Article copied from today’s Sydney Morning Herald.
HMAS Sydney's unknown sailor.
Helen Gilmore and Frank Walker June 24, 2007
HELEN Blackburne's DNA might solve one of the nation's most enduring military mysteries - the identity of the only body found after the sinking of HMAS Sydney.
There were 645 men on board the Sydney when it was sunk by the Germans off the West Australian coast at the start of World War II.
Now, after an extraordinary forensic elimination process, the Federal Government has determined the unknown sailor can be one of only three men - including Mrs Blackburne's brother, Allen James King.
Last week, assistant Minister for Defence Bruce Billson asked relatives of two of the sailors - Sub-Lieutenant Frederick Harold Schoch, 22, from Western Australia, and Sub-Lieutenant King, 26, from Adelaide - to supply DNA in a bid to end the six-decade old mystery.
Officials have been unable to locate relatives of the third man - Allan Wallace Wilson, 31, home town unknown. Mrs Blackburne, 84, agreed readily to provide a sample as she and her larrikin brother - he was a champion rower and a daredevil with cars - were very close in their youth. He had called her "Bob" because he didn't want another sister. Now she is his only surviving sibling.
Speaking on behalf of his mother, Allen Blackburne - who was named after his dead uncle - said it was "wonderful" that forensic science had brought his family so close to an answer. He told The Sun-Herald, "This is the settling of a question for us, a question that has gone on through our entire lives. We may have the opportunity to bury him in the true sense. This is an enormous thing for us. "We don't have any hopes that it is him. There is only a 33 per cent chance. If it's him, it's quite remarkable. If it's not, I'm glad for someone else. This is wonderful it's been resolved in one way or another."
The light cruiser HMAS Sydney was sunk on November 19, 1941, after a battle with a German armed raider. Three months later, a badly decomposed body in a raft was washed ashore on Christmas Island. The man, identified as an HMAS Sydney sailor, was buried in an unmarked grave.
In October last year, a navy-led expedition team to Christmas Island located the body.
The remains were removed from the grave and repatriated to Australia for detailed examination and analysis by forensic experts.
A post-mortem dental examination was conducted. While no positive match was achieved, this analysis excluded 300 of the crew. The next stage involved an anthropological examination of the skeleton. This effectively excluded a further 200 crew members through indicative age at death, and height.
Further analyses conducted on artefacts found with the remains took place. Australian War Memorial analysis of cloth fragments caught within press-studs led to the conclusion that the man had been buried wearing white coveralls.
Historical research concluded that the sailor was most likely to be an officer or warrant officer from one of the technical categories.
Royal Australian Navy forensic team leader Commander Matt Blenkin said that, while the dental, skeletal and clothing analysis had considerably reduced the number of potential matches for the unknown sailor, more information was required.
"DNA testing may provide the breakthrough the team is looking for," he said.
RIP. Como
HMAS Sydney's unknown sailor.
Helen Gilmore and Frank Walker June 24, 2007
HELEN Blackburne's DNA might solve one of the nation's most enduring military mysteries - the identity of the only body found after the sinking of HMAS Sydney.
There were 645 men on board the Sydney when it was sunk by the Germans off the West Australian coast at the start of World War II.
Now, after an extraordinary forensic elimination process, the Federal Government has determined the unknown sailor can be one of only three men - including Mrs Blackburne's brother, Allen James King.
Last week, assistant Minister for Defence Bruce Billson asked relatives of two of the sailors - Sub-Lieutenant Frederick Harold Schoch, 22, from Western Australia, and Sub-Lieutenant King, 26, from Adelaide - to supply DNA in a bid to end the six-decade old mystery.
Officials have been unable to locate relatives of the third man - Allan Wallace Wilson, 31, home town unknown. Mrs Blackburne, 84, agreed readily to provide a sample as she and her larrikin brother - he was a champion rower and a daredevil with cars - were very close in their youth. He had called her "Bob" because he didn't want another sister. Now she is his only surviving sibling.
Speaking on behalf of his mother, Allen Blackburne - who was named after his dead uncle - said it was "wonderful" that forensic science had brought his family so close to an answer. He told The Sun-Herald, "This is the settling of a question for us, a question that has gone on through our entire lives. We may have the opportunity to bury him in the true sense. This is an enormous thing for us. "We don't have any hopes that it is him. There is only a 33 per cent chance. If it's him, it's quite remarkable. If it's not, I'm glad for someone else. This is wonderful it's been resolved in one way or another."
The light cruiser HMAS Sydney was sunk on November 19, 1941, after a battle with a German armed raider. Three months later, a badly decomposed body in a raft was washed ashore on Christmas Island. The man, identified as an HMAS Sydney sailor, was buried in an unmarked grave.
In October last year, a navy-led expedition team to Christmas Island located the body.
The remains were removed from the grave and repatriated to Australia for detailed examination and analysis by forensic experts.
A post-mortem dental examination was conducted. While no positive match was achieved, this analysis excluded 300 of the crew. The next stage involved an anthropological examination of the skeleton. This effectively excluded a further 200 crew members through indicative age at death, and height.
Further analyses conducted on artefacts found with the remains took place. Australian War Memorial analysis of cloth fragments caught within press-studs led to the conclusion that the man had been buried wearing white coveralls.
Historical research concluded that the sailor was most likely to be an officer or warrant officer from one of the technical categories.
Royal Australian Navy forensic team leader Commander Matt Blenkin said that, while the dental, skeletal and clothing analysis had considerably reduced the number of potential matches for the unknown sailor, more information was required.
"DNA testing may provide the breakthrough the team is looking for," he said.
RIP. Como
