Engine Room Artificer 4th Class Harold Nelson Richards, HMAS Sydney (II)
Australian War MemorialHarold “Rich” Richards was born on 5 July 1914 in Riverton on the Gilbert River in South Australia. The only child of Archibald and Violet Richards, by 1939, he was in working in Adelaide as a gauge-maker. Richards was also a patrol leader and rover in the 1st Richmond Scouts, and a yachtsman. He was commodore of the Larg Bay Dinghy Club in 1940 and 1941, and a member of the Royal Australian Naval Reserve.
On 12 May 1941, Richards was mobilised for service, one of 80 members of the Larg Bay Club to serve during the war, and one of seven members who would not return.
He was first posted to HMAS Cerberus at the navy’s training base near Melbourne. As a gauge-maker, Richards was appointed Engine Room Artificer 4th Class. Engine Room Artificers were qualified fitters and turners with detailed knowledge of ships’ engineering equipment.
On 19 September, Richards was posted to HMAS Sydney.
In November 1941, Sydney escorted the troopship Zealandia north to Sunda Strait and onto Singapore.
The voyage to Sunda Strait occurred without incident and Sydney was returning south along the coast of Western Australia. Then, on the afternoon of 19 November, she sighted what appeared to be a merchant vessel, some 200km west of Shark Bay.
The ship was in fact the German raider Kormoran disguised as a Dutch merchant ship which had broadcast a feigned a cry for help.
Attempting to establish its identity, Sydney drew almost abeam of Kormoran at very close range, keeping her main armament trained on the mysterious ship.
When concealing the vessel’s identity was no longer possible, Kormoran opened fire. Sydney's guns returned fire; her first full salvo passing over Kormoran without damage. Kormoran immediately scored hits on Sydney, with two salvos hitting her bridge and midships section.
Sydney’s two forward turrets were quickly put out of action but her aft turret engaged with fast and accurate fire, hitting Kormoran in the funnel and engine room. Simultaneously, Kormoran engaged with torpedoes striking Sydney under her damaged forward turrets.
With her bow low in the water, Sydney turned towards Kormoran as though attempting to ram. The top of one of the forward turrets was blown off and flew overboard, before the cruiser passed under Kormoran's stern on a southerly heading. Kormoran , now on fire in the engine room continued to engage Sydney until out of range.
Sydney, crippled and on fire from the bridge, steamed slowly to the south. Both ships were crippled and sunk that evening.
Survivors from the Kormoran were eventually rescued and interned. None of Sydney's 42 officers and 603 ratings survived.
Harold Richards was 27 years old.
With no grave but the sea, today his name appears on the Plymouth Naval Memorial, which commemorates more than 7,000 Commonwealth sailors of the First World War and almost 16,000 of the Second World War.
In the early 1950s, the Larg Bay Sailing Club christened a boat in Richards’ honour.
Duncan Beard, Editor, Military History Section
