port after nearly two years active service in the Mediterranean and Indian Oceans, chiefly on convoy work.
During that period the vessel, whose complement includes men from every State of the Common- wealth, has travelled 86,000 miles, was chiefly responsible for the sinking of an enemy submarine in the Indian Ocean, was credited with the destruction of a German bomber, and took part in escorting between seven and ten million tons of shipping with a loss of only 6,000 tons.
It was not until they reached Australia that the crew learned that their commanding officer, Lt. Ronald H. Creasey, RANR (S), of Bondi, NSW, had been decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross, that AB James Nicholson, of New South Wales, had been awarded the Distinguished Service Medal and that Lt. W. W. McQueen, RANVR, and Leading Sig. W. J. Davies had been mentioned in dispatches. The citation to Lt Creasey's award referred to his "leadership and skill on convoy escort duty."
About two-thirds of the corvette's original complement were with her when she reached this country. She has been fortunate in not having suffered a single casualty from enemy action, and the crew de- scribed as "incredible good luck' the fact that they had returned without even a shrapnel mark on the ship.
Lurk At Bombay
On one occasion when the ship's company were on leave at Bombay some of them paid a visit to the local racecourse. There, with the assistance of tips from Australian jockeys now located in that city, they had a most successful day backing winners, and returned to their ship some hundreds of pounds better off. One man is reported to have mailed home a bank draft for £200.
The Ipswich first took up duties with the Eastern Fleet at the end of 1942, and when transferred to the Levant station she was in action in the Mediterranean about 12 months ago while escorting a convoy from Malta to Gibraltar. When His Majesty the King visited Tripoli on June 21, 1943, the Ipswich provided part of the guard of honor which he inspected.
When leaving the Levant station to rejoin the Eastern Fleet, the vessel received the following tribute from the Commander-in-Chief: — "The hard work you have done on the Levant station has been of great value. Good-bye and good luck."
It was while on duty in the Indian Ocean that the Ipswich assisted the corvette Launceston and an Indian Navy sloop to sink a large enemy submarine. Describing the sinking, Sub-Lt. B. A. Fernandez, RANR, of Riverton, SA, said that they were convoying in the Bay of Bengal. At 8.30 one morning, he heard a terrific explosion while shaving.
Torpedo Attack
"Looking out of the porthole," he said, "I saw a great column of water, smoke and debris rising to about two or three hundred feet above one of the ships in the convoy. It had been struck by a torpedo. Almost immediately afterwards a second torpedo hit the same ship. The Ipswich went straight into action and dropped five complete, patterns of depth charges. The Launceston was also dropping depth charges and a little later, the leader of the flotilla signalled a large patch of oil and many bubbles on the surface."
The submarine was regarded as an official "kill" for Ipswich.
Sub- Lt. Fernandez added. Lt. J. W Morphett, RNVR, first lieutenant, was born at Norwood, South Australia, but for some years previous to joining the Ipswich shortly after she was commissioned, he lived at Fremantle, WA. Sub-Lt. Fernandez, a member of the Jindyworobak Club, has almost completed a 25,000-word book on his experiences on the corvette. He hopes it will be published by Angus and Robertson Ltd.
The Commanding Officer of the Ipswich (Lt. Creasey) had 20 years' experience in the merchant service before joining the corvette in November last.
Chief Petty-Officer R. W. Harrison, of Kent Town, is one of the eight permanent RAN personnel on the vessel.
South Australians or former residents of South Australia who re- turned on Ipswich are:—G. Hosking, A. S. Johnson, R. W. Harrison, G. Smith, W. Litt, J. M. Dix, B. A. Fernandez, B. C. Phillips, R. G. Burford, G. C. Martin, R. Thwaites, M. C. Farr, N. Headland, W. Le Ray, J. Matten, R. A. Landon, R. A. Graefling, N. Fry, and S. L. T. Polson.
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article43216457