NOELL, Alfred John
| Service Number: | 23728 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 10 November 1939, Fremantle, WA |
| Last Rank: | Able Seaman |
| Last Unit: | HMAS Sydney (II) - D48 WW2 |
| Born: | Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, Australia, 12 August 1922 |
| Home Town: | Bickley, Kalamunda, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Indian Ocean, 20 November 1941, aged 19 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Tree Plaque: |
Kalamunda Stirk Park Memorial Walk
|
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Carnarvon HMAS Sydney II Memorial, Carnarvon Walk of Remembrance, Geraldton HMAS Sydney II Honour Roll, Geraldton HMAS Sydney II Memorial, Kalamunda Darling Range Road District Roll of Honour, Kings Park Western Australia State War Memorial, Mosman Bradleys Head HMAS Sydney Memorial, Plymouth Naval Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement 23728, HMAS Sydney (II) - D48 WW2 | |
|---|---|---|
| 10 Nov 1939: | Enlisted Royal Australian Navy, Able Seaman, 23728, HMAS Sydney (II) - D48 WW2, Fremantle, WA |
Help us honour Alfred John Noell's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by David Flint
Born on 12/8/1922, Alfred John Noell was the son of Frederick and Elizabeth Noell of Bickley.
Three months before his eighteenth birthday, on 10/5/1940, Alfred Noell enlisted in the R.A.N. at Fremantle, to become Stoker/R.A.N./H.M.A.S. Sydney.
In its short warfare action the Sydney had been involved in a great deal of conflict and action and on escort duties in the Mediterranean and at Gallipoli. The light cruiser Sydney was returning from the Sunda Strait having completed an escort of a troopship to the then Dutch East Indies, from Albany, when it encountered what was thought to be a Dutch trading vessel. In reality it was the German destroyer Kormorant, disguised. On nearing to 1000metres of the Kormorant the attack between the two ships began with the Sydney being sunk with all of its crew of 645 lost. Some 25 of the damaged Kormorant survived this sea battle of 12/11/1941, which occurred to the east of Carnarvon.
This was the greatest loss of life in an Australian warship. A Carly raft was the only evidence found of the sinking of the Sydney and the wartime tragedy shocked Australians who then realised that German hostility was not confined to Europe an N.Africa.
Alfred Noell lived for just nineteen years, the last year of which was in the service of his country. He would never see again his parents and friends of the lovely Bickley Valley.
His grave/memorial is not at the bottom of the Indian Ocean where he lies, but at the Plymouth, (England) Naval Memorial and at the Canberra War Museum.
NOELL, Alfred John (missing H.M.A.S. Sydney, November 17, 1941).—Beloved eldest son of Elizabeth and Frederick Noell (Bickley); loved brother of Marianne. Dorothy and Edgar (A.I.F, Rabaul): brother-in-law of Allen and George: darling uncle of Sandra.
To live in the hearts of those we leave behind us is not to die.