Symonds, Samuel Richard

Commander Samuel Richard Symonds - Royal Australian Navy

Samuel Richard Symonds was born on the 31st January 1887 to John and Jane Symonds. He was one of several siblings, with, Harriett (1881), Catherine (1882), William (1884), Emma (1889), John (1892), Ethel (1895), Minnie (1898), Victoria (1901) and Pearle (1904).

In 1895 the family left England and came to Western Australia, where they resided in Fremantle. Samuel completed his education in South Fremantle. The family also spent time at Wagerup and Yarloop. By 1910 the family were living at Coogee South Fremantle.

Samuel joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1911. On his medical examination when he joined, the doctor recorded his details as;

Height - 5 feet 9 inches;

Hair - Light Brown;

Eyes - Grey;

Complexion - Fair;

Distinctive Marks - Tattoo of crossed flags and Chinese lettering on left forearm.

Through 1911-12 Sam was training at HMAS Yarra and HMAS Cerberus. In June 1912 hew as then transferred to the London Depot of the Royal Australian Navy. He had initially been appointed a Leading Seaman but was then promoted to Petty Officer. At the London Depot he was promoted to Gunner.

In 1913 in Portsmouth Sam married Caroline Maud Hedges and they would have two children, Kathleen in 1914 and Ronald in 1915. Sadly, Ronald died in 1916.

With the start of the Great War Sam was retained at the London Depot. He remained there till February 1916 when he returned to Australia and was posted to HMAS Cerberus. On the 1st April he was sent to HMAS Penguin for a few months service and then on the 3rd July 1916 he was posted to HMAS Torrens. According to the Royal Australian Navy, HMAS Torrens;

began her seagoing service as a unit of the British Far East Patrol. She departed Sydney on 28 August 1916 in company with Swan  and arrived at Sandakan in Borneo on 17 September 1916. Based first at Sandakan and later at Singapore, Torrens helped to maintain patrols in the Malayan Archipelago until the close of May 1917. The historian A.W. Jose described the eight months of almost constant patrolling as "valuable drudgery under tropical conditions."

Following a refit in June, Torrens left Singapore on 2 July 1917 to proceed to the Mediterranean in company with Huon  and Swan.  On 7 July, at Cocos Island, the three Torpedo Boat Destroyers joined Warrego, Parramatta  and Yarra  to form the Australian Destroyer Flotilla under the command of Commander William Warren RN in Parramatta.

From Cocos Island the flotilla proceeded to Diego Garcia to search the archipelago for survivors of two British ships, Jumna and Wordsworth, which had disappeared without trace early in 1917. Nothing was found and the destroyers continued their voyage to the Mediterranean, arriving at Port Said on 9 August 1917.

On 12 August the Flotilla, less Swan  and Warrego, sailed for Malta escorting a convoy of merchant ships. En route on 16 August, Parramatta  sighted and attacked a submarine. Torrens sighted a second periscope and fired three rounds from her 4-inch gun as she approached. Able Seaman James Brown was injured during this action when he stood too close to the recoiling breech and was struck in the face and knocked out. Believing that Brown was dead the remainder of the gun crew carried on their task of firing the gun and did not check on him until after the action; he was admitted to hospital on arrival in Malta where he recovered and later rejoined the ship. Both attacks against the submarines failed but "after the weary months of tropical patrol the action was a tonic for the men."

Following refits at Malta and combined anti-submarine exercises, the Australian Flotilla was based at Brindisi on the heel of Italy, in October 1917, and assigned the task of maintaining patrols in the Strait of Otranto. The purpose of the patrol was to prevent the passage into the Mediterranean of enemy submarines based at Austrian ports in the Adriatic. Operating in two divisions the Australian Destroyer Flotilla maintained patrols on the basis of four days at sea, four days in harbour. During the early months of their service there was plenty of action. A patrol seldom passed without the detection and chase of an enemy submarine attempting the passage of the Narrows. Later, however, enemy activity steadily diminished and submarines were seldom sighted.

Some two months after the Australian destroyers began patrolling they were joined by a French flotilla. Their presence gave some respite to the ships but the wear and tear on machinery without adequate maintenance was a constant problem. In mid December Torrens was sent to Malta for a major refit with her "turbines stripped and steering gear almost worn out." She remained in dockyard hands until mid-February 1918, returning to Brindisi to resume patrol duty on 20 February 1918.

Shortly after Torrens had rejoined the Australian Flotilla the allied Adriatic blockading forces, known as the Otranto barrage, were heavily reinforced. The Australian ships were absorbed into the 5th British Destroyer Flotilla as part of a force which ultimately numbered more than 200 vessels including 35 destroyers and submarines.

On the 10th April 1918 Sam returned to the London Depot of the Royal Australian Navy and he remained there till the end of the war. Sam had now been promoted to Lieutenant.  In December 1918 he returned to Australia and was posted to HMAS Cerberus in Victoria.

Sam remained with the Royal Australian Navy after the Great War and then served for a few years on HMAS Encounter and HMAS Sydney. From 1924 to 1927 Sam served at HMAS Tingira. This was a training ship for the Royal Australian Navy and Sam was helping to train the new recruits that were coming through.

In 1927 Sam was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. He then had a few months at the training bases HMAS Penguin and then HMAS Cerberus. Sam was based at Cerberus until 1932. He was then promoted to the rank of Commander and was posted to Tasmania where he was the District Naval officer. He spent nine months in this role in Tasmania and was then transferred to South Australia. He was also the District Naval Officer in this state from 1932 to 1937.

He was then placed on the Emergency list for the Royal Australian Navy.

With the advent of World War Two, Sam was recalled to the Royal Australian Navy. He was based at HMAS Cerberus in Victoria from 1939 to 1944 and then was transferred to South Australia where he once again acted as the District Naval Officer. He was in this role till 1946.

In the late 1940's Sam took a discharge from the Royal Australian Navy and from the early 1950's Sam was living at 102 Point Walter Road in Bicton.

He died on the 10th January 1967. He was cremated at Fremantle Cemetery and his ashes were subsequently scattered in the Ocean off Fremantle.