MAUNSELL, Allan Richard
| Service Number: | S/5801 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 7 August 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Able Seaman |
| Last Unit: | HMAS Australia (II) D84 - WW2 |
| Born: | Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia, 16 February 1923 |
| Home Town: | Bankstown, Bankstown, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Parramatta Superior Public School (now Arthur Phillip High School), New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Wounds, At Sea - HMAS Australia , 21 October 1944, aged 21 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Buried at sea - Plymouth Naval Memorial, Plymouth, Devon, England, United Kingdom |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, HMAS Australia (Honour Roll), Parramatta Arthur Phillip High School WW2 Roll Of Honour |
World War 2 Service
| 7 Aug 1941: | Enlisted Royal Australian Navy, Ordinary Seaman | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Oct 1944: | Involvement Able Seaman, S/5801, HMAS Australia (II) D84 - WW2 | |
| 21 Oct 1944: | Wounded Royal Australian Navy, Able Seaman, S/5801, RAN Operations SW Pacific 1944-45 - "Lleyte 1944 / Lingayen Gulf 1945", Allan was on the mast of HMAS Australia, early in the morning of 21 October 1944, in the Gulf of Leyte, when a Japanese kamakaze pilot crashed into the bridge of the ship. He died from his wounds. He was 21 years old, and he was buried at sea. His family was sent a telegram informing them of Allan’s death. |
A teddy called Uncle Allan
‘Uncle Allan’, the teddy bear, would be almost 100 years old today. He belonged to my mother’s older brother, Allan Maunsell. Allan would have got teddy some time after 1923, when he was born, and he became one of my mother’s most beloved possessions when Allan died at war in 1944. Teddy then moved in with me when my mother died in 2009. It was only then that I renamed him ‘Uncle Allan’, which seemed entirely appropriate. I wasn’t always so enamoured of this gnarly old bear, though. Growing up, I found him very rough to the touch, his pants were always falling down, he was missing an eye, and his right ear would often fall out. What was there to love about all those imperfections? Plenty, as it turns out! Uncle Allan will be loved forever.❤️
Submitted 24 January 2022 by Carolyn Kidd
Biography contributed by Carolyn Kidd
Allan Richard Maunsell, a son, brother and friend, lost on HMAS Australia (II) in the early hours of 21 October, 1944. Allan lost his life at the age of 21, and one can only imagine what trajectory his life may have taken if he hadn’t been killed at war.
He was handsome and very popular and, according to his younger sister, Marcia, very much the apple of his mother’s eye.
A photocopy of a long letter Allan sent from HMAS Australia a few months before he died (which I found in my mother’s possessions), shows a thoughtful, eloquent and caring young man who apologised for his slow reply to his friend’s letter. He also said he’d been so busy on the ship for the previous six weeks, he’d only had time to write to his “Mum” and to one other friend. He finishes the letter saying, “Don’t think I will be home for a long time yet.”
Allan was always destined to serve his country when at war. His father (Lewis), his grandfather (Richard) and his uncle (Allan) served in WWI, and his father also served in WWII. And, several generations of Maunsells before them also served. He was a hero to his family and he died an Australian hero.
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