On this day Leading Seaman Francis Emms, heroically fought back during the attack on Darwin harbour. Leading Seaman Francis Emms, a cook on board HMAS Kara Kara, pictured, rushed to his Action Post. Firing his machine gun from the ship’s weather deck, he was fatally wounded by the incoming fire from the Zeroes. After the raid he was taken to the damaged but still functioning Hospital Ship Manunda. Emms died later that day.
Leading Seaman Francis Emms was a Navy veteran, unlike many of the people who had joined the forces at the outset of WWII. A Tasmanian, he had been in the Navy since 1928 and had originally qualified as a gunnery rating,
While serving in the cruiser HMAS Sydney in the Mediterranean his eyesight began to deteriorate. Rather then leave the Navy he decided to transfer to the Supply Branch as a Cook. Although married with a daughter by then, he loved the Navy and wanted to continue to serve.
In September 1940 Emms was posted to the Darwin shore depot HMAS Melville where he was employed as a cook at the base, and also in the boom defence vessels which operated the anti-submarine boom net stretched across Darwin harbour.
Later it emerged that Emms’ accurate operation of the machine guns had been continued even after he had been seriously wounded. His constant and accurate fire forced the Japanese aircraft to break off their attack and probably saved the lives of several of his shipmates.
Buried at sea, Emms was subsequently awarded a posthumous Mention in Dispatches for courage and devotion to duty.
