Cruiser (81 page)

Able Seaman George Hatfield, a
Perth
diarist who went down with the ship.

Able Seaman Frank McGovern. He survived the war but his elder brother Vince was lost with the ship.

Leading Seaman Basil Hayler, one of the crew who commissioned the ship in Portsmouth, 1939.

Able Seaman Arthur ‘Blood' Bancroft. He was torpedoed, then rescued, by the Americans in 1944.

Wireman Fred Lasslett. As a POW he kept a diary in the form of letters to a girlfriend.

Able Seaman Allan ‘Elmo' Gee, from country Victoria – one of
Perth
's buglers.

Signalman Bill ‘Buzzer' Bee. He was sent to Japan as a slave labourer.

Petty Officer George ‘Slim' Hedrick – one of Elmo Gee's mates as a POW.

Petty Officer Bill Bracht – another
Perth
diarist nearly killed in the Mediterranean.

Petty Officer Jim Nelson – another of
Perth
's buglers and an invaluable diarist.

Signalman Brian Sheedy. After leaving
Perth
in the Mediterranean, he fought with the Royal Navy in the Battle of the Atlantic.

Petty Officer Stoker Charles ‘Jock' Lawrance. At the time of writing, he was
Perth'
s oldest living survivor, aged 97.

Electrical Artificer Peter Murdoch (left), lost overboard from
Perth
in the Mediterranean, 1941.
(AWM
006842)