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John Augustine Collins

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John Augustine Collins

Captain John Collins in 1943

Born

(1899-01-07)7 January 1899

Deloraine, Tasmania

Died

3 September 1989(1989-09-03) (aged 90)

Sydney, New South Wales

Allegiance

Australia

Service/branch

Royal Australian Navy

Years of service

1913–1955

Rank

Vice Admiral

Commands held

Chief of Naval Staff

HMAS Shropshire

HMAS Sydney

Battles/wars

First World War

Second World War

Battle of the Mediterranean

Battle of Cape Spada

Bougainville Campaign

Battle of Cape Gloucester

Battle of Noemfoor

Awards

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire

Companion of the Order of the Bath

Mentioned in Despatches

Commander of the Order of Orange-Nassau (Netherlands)

Other work

High Commissioner to New Zealand (1956–62)

Vice Admiral Sir John Augustine Collins KBE, CB, RAN (7 January 1899 – 3 September 1989) was a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) officer who served in both World Wars, and who eventually rose to become a vice admiral and Chief of Naval Staff. Collins was one of the first graduates of the Royal Australian Naval College to attain flag rank. During the Second World War, he commanded the cruiser HMAS Sydney in the Mediterranean campaign. He led the Australian Naval Squadron in the Pacific theatre and was wounded in the first recorded kamikaze attack, in 1944.

Contents

[hide]

1 Early life and education

2 Second World War

3 Post-war service and legacy

4 References

5 External links

Early life and education[edit]

John Augustine Collins was born in Deloraine, Tasmania, in 1899.[1] In 1913, at age 14, Collins joined the first intake to the RAN College.[1] He became a midshipman in January 1917, in time to see war service while attached to the Royal Navy.[1]

Second World War[edit]

In the early war years, Collins commanded HMAS Sydney in the Battle of the Mediterranean.[1] Sydney led Allied ships which sank an Italian cruiser, Bartolomeo Colleoni, in the Battle of Cape Spada, in July 1940. For this action he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath.[2]

Relations between the RAN and British Royal Navy were close at the time, with frequent exchanges of officers between the two and in June 1941, Collins was transferred to Singapore, as Assistant Chief of Staff to the British Naval Commander in Chief, China Station, Vice Admiral Geoffrey Layton.[1]

Following the outbreak of war with Japan, Collins was appointed Commodore Commanding China Force, the RN-RAN cruiser and destroyer force based in Batavia, Dutch East Indies, under the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command.[1]

Members of the Australian Mission Group at the Japanese surrender talks. Left to right: Commodore John Collins; Lieutenant General Frank Berryman; Captain Roy Dowling; Air Commodore Raymond Brownell.

After the fall of Singapore and the Allied defeat in the Battle of the Java Sea, it became clear that the Dutch East Indies would be occupied by Japan. Collins organised the evacuation of Allied civilians and military personnel from Batavia, and was on one of the last ships to leave, before the city fell, in March 1942.[1] As a result he was Mentioned in Despatches,[3] and was later made a Commander of the Dutch Order of Orange-Nassau.[4]

Collins was then appointed Senior Naval Officer, Western Australia, based at Fremantle.[1]

During 1943, Collins commanded HMAS Shropshire and took part in the Bougainville campaign, the Battle of Cape Gloucester, and operations off the Admiralty Islands and Hollandia (Dutch New Guinea).[1]

In mid-1944, Collins was made commander of the Australian-US Navy Task Force 74, and commander of the Australian Naval Squadron, with HMAS Australia as his flagship. He became the first graduate of the RAN College to command a naval squadron in action, during the bombardment of Noemfoor, on 2 July 1944.

Collins was badly wounded in the first kamikaze attack in history, which hit Australia on 21 October 1944, in the lead up to the Battle of Leyte Gulf.[1] He did not resume his command until July 1945. When the war ended Collins was the RAN's representative at the surrender ceremony in Tokyo Bay.[1]

Post-war service and legacy[edit]

Collins was appointed Chief of Naval Staff in 1948, succeeding Sir Louis Keppel Hamilton, and held the position until 1955. He was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1951 New Year Honours.[5] He later served as Australia's High Commissioner to New Zealand (1956–1962).[1]

The latest class of Australian submarine, the Collins class bears his name. The lead submarine, HMAS Collins, was launched by his widow on 28 August 1993. Collins Road, a street in the Sydney suburb of St Ives was also named in his honour.

References[edit]

^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l "Collins, Sir John Augustine (1899–1989)" (RAN official biography)

Jump up ^ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 34907. p. 4653. 26 July 1940. Retrieved 2008-01-23.

Jump up ^ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 35823. p. 5461. 11 December 1942. Retrieved 2008-01-23.

Jump up ^ L, Klemen (1999–2000). "Commodore John Augustine Collins". Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942.

Jump up ^ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 39105. p. 35. 29 December 1950. Retrieved 2008-01-23.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to John Augustine Collins.

"Vice Admiral John Augustine Collins, KBE, CB" (Who’s who in Australian Military History, Australian War Memorial)

Military offices

Preceded by

Admiral Sir Louis Hamilton

First Naval Member & Chief of Staff

1948–1955

Succeeded by

Vice Admiral Sir Roy Dowling

Preceded by

Commodore Harold Farncomb

Rear Admiral Commanding HM Australian Squadron

1945–1946

Succeeded by

Rear Admiral Harold Farncomb

Preceded by

Rear Admiral Victor Crutchley

Rear Admiral Commanding HM Australian Squadron

June – October 1944

Succeeded by

Captain Charles Nichols

Diplomatic posts

Preceded by

Peter Heydon

Australian High Commissioner to New Zealand

1956–1962

Succeeded by

Donald Alastair Cameron

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Sir Percy Grant

Sir Allan Everett

Percival Hall-Thompson

William Napier

Sir William Munro Kerr

Sir George Hyde

Sir Ragnar Colvin

Sir Guy Royle

Sir Louis Keppel Hamilton

Sir John Augustine Collins

Sir Roy Dowling

Sir Henry Burrell

Sir Hastings Harrington

Sir Alan McNicoll

Sir Victor Smith

Sir Richard Peek

Sir David Stevenson

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Sir Anthony Synnot

Sir James Willis

David Leach

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George Hyde

Edward Evans

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Robin Dalglish

Wilbraham Ford

Richard Lane-Poole

Wilfred Custance

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John Collins

Harold Farncomb

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Commander Australian Fleet

Davyd Thomas

Nigel Coates

Steve Gilmore

Tim Barrett

Stuart Mayer

Authority control

VIAF: 94535673

Persondata

Name

Collins, John

Alternative names

Short description

Australian admiral

Date of birth

7 January 1899

Place of birth

Deloraine, Tasmania

Date of death

3 September 1989

Place of death

Sydney, New South Wales

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Augustine_Collins&oldid=637009746"

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1899 births

1989 deaths

People from Tasmania

Australian diplomats

Australian knights

Companions of the Order of the Bath

High Commissioners of Australia to New Zealand

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People educated at Parade College

Royal Australian Navy admirals

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