HASS, Mervan Loui Wallace
| Service Number: | 24311 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 11 May 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Able Seaman |
| Last Unit: | HMAS Sydney (II) - D48 WW2 |
| Born: | Brisbane, QLD, 16 March 1921 |
| Home Town: | Zillmere, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Indian Ocean, 20 November 1941, aged 20 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Carnarvon HMAS Sydney II Memorial, Carnarvon Walk of Remembrance, Geraldton HMAS Sydney II Memorial, Kangaroo Point H.M.A.S. Moreton Honour Roll, Plymouth Naval Memorial to the Missing / Lost at Sea, Sandgate War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Able Seaman, 24311, HMAS Sydney (II) - D48 WW2 | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 May 1940: | Enlisted Royal Australian Navy, Able Seaman, 24311 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
Enlisted in Brisbane in May, 1940. Hass was the second son of Mr. and Mrs. E. Hass, of Zillmere Road, Zillmere.
𝗠𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝗻 𝗟𝗼𝘂𝗶 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝘀𝘀 was born on the 16th March 1921 in Sandgate, Brisbane and was the third child of parents Emil Loui Heldelmuth Hass and Florence Ann Scott.
Mervan enlisted with the Royal Australian Navy in Sydney, New South Wales on the 11th May 1940. He served as Ordinary Seaman on HMAS Cerberus until the 11th February 1941 when he was transferred to HMAS Sydney and was promoted to Able Seaman on the 11th April.
On the 19th November 1941, whilst returning from convoy duties to Java, HMAS Sydney sighted what appeared to be a merchant vessel. The ship was in fact the German Auxiliary Cruiser “Kormoran”. The two ships were involved in a mutually destructive engagement with both vessels sinking off the coast of Western Australia. The lives of all 645 on board HMAS Sydney were lost at sea. The shipwreck site of both ships was found on the 16th March 2008 with both ships lying 29 metres apart.
Mervan is commemorated at the Plymouth Naval Memorial in the United Kingdom on Panel 56, Column 3. There is also a memorial at Geraldton in Western Australia for the officers and men lost on HMAS Sydney.
𝙇𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙒𝙚 𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙩
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