The St Kilda Yacht Club WW1 memorial on the St Kilda pier

I heard of this memorial by chance when my friend, Isaac, came across a reference to it in Isaac Selby’s Old Pioneers’ Memorial History of Melbourne, published in 1924. Selby wrote  The St Kilda Yacht Club have erected a monument, in the form of a Conning tower at the end of the Pier, in memory of its members who fell in the war. The tower is a relic of the old British torpedo boat “Childers.” Selby, then has few more lines about the unveiling ceremony. This is an unusual type of war memorial, so I did some research to find out more about it.

St. Kilda Pier with conning tower, 1933.  Photographer: John Kinmont Moir.

State Library of Victoria Image H4869

The Unveiling of the memorial
On January 28, 1920 the memorial was unveiled to commemorate, as Selby told us, the six members of the St Kilda Yacht Club who had lost their lives in the War. The Argus of January 29, 1920 reported on this event An attractive and particularly appropriate memorial to members of the St Kilda Yacht Club who sacrificed their lives in the war has been presented by Mr C. Marshall, commodore of the club, and was opened yesterday afternoon. It consists of the conning tower of the old torpedo boat Childers, which, after having been on the Australian station for many years was scrapped four or five years ago. The tower has been placed on a pedestal at the extreme end of the St Kilda Pier. It is surrounded with seats for the public and surmounted by a flagstaff and weather-vane.  It will be used by judges and other yachting officials for club-racing events. A heavy bell is placed at the foot of the flagstaff and will be used for signal purposes instead of a gun.

The Memorial, date unknown.
Isaac Hermann provided this image which came from an unknown family album salvaged from a house renovation rubbish skip by a passer by and donated to the Port Phillip City Collection.

The Mayor of St Kilda, Cr T. G. Allen unveiled the memorial and mentioned that every eligible member of the club had enlisted for service, then Brigadier-General Lloyd responded on behalf of the families. The Malvern Standard of January 31, 1920 had the text of the plaque which was mounted on the memorial -

Erected by St Kilda Yacht Club

In memory of members who fell in

the Great War 1914-1919

Capt F.W. Appleton, Croix de Guerre

Pte. H.C. Craig

Lieut. W.T. Hogg

Pte. J.B. Hosking

Sergt A. Levy, M. M.

Sergt. C. Riley

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends"

Presented by C. Marshall, Commodore, 1920.

Victorian Torpedo Boat Childers.
Appeared in the Illustrated Australian News November 10, 1883. 
State Library of Victoria Image IAN10/11/83/173

The Childers was a torpedo ship and it was launched in 1883 in England. It formed part of the Victorian Navy, alongside the gunboats, Victoria and Albert. The three vessels sailed here together arriving in Port Phillip Bay in June 1884. The Childers was just over 118 feet long, had a beam of 12 feet 5 inches, a top speed of 19.5 knots and a crew of 12. Its purchase price was £10,500. The Childers was decommissioned in September 1916 and sold for scrap for £20 in August 1918.
There is an illustrated history of the Childers, here, http://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-childers-hmvs

The men who were honoured
I have listed the Service Numbers (SN) of the men, if they have one, so you can look up their full record on the National Archives of Australia, website, www.naa.gov.au.

Appleton, Frederick William Lieutenant. Frederick enlisted at the age of 33, on July 5, 1915 his next of kin was his mother, Mary, of 308 Carlisle Street, Balaclava. Frederick was Mentioned in Despatches and he was Killed in Action in France on August 8, 1918. Lieutenant Appleton was posthumously awarded the French honour, the Croix de Guerre. His Roll of Honour circular at the Australian War Memorial, says he was a prominent member of the Royal Yacht Club, the St Kilda Yacht Club, the Brighton Yacht Club, being a successful skipper of the six-metre yacht, Rip, which defended the Northcote Cup on several occasions.

Craig, Harold Gordon (SN 416).  Harold was a 28-year-old clerk when he enlisted on August 17, 1914 and his next of kin was his mother, Mary, of Hawthorn. Harold was wounded at Gallipoli and died as a result on August 8, 1915. His Roll of Honor circular tells us that he had attended Scotch College and was a member of the Melbourne Cricket Club and the St Kilda Yacht Club. Harold’s brother Robert also enlisted and his sister, Essie, served in the Australian Army Nursing Service. You can read Harold's entry on the Scotch College World War One Commemorative website, here.

Hogg, William Thomas Lieutenant.  William enlisted on February 28, 1916, he was 29 years old and a Factory Manager. His next of kin was his father, Thomas, of Surrey Hills. He was Wounded in Action and died September 27, 1917. Lieutenant Hogg’s Roll of Honour circular said that he was a leading yachtsman, one of a crew (3) to sail the Rip in Sydney Harbour and also one of the crew when the Rip won the Northcote. His obituary in the Camberwell Advertiser of October 13, 1917 said that Yachtsmen speak of his prowess in this great sport with loving memory. Four of William’s brothers also enlisted - Charles, who was Killed in Action; John and Wallace who were both awarded the Military Cross; and Bruce who was a Lieutenant. William and his brother, Charles, have a memorial window at the St Stephen's Presbyterian Church at Surrey Hills (see here)

Hosking, John Bruce (SN 1959)   John was only 18 when he enlisted on January 6, 1915. He was a bank clerk and his father, John, of 115 Park Street, St Kilda was listed as his next of kin. John died of wounds on July 22, 1917. His Roll of Honour Circular said that he attended St Kilda Park State School and was the youngest of four brothers who all enlisted and saw service in France. His brothers were Bert, Les and Thornton.

Levy, Albert (SN 505) Albert was the only son of Jacob and Eva Levy of 3 Park Street, St Kilda, they later moved to 51 Punt Road, Windsor.  He was 20 when he enlisted on January 10, 1916. Albert awarded was the Military Medal and his citation reads in part He was one of the first to enter the enemy trenches and his example of courage, determination and complete control of his men while under heavy fire helped largely in the success of the operation. Albert was Killed in Action on March 29, 1918. Albert’s obituary in the Herald of June 17, 1918 said that Sergeant Levy was a well-known member of the Melbourne Swimming Club, and the St. Kilda Yacht Club. Albert is also listed on the Victorian Jewish War Memorial in Ripponlea.

Riley, Charles (SN 4760) Charles enlisted on July 19, 1915. He was a 23-year-old clerk in the Victorian Railways and his mother, Ellen, of East Malvern was his next of kin. Acting Sergeant Riley was Killed in Action on May 3, 1917. Charles’ brother Thomas also enlisted and was awarded the Military Medal. I can’t find a connection between Charles and the Yacht Club and he does not have a Roll of Honour circular, but I am fairly certain that he is the man listed on the memorial.

What happened to the Memorial?
The memorial was removed in 1956 when the St Kilda Pier was severely damaged after a storm and it is more than possible that the conning tower structure was scrapped. There was a massive storm in Victoria on the night of April 14 and morning of April 15, 1956. According to newspaper reports, winds up to 60 miles per hour lashed Victoria, huge seas seriously damaged the retaining wall between St Kilda and Elwood and more than two feet of water covered Marine Parade in Elwood and, sadly, ten people lost their lives in car accidents caused by the storm.

After much searching and many enquiries we were pleased to discover that the Memorial plaque has been firmly and respectfully affixed to the wood panelled entrance foyer at the Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron (RMYS),  in St Kilda.

The Memorial plaque, taken at the RMYS in October 2019
Photographer: Isaac Hermann

I have created a list of articles on this Memorial and the men who appear on it, on Trove, access the list here.

An abridged version of this article appeared in the St Kilda Historical Society newsletter, The St Kilda Times, No. 229, December 2019.

The RMYS also has an Honor Board, seen below. It is at the top of the stairs, so it wasn't that easy to get a good photo.

RMYS Great War Honor Board

Photo: Isaac Hermann

First column

Banks, W. J., Blair, J., Church, S., *Craig, H.G., Crick, A.T., Day, G.H., *Hosking J., Hughes, V., Kyd, A. G. Croix de Guerre, Leslie, S.D., Lewis, R.   D.C.M., Piper, T.H., White, J. G., Adamson, P., *Appleton, F.  Croix de Guerre. Taylor, W.H., Eilenberg, E.G., MacDonald, H., Terrell, V.E., Welshman, R., Fry, G., Jardine, R.E., *Riley, C., Carne, P., Thorpe, J. E., Kebby, E., Duke, E.

Second column

Waller, F.R., Hogg, T., Golding, A., Loud, W Jr., Morrow, T., Lempriere, Dr C.L., Cheel, A.J., Ainslie, B., Walker, E., *Hogg, W.T., May, F.A., Chalmers, J.E., Ross, G.R., Chapman, D., *Levy, A.A. M.M., Fitzgerald, B., Newton, L., James, A.W., Goold, W.C., McCutcheon, W.F., Dalton, R.M., Bishop, H.P., Hodges, W.C.H., Jago, C., Beauchamp, G., Giles, I.E., Smith, P.R.

Third column

Curtain, L., Kennedy, S., Dow, J., Padley, T., Liversidge, E., D’Elton, G., Gough, J.G., Morris, D.R., Atkinson, J., McNaughton, D., Turner, G., Gutteridge, N., Butler, J.J., Corke, A.E., Close, N., Nunan. S.A., Heath, A., Oxley, W.