Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

William Wardlaw is my Great Uncle and to me was known as “Uncle Bill”.  It is my honour to briefly share the story of his life and war service.

William Daniel Wardlaw was born on the 16th September 1904 in Wishaw, Lanarkshire, Scotland, the 10th child of 10 children born to his parents Andrew and Marion Wardlaw.  Bill had 5 sisters and 4 brothers.   When Bill was 6 years old the family migrated to Australia aboard the SS Perthshire, arriving in Brisbane just in time for Christmas on the 16th December 1911.  The family lived at Paddington initially and then at Coorparoo before moving to a farm at North Arm around 1918.  In October 1921 Bill’s father died aged just 60. 

On the 15th June 1927, aged 22, Bill joined the Royal Australian Navy as a Stoker 2nd Class.  After training at the naval base HMAS Cerberus in Victoria, on the 20th December 1927, Bill joined the crew on his first ship HMAS Platypus, a submarine depot ship serving at Garden Island naval base in Sydney NSW. 

In May 1928 Bill was promoted to Stoker and in August 1929 was posted to HMAS Albatross, a seaplane tender.  He was serving on the Albatross in January 1930 when his mother passed away aged 65.  Later that year he was posted to HMAS Platypus again which by now had been renamed HMAS Penguin.  He served on the Penguin until January 1932 when he was posted to the heavy cruiser HMAS Australia, affectionately known as “The Aussie” to those who served on her.  That year she cruised to several Pacific Islands including New Zealand, New Guinea and visited New York City in the USA. 

In 1933 the British Admiralty loaned the Royal Australian Navy four destroyers…Vampire, Vendetta, Voyager and Waterhen.  Bill was posted to HMAS Waterhen and served on her from October 1933 to October 1934.  He was then posted to HMAS Vendetta which departed Sydney on the 16th October to join the escort of HMS Sussex with His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester on board.

In 1934 Bill married Thelma Wellings at Waverley NSW where they settled into their first home. 

In mid January 1935 Bill was promoted to Acting Leading Stoker and in April was posted to HMAS Brisbane, a light cruiser.  On the 2nd May the Brisbane set sail on her final voyage to England for disposal.  She was manned by a complement which would form the balance of the ship's company of the new HMAS Sydney.  She arrived in Portsmouth on the 12th July.  The ship’s company remained there until the Sydney was ready for the voyage to Australia.  On 29th October, Sydney steamed out of Portsmouth, however, world events were to soon impact on the newly commissioned warship when Italy invaded Abyssinia.  Sanctions were quickly imposed on Italy and Sydney's voyage home was interrupted when she received orders to proceed to Gibraltar to reinforce the Royal Navy's Second Cruiser Squadron.   

An unfortunate outbreak of rubella among her crew, followed by mumps, added to the crew's frustrations when the ship was placed under a quarantine order which prevented her crew from going ashore until the illness passed.  In March 1936 Sydney joined HMAS Australia in Alexandria as part of the First Cruiser Squadron.  During the next four months the two Australian vessels continued to participate in numerous fleet exercises before finally sailing for home on 14th July.  Sydney's first Australian port of call was Fremantle, WA.  There she was warmly received by over 800 well-wishers.  Stopping there for a day, she proceeded to Melbourne VIC where she arrived on the 8th August.  The citizens of Melbourne turned out in droves to see the RAN's new light cruiser and the ship received some 18,000 visitors when she was opened for inspection at Prince's Pier.  On the 11th August, Sydney made her long awaited entry through Sydney Heads and into Port Jackson where her arrival was viewed from the shore by thousands of citizens who had turned out to see her.  As she slowly made her way through the channel she was saluted with the sound of ferry whistles as she made her way to a buoy off Garden Island.

After all the fanfare while serving on the Sydney, Bill was once again posted to HMAS Penguin in July 1937.  He served on her for 7 months before being posted back to HMAS Australia for a short time in February 1938.  

The next entry in Bill’s service records is illegible but by way of deduction, I believe he was serving on the HMAS Albatross.  HMS Apollo was a light cruiser stationed in Devonport UK.  She was transferred to the RAN as HMAS Hobart on the 28th September 1938 and was manned by the former crew of the seaplane carrier HMAS Albatross which had transferred to the Royal Navy.  The renaming ceremony was performed by the wife of the High Commissioner for Australia in London.  Hobart sailed from Portsmouth on the 28th October and arrived in Australia at the end of 1938 just in time for Christmas.  On the 6th February 1939 Hobart sailed from Sydney for her first port visit to her namesake city, Hobart, the capital of Tasmania.  She arrived on the 17th February and four days later had the distinction of fulfilling the role as the flagship of the 101st Hobart Regatta.  The next six months were spent working up and exercising off the eastern seaboard and visiting several south Pacific nations.

On the 12th April 1939 Bill was promoted to Acting Stoker Petty Officer. 

When war broke out on the 3rd September 1939 the Hobart was on patrol in the Bass Strait.  On the 14th October 1939 Hobart sailed for service on the East Indies Station stopping enroute at Darwin and Singapore where she arrived on 26th October.  Two days later she sailed and rendezvoused with a Royal Navy cruiser to patrol the west coast of Sumatra and the Sunda Strait.  On the 8th November Hobart joined the escort for a west bound convoy to Colombo and in early December she sailed from Bombay to escort an important convoy to Aden remaining with it until 15th December.  She then sailed for Colombo with orders to escort a convoy of French colonial troops through the Malacca Strait.  Sailing on the 23rd December she spent her first Christmas of the war at sea.  On Christmas Day a festive meal was provided and the messes were decorated.  The ship’s Captain had thoughtfully bought 100 gallons of beer in Colombo to provide Christmas cheer for his crew.  The ensuing months were spent escorting troop convoys in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.  During this period Hobart paid courtesy visits to the Kamaran Islands, Yemen and Mocha in the Red Sea.  The visit to Yemen saw Hobart anchor outside the three mile limit as Yemen was a neutral country.  A 21 gun salute was fired in honour of the Prince of Yemen who returned the honour with a visit to the ship with gifts of goats and eggs.

Hobart was at Aden when Italy entered the war on the 10th June 1940 and her first shots against an enemy were fired two days later when her anti-aircraft guns opened fire on three Italian aircraft during a raid on Aden.  At the end of the month Hobart embarked officers and men of the 2nd Punjabi Regiment in Aden to convey them to Berbera, Somaliland.  During the voyage there were some 1,300 men on board the cruiser and her upper decks were packed with troops.  On the 1st August 1940 Hobart arrived in Berbera, escorting and landing further reinforcements.  She remained there assisting in a general disembarkation while providing protection against any possible attack from the sea.  The British were heavily outnumbered by three Italian columns advancing overland so on the 15th August a general evacuation of the territory from Berbera was ordered.  Hobart assumed the role as the operational headquarters throughout the evacuation and her boats were the last ashore on the final day of the evacuation picking up stragglers.  At 07:45 on Monday the 19th August 1940, Hobart commenced bombarding Berbera.  On the 30thAugust Hobart came under a determined aerial attack from 4 Italian bombers.  Bombs fell nearby but none hit.  Hobart continued escort and patrol duties as a unit of the Red Sea Force until October 1940 when she returned to Australian waters. 

Once back in Australia Bill again served on HMAS Penguin until April 1941 when he served as part of the crew on the maiden voyage of the minesweeper HMAS Burnie after its commissioning.  Burnie initially served with the 20th Minesweeping Flotilla off Cape Otway then was based temporarily at Fremantle for escort and patrol duties.  She left Sydney for Singapore in June 1941 via Brisbane, Townsville, Cooktown, Thursday Island and Darwin, arriving in Singapore on the 12th July 1941 where she remained for 10 days at the British naval base HMS Sultan. 

On the 23rd July 1941 Bill was promoted to Stoker Petty Officer. 

When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941 Burnie was in Malayan waters.  Thereafter, in company with other Australian corvettes, she helped to oppose the Japanese advance through the Netherlands East Indies.  She was engaged in demolition work during this period - blowing up wharves, destroying oil and rubber stocks and military supplies - duties made extremely difficult by the constant Japanese air raids.  During this period Burnie, for a time, wore the broad pennant of Commodore JA Collins RAN, then Commodore Commanding the China Force.

Burnie was stationed at HMAS Leeuwin, the naval base at Freemantle WA, from February to September 1942.  While there, Bill transferred to the destroyer HMAS Napier.  In September 1942 she took part in the closing stages of the Madagascan campaign.  She was present at the surrender of Majunga on the 10th September and again at the occupation of Tamatave 8 days later.  The closing months of 1942 were all spent based on Kilindini on escort and patrol duty between the fleet base and Durban.  At the beginning of 1943 Napier was at Durban still on patrol and escort duties in the East Indian Ocean and the Mozambique Channel.  In late March 1943 she joined the South African anti-submarine forces and spent the following two months operating on the South Atlantic Station.  In June the destroyer again began Kilindini to Durban patrols and escort duty. 

The next several entries in Bill’s service record are obscured and illegible so I can’t tell you what his movements were between July 1943 and July 1944.  The only legible entry is that of HMAS Bungaree in July 1944.  She was a minelayer and from July 1944 she began transporting personnel and cargo to and from New Guinea. 

The next legible entry in Bill’s service records is HMAS Katoomba in March 1945.  She was a minesweeper and on the 31st March 1945, Katoomba proceeded to Fremantle and spent the next three months based at that port before departing for Darwin in July.  She was present at the surrender of the Japanese forces on Timor in September 1945 which means…Bill was also there. 

Bill finished his naval career at HMAS Rushcutter, a naval base at Sydney and was discharged on the 14th March 1946.  Having sailed to the ends of the earth and back again, several times, he no doubt saw many wonderful sights at the many places he visited during his 19 years of service in the Navy aboard many different vessels, some quite famous.  He also had some incredible experiences, witnessed some historical events and saw plenty of action during his war service in the Navy.  What an amazing life he lived!!

Three of Bill’s brothers also served in WW2 in the Australian Army…Robert, John and Andrew. 

After the war Bill worked as an assembler and lived out his days at the Sydney suburb of Glebe.  Sadly, Bill and Thelma divorced in October 1951 without having had children.  Bill passed away on the 18th September 1989 aged 85.  He was buried at the Field of Mars Cemetery at East Ryde NSW. 

William Daniel Wardlaw was awarded for service in WW2 the Australia Service Medal, Australia Defence Medal, War Medal, 1939-1945 Star and the Pacific Star.

Respectfully submitted by Sue Smith September 2020

Text Sources

https://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-brisbane-i

https://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-sydney-ii

https://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-hobart-i

https://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-burnie