Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Timor Written by Robert ‘Bob’ Moyle

On 14/2/1942 I together with a few hundred troops was loaded onto a small convoy to be despatched to Timor.
The convoy consisted of US Troopship USAT Meigs, US Supply Ship SS Mauna Loa, US Troopship Portmar and Supply Ship MV Tulagi. They were escorted by US Heavy Cruiser USS Houston, US Destroyer USS Peery and Australian Sloops HMAS Swan and HMAS Warrego.
I was on the Meigs which could hardly be called a Troopship. No toilets. No showers. No beds. Our toilets consisted of a length of household guttering fastened to the deck rail. For showers the crew hosed us down with sea water each day. Our bed was a straw palliasse on the floor of the tween deck.
We were a mixed lot. I, with a few others, was a reinforcement for the ‘Sparrow Force’, a small commando type unit whose mission was hit and run. Also on the convoy were a Pioneer Battalion, a US Infantry Battalion and other odd bods.
It was plain sailing until late on the second day when we were spotted by a lone Jap plane. That meant trouble.
The next day all hell broke loose. A group of Jap Bombers did their best to sink a few ships but fortunately they were not accurate. The Mauna Loa received a glancing hit but was still mobile. I think the good work done by the Houston saved us. Unfortunately, they suffered a few casualties. I later saw them take off a few body bags in Darwin.
On the third day the convoy changed course and headed back to Darwin. It appeared that an attack on Darwin was imminent and the government realized that there were no trained troops in Darwin, so it was a matter of return immediately.
We arrived back in Darwin on the afternoon of the 18th February 1942. Luckily, we disembarked immediately and were greeted by the Salvos with a cup of coffee.
The next day 19th February Darwin was bombed. The Meigs received a bomb down the funnel and was blown to bits. I was fortunate to have left the ship the day before. The American unit were still aboard the ship but managed to survive. Eight ships were sunk that day. What a disaster.
We heard a few days later that the Houston was sunk off Java.
Two bombings in one week with more to come. That’s another story.
NB: Officially 242 planes bombed Darwin on 19/2/1942. That’s more than attacked Pearl Harbour.