# Lt A J Mann RNVR



## Harry Nicholson (Oct 11, 2005)

In 1952 Lt Mann typed a 30k word memoir of his survival of the Sinking of SS Vyner Brooke in 1942 (at that time the armed trader HMS Vyner Brooke). She was bombed and sunk off Bangka Island in the Dutch East Indies. He made it to Australia. He was 2nd mate RNVR. I have the faded foolscap of his memoir on my desk - it should be better known.
Afterwards he was a beachmaster at the landings at Anzio. I'm puzzled that there is no record of campaign medals for him. His discharge book number is R60753 and service number J96123. I find no record of him in the medal archives.
Any suggestions?

Harry Nicholson


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## Hugh MacLean (Nov 18, 2005)

Hello Harry,
I presume you are talking about Arthur John Mann b. 1904, London?
That Dis. A number, R60753 belongs to a different seaman, Arthur Mann b. Sunderland in 1899 who was a Fireman & Trimmer. 

Regards
Hugh


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## Stephen J. Card (Nov 5, 2006)

Thanks Harry. Your posting tweaked my interest. I decided to read up the subject. Here is a short part. Much more too. Very sad story.




The Sinking of the Vyner Brooke





Date from
13 February 1942 

Date to
14 February 1942 

Place
Banka Island 

Category
Naval battle 

Conflict
Second World War, 1939-1945




Description 


Built in 1928, the SS Vyner Brooke was a British-registered cargo vessel of 1,670 tons. She was named after the Third Rajah of Sarawak - Sir Charles Vyner Brooke. Up until the outbreak of war with the Japanese, Vyner Brooke plied the waters between Singapore and Kuching, under the flag of the Sarawak Steamship Company. She was then requisitioned by Britain's Royal Navy as an armed trader. 

On the evening of 12 February 1942, Vyner Brooke was one the last ships carrying evacuees to leave Singapore. Although she usually only carried 12 passengers, in addition to her 47 crew, Vyner Brooke sailed south with 181 passengers embarked, most of them women and children. Among the passengers were the last 65 Australian nurses in Singapore. Throughout the daylight hours of 13 February Vyner Brooke laid up in the lee of a small jungle-covered island, but she was attacked late in the afternoon by a Japanese aircraft, fortunately with no serious casualties. At sunset she made a run for the Banka Strait, heading for Palembang in Sumatra. Prowling Japanese warships, however, impeded her progress and daylight on February 14th found her dangerously exposed on a flat sea just inside the strait.

Not long after 2 pm Vyner Brooke was attacked by several Japanese aircraft. Despite evasive action, she was crippled by several bombs and within half an hour rolled over and sunk bow first. Approximately 150 survivors eventually made it ashore at Banka Island, after periods of between eight and 65 hours in the water. The island had already been occupied by the Japanese and most of the survivors were taken captive.

However, an awful fate awaited many of those that landed on Radji beach. There, survivors from the Vyner Brooke joined up with another party of civilians and up to 60 Commonwealth servicemen and merchant sailors, who had made it ashore after their own vessels were sunk. After an unsuccessful effort to gain food and assistance from local villagers, a deputation was sent to contact the Japanese, with the aim of having the group taken prisoner. Anticipating this, all but one of the civilian women followed behind. A party of Japanese troops arrived at Radji Beach a few hours later. They shot and bayoneted the males and then forced the 22 Australian nurses and the one British civilian woman who had remained to wade into the sea, then shot them from behind. There were only two survivors - Sister Vivian Bullwinkel, and Private Cecil Kinsley, a British soldier. After hiding in the jungle for several days the pair eventually gave themselves up to the Japanese. Kinsley died a few days later from his wounds, and Bullwinkel spent the rest of the war as an internee.

Of the 65 Australian nurses embarked upon the Vyner Brooke, 12 were killed during the air attack or drowned following the sinking, 21 were murdered on Radji Beach, and 32 became internees, 8 of whom subsequently died before the end of the war.


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## Harry Nicholson (Oct 11, 2005)

Hugh MacLean said:


> Hello Harry,
> I presume you are talking about Arthur John Mann b. 1904, London?
> That Dis. A number, R60753 belongs to a different seaman, Arthur Mann b. Sunderland in 1899 who was a Fireman & Trimmer.
> 
> ...


That's useful- Thanks. Don't know how I picked up the wrong seaman - a bit of sloppy research there. Must now search for his real number - I hope to discover detail of his activities between work for China Customs ending about 1935 and the Vyner Brooke c 1940.

My note: "There comes a six-year gap in the records until war came when, in a time of terrible losses at sea, the Navy List of August 1941 records him as appointed Temporary Sub-Lieutenant RNVR (Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve). According to The London Gazette he became a Full Lieutenant on 31.1.42. His memoir reveals him in 1942 as Second Officer (2nd Mate) of a coastal trader, the former SS Vyner Brooke, again in Asian waters."

Another puzzle remains - lack of info re his ww2 campaign medals.


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## Harry Nicholson (Oct 11, 2005)

Stephen J. Card said:


> Thanks Harry. Your posting tweaked my interest. I decided to read up the subject. The Sinking of the Vyner Brooke
> 
> The COFEPOW (Children of Far Eastern Prisoners of War) site has a detailed account by M Pethers of NZ who has has been researching that warcrime for 20 years. https://www.cofepow.org.uk/armed-forces-stories-list/ss-vyner-brooke-passenger-list
> 
> Harry


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## loco (Dec 10, 2010)

Another website with details of the incident;

http://muntokpeacemuseum.org/

Martyn


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## Hugh MacLean (Nov 18, 2005)

Harry Nicholson said:


> My note: "There comes a six-year gap in the records until war came when, in a time of terrible losses at sea, the Navy List of August 1941 records him as appointed Temporary Sub-Lieutenant RNVR (Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve). According to The London Gazette he became a Full Lieutenant on 31.1.42. His memoir reveals him in 1942 as Second Officer (2nd Mate) of a coastal trader, the former SS Vyner Brooke, again in Asian waters."
> 
> Another puzzle remains - lack of info re his ww2 campaign medals.


Hi Harry,

He joins the RN in July 1922 as a Boy seaman on a 12-year engagement. 27 January 1933 he purchases his release from the Royal Navy. At the time he was a Petty Officer [Gunner’s Mate] and joins the Royal Fleet Reserve [RFR] the next day, 28 January 1933.
I have nothing else on him with regard to further service but he may have service records at Kew, namely, a CRS 10, from Jan, 1941. I cannot see any RNR record for him – it may be one of the names not yet digitised and his medals may be recorded there. 

Regards
Hugh


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## Tony Selman (Mar 8, 2006)

Hi Harry
This may help. National Archives has given free access during the lockdown. Not the easiest system to fight your way through but if you persevere you may find something.
Good luck
Tony
https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/news/digital-downloads/


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## Harry Nicholson (Oct 11, 2005)

Hugh MacLean said:


> Hi Harry,
> 
> He joins the RN in July 1922 as a Boy seaman on a 12-year engagement. 27 January 1933 he purchases his release from the Royal Navy. At the time he was a Petty Officer [Gunner’s Mate] and joins the Royal Fleet Reserve [RFR] the next day, 28 January 1933.
> I have nothing else on him with regard to further service but he may have service records at Kew, namely, a CRS 10, from Jan, 1941. I cannot see any RNR record for him – it may be one of the names not yet digitised and his medals may be recorded there.
> ...


Thanks, Hugh. Those details are a help. The 'gunner's mate' info is new to me. After he left the RN he joins the China Customs Service ( I have been loaned his photos) after a couple of years he leaves - possibly due to the increased Japanese attacks on China. Your suggestion that his medal records are not yet digitised is likely the reason for me drawing a blank.
Thanks for your efforts - they are appreciated.


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## Harry Nicholson (Oct 11, 2005)

Tony Selman said:


> Hi Harry
> This may help. National Archives has given free access during the lockdown. Not the easiest system to fight your way through but if you persevere you may find something.
> Good luck
> Tony
> https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/news/digital-downloads/


Thanks, Tony. I've spent an hour or so on there today. I'd not realised it was free at the moment. I'll search again.
Harry


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## Kathryn (May 21, 2014)

Hello Harry,

Is there any chance that the memoir written by Lt Mann will be published or at least able to be viewed?

I come at this from a very different angle in that I have memorabilia in our collection from two of the nurses that survived the sinking of the Vyner Brooke - Vivian Bullwinkel - the only one of the nurses to survive the Bangka Island massacre by feigning death - and Beryl 'Woody' Woodbridge who ended up as a POW in Singapore.

The sinking of the Vyner Brooke and its aftermath was one of the most important war events of WWII for Australia. If the memoir hasn't been widely circulated, I feel sure that the historians at the Australian War Memorial would be beside themselves to have access to it.

I personally would love the opportunity to read it as it is rare to have first hand accounts of such events.

Best of luck with your research. it's a story that deserves to be told.


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## Harry Nicholson (Oct 11, 2005)

Kathryn said:


> Hello Harry,
> 
> Is there any chance that the memoir written by Lt Mann will be published or at least able to be viewed?
> 
> ...


Hello Kathryn. My wife typed the original, yellowed foolscap of 1952, into digital a couple of years ago. We lodged digital copies with the Australian Memorial and the Imperial War Museum. Today, I'm on the point of publishing the Mann memoir "One Jump Ahead - escape on the Vyner Brooke" under the name of A J Mann with an introduction and afterword by myself. As you say -- the story is vital to Australia, and should be better known. Lt Mann was uncle to an old friend and I do this also in his honour.
Once the story appears on Amazon, I'll note it here. Once the project is done I hope to pass the original paper manuscript to the archives of Australian Memorial.


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## Kathryn (May 21, 2014)

Wonderful! I would love to purchase a copy once it becomes available. Good on you for preserving that history for future generations.

Warmest regards,
Kathryn.

recollectionsofwar.com.au


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## Harry Nicholson (Oct 11, 2005)

Kathryn said:


> Wonderful! I would love to purchase a copy once it becomes available. Good on you for preserving that history for future generations.
> 
> Warmest regards,
> Kathryn.
> ...


Hello Kathryn. "One Jump Ahead' has now appeared on Amazon, paperback and eBook: https://www.amazon.co.uk/One-Jump-A...swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1588434637&sr=8-2

I've attributed the late A J Mann as primary author, and myself as secondary. It has been an honour to assemble the book, though a challenge now the years bear down.
The cover is an art enamel from my kiln - a flight of wild geese.


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## Kathryn (May 21, 2014)

Hello Harry,

That's wonderful news. Only problem is I am unable to purchase it from Amazon UK as our government has decided we must only buy from Amazon Australia which has a much smaller inventory of items for sale.

Is it possible to buy it directly from you or will I need to gt a friend in the UK to buy it on my behalf and post it out?

Kind regards,
Kathryn.


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## Harry Nicholson (Oct 11, 2005)

Kathryn said:


> Hello Harry,
> 
> That's wonderful news. Only problem is I am unable to purchase it from Amazon UK as our government has decided we must only buy from Amazon Australia which has a much smaller inventory of items for sale.
> 
> ...


Hello Kathryn - just checked.

It's now appeared on Amazon Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=a+j+mann+one+jump+ahead&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss

Harry


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## Kathryn (May 21, 2014)

Thanks Harry - duly purchased! Delivery expected first week in June.


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## Harry Nicholson (Oct 11, 2005)

A bit about the new book: https://1513fusion.wordpress.com/standing-stones/


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## Kathryn (May 21, 2014)

Thanks Harry. You've definitely whet my appetite. I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of your book!


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