One of the most enduring memories of Ronald ‘Dixie’ Lee’s life is steaming past two of the flagships of the Royal Navy, HMS Prince of Wales and Repulse, onboard his own craft HMAS Manoora as it sailed north from Singapore towards Calcutta.
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The British ships were on their way to reinforce the citadel of Singapore, under attack from the invading Japanese.
Mr Lee was one of the guests of honour at the Singapore commemoration held at the Ex-POW Memorial. He served in the Royal Australian Navy and later was one of the ‘Coastwatch’ observers reporting on Japanese military movements in the Pacific, often at great personal danger.
Mr Lee says watching them go past made him feel as though the Japanese army was in for a hiding.
“Oh they were wonderful! A battleship is a huge thing, and with a battlecruiser alongside – I remember thinking, ‘I’m pleased I’m on the right side’.
“And of course they were bombed to oblivion. It was a terrible thing.”
Eight-hundred and forty men were lost with the sinking of the two ships. Both captains perished, and the destruction of ‘Force Z’ as they were known was a terrible blow to Allied morale in the besieged outpost.
Mr Lee served as a coder in the communications branch of the RAN, and later saw service on Guadalcanal.
