I have just been watching a DVD that one of my Australian contacts sent me, of a programme aired on Australian TV about the loss and discovery of HMAS Sydney. There is absolutely nothing to suggest that Sydney survivors were machine-gunned in their lifeboats by the Kormoran's crew. What the submersible cameras found was that the lifeboats were all still aboard Sydney, the theory being that she had sunk very rapidly when the bow snapped off in heavy seas after being weakened by the torpedo strike several hours earlier, and there was no time to launch any boats. I clicked on the link to find where this article was from, and was not surprised to find it was from the Guardian: a source that will jump aboard any sensationalists attempt to make fighting men seem less than honourable.
Exactly, AR. I jumped on that as I read the article as well. Nothing like making up a tenuous link on the spot to continue the theme with the Suez Maru. Peter Garrett lliterally has sung the theme tune as one of the opening lines of a Midnight Oil song is something about his grandfather being lost at sea. I'll see if I can find it as can't remember which song at the moment.
Montevideo Maru - rather comprehensive site. Remembering 1942 - The sinking of the Montevideo Maru, 1 July 1942 [Australian War Memorial] Montevideo Maru - Japanese prison ship - tomb of over one thousand men There is also a Montevideo Maru memorial at the Ballarat POW memorial. Spidge spoke about it here: http://ww2chat.com/forums/memorials-cemeteries/58-ballarat-pow-memorial-victoria-australia.html
