On May 31, 1942, three Japanese midget submarines launched an attack on vessels in Sydney Harbour. What followed shook Australia to the core with the audacious attack on the HMAS Kuttabul killing 21 men – including a young man from Weston.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Seventy years on, the story of these men and their tragic deaths has resurfaced along with the weight of their sacrifice. EMMA SWAIN reports.
On the day Leading Stoker Sydney William Butcher was laid to rest a young woman looked on.
Seven months earlier she had become his wife – but in June 1942 Violet Butcher stood as his widow.
Leading Stoker Butcher was just 21 when he perished on the ill-fated HMAS Kuttabul on May 31, 1942.
He was one of 19 Australian and two Royal Navy sailors who were killed when two torpedoes – fired by the Japanese submarine M24 at the US Navy’s heavy cruiser USS Chicago – exploded beneath the Royal Australian Navy’s HMAS Kuttabul.
Upon his death, Leading Stoker’s remains were brought home to Weston and put to rest in the Church of England section of Kurri Kurri Cemetery.
Today his grave may be the only remaining Hunter Valley link to the Japanese submarine attack on Sydney Harbour during WWII.
“Leading Stoker Butcher’s service record records that he died 31 May 1942 result of enemy action Sydney Harbour,” Hunter-based military historian David Dial said. “And it now appears that M24, after completing its deadly mission, slipped out of the harbour and headed north and disappeared, its whereabouts unknown until November 2006 when it was discovered off Sydney’s northern beaches by weekend recreational divers.”
Mr Dial said Leading Stoker Butcher’s funeral was the first naval funeral on the Coalfields during the years of WWII.
On June 13, 1942, The Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate reported that: “Thousands of people yesterday afternoon witnessed the first naval funeral on the Coalfield. The funeral was that of Leading Stoker Sydney William Butcher, of Weston, one of the men killed when the Japanese submarines made an attack on Sydney Harbour.
“The procession moved from the home of Mr J Young of third-street, Weston, to the Church of England Cemetery, Kurri Kurri. The naval unit, under Lieutenant C.G. Hobday, marched with arms reversed in front of the hearse with its flag-draped casket.
More than 1000 people gathered at the graveside.
“After a service by Rev. Sansom, rector of Weston Church of England, the naval unit fired three volleys. Bugler W. Handfield, of the 20th Garrison Battalion, Newcastle, sounded the Last Post, after which the funeral party fixed bayonets and presented arms while the Reveille was sounded.
“Leading Stoker Butcher was in the navy for three years. He was married last December. He was a native of Kurri Kurri. Chief mourners were the wife, mother and father, Florrie (sister) and Stanley (brother).”
Kuttabul Commemoration Project officer Gary Traynor said the loss of any serviceman during a time of war is tragic, and no single sacrifice deserves to be classed as more important than another.
“But what sets this small group of men apart, is the fact that their loss took place in what was considered at that time, to be a relatively safe haven in Sydney Harbour,” Mr Traynor said. “The names of these 21 sailors have been recorded on a few small memorials, however very little else is known about them.
“On this, the anniversary of their death, it is hoped that their unwitting part played in this attack upon Sydney Harbour will be remembered and their story told.”