1962 END OF A LONG JOURNEY

END OF A LONG JOURNEY

EDWARD BECKMANN (1878 - 1962)

55 Years have passed since my Maternal Grandfather Edward Toby Leonhardt Wilhelm Beckmann died on 29th June, 1962. Born in Hannover ,Germany on 15th March, 1878 , he was 84 years old at death. He was a true old world gentleman, perhaps throughout his life a little too naive for the rough world he encountered.But he did his very best according to the right as he saw it.He and his ever loving and devoted wife lived through very difficult times but their devotion to one another was wonderful to behold.

In the 1950s he typed up an 81 Page Memoir of his adventure laden life, which I have turned into a Blog adding ilustrations of the time where possible and adding a commentary to make for a better understanding of the situations recounted.

His Memoir began here:http://edwardbeckmann.blogspot.com.au/2016/04/an-innocent-abroad-my-memoir_22.html

AWAITING GOD'S WILL

"....fulfillment of this prediction. Let them turn back to God and repent, not only in words but in deeds and He will hear them, for He is merciful to all those who repent. I am not indifferent to the lot of my Father's  people. On the contrary, I commiserate with them, but my loyalty belongs to Australia and our Queen and her family by an Oath that may not be broken. God is just and we must all bow to His judgements.

When I look around the world to-day I fear I have outstayed my time in it.  There is so much that we have venerated in our days which has been rudely swept aside. Above all there are the appointments of the Queen and our Governors. Was it not right and proper that the Governor should be chosen by Her Majesty herself? Also there is a continual gnawing at the vitals of the Empire, a continual reducing of the ties of the Empire, till there is nothing left but the hollow rind. And so with everything else. Everything must be modern, as though the old things which our parents handed down to us were worthless rubbish. Ah well, that only proves that my time has outgrown me . As I said before "life is a teacher and Our Lord applies the teaching ." We should learn from Him humility and love for all mankind and submission to God's Will. The one thing most needful for me is that I should orientate myself on the stream of time and profit by the lesson He teaches.

In this spirit, my Wife and I look forward with confidence to whatever our Heavenly Father may yet have in store for us for the closing days of our lives.


Weeping may endure for a night
But joy cometh in the morning.


"..as though the old things which our parents handed down to us were worthless rubbish.."

Dear Grandad,

The final page of your Memoir has been reached.

Continuing on from the last lines of the preceding page you consider the defeat and destruction of your Fatherland in the late War, and you see it as retribution for the persecution of the Jewish people, referring to the Old Testament prophets. The persecution of the Jews by the Nazis was hideous . Yet we should not overlook all the other millions of people the Nazis killed in their time ,in England and across Europe and North Africa and through Poland and into Russia. Nor should we forget the hundreds of thousands of German folk the Nazis condemned to death in their fanaticism - consider the soldiers left to freeze and die at Stalingrad. And much of the destruction in Germany by the Allies was itself morally reprehensible and unjustifiable - sheer revenge - consider the Dresden Firestorm bombing and the obliteration of your own beautiful Hannover.

12th May,1945 Aerial Photograph of Hannover looking down on the Hauptbahnhof
The picture will accept considerable magnification.  The destruction is hideous and was totally unnecessary.

. What was done to the Jews merited the most severe punishment for those responsible, and Nuremberg procedures delivered that. But I don't see it being because the Jews had been the chosen people.What was done to them was absolutely abhorrent, quite aside from their status in the Old Testament. The Old Covenant had been fulfilled in the Life Death and Resurrection of Christ establishing the New Covenant.The Old Covenant had been completed - the new Jerusalem/Israel is Christ's Church which He established.

The destruction of Germany was no doubt partly Divine retribution for all the sins the Nazis had put in hand ,not just those against the Jews.To the extent that it was excessive it was not of Divine origin but human and , at least in the case of Dresden, I think diabolical.

You had of course, invested your life and emotional commitment in Australia as part of the British Empire. This had seemed something of enduring power and glory. Yet, even as you embraced the Empire, the seeds of its destruction were already sown in its very great extent. Its global reach meant that ultimately it was indefensible, and indeed in the modern world with several new emerging powers of colossal might - Germany united, Japan, the United States -  the"Mother Country" was unable to sustain financially the demands of defence.

By the end of the First World War, which had been won only after the might of the United States, generated in its isolated haven, had been thrown into the balance, the "Mother Country"was on the brink of bankruptcy and deeply in debt. The Great Depression exacerbated that position. The advent of the Second World War called for physical and financial exertions of extraordinary extent and again, the victory was only won with the arrival of United States equipment, supplies and men.To achieve this result, the ties of the Empire had been very greatly loosened in many places and almost ignored in others. It is instructive to visit the War Rooms underground in London - in the Joint Chiefs of Staff Situation Room the wall is covered with a vast World Map - there is no AUSTRALIA OR NEW ZEALAND on it!

Whether close by in Ireland, or remotely in Australia or Canada or the Bahamas or the Falklands, let alone India and Hong Kong, the"Mother Country" had in some cases provided nothing, but taken much as in Ireland;or, had given a lot in culture, law and legal system as in Australia  and New Zealand whilst taking far more economically through Empire trading regimes and so on. In other historical cases she had acted with total immorality as in the "Opium Wars"against China, when she went to war to force the Chinese to accept the British traded Opium.She had cynically created "countries" in  Africa without regard to the rights of the peoples or their existing territories of ancient standing.  She had customarily done WHATEVER was necessary to protect her own economic or military interests. "Britannia waives the rules" was in reality no joke.

By the end of World War II she was financially in ruins and, as has been said, had the misfortune to survive the War with most of her outdated, worn-out plant still intact. The "totally destroyed"plant of Germany, Japan and much of Europe had to be re-built from scratch : totally modern and brand new its efficiency, completely outstripped anything the U.K. could achieve.She was further hobbled by the influence of her institutions. These had also survived intact, and particularly by the Victorian era  class- obsessed Trade Union Movement.

The rest of the world was looking to break the shackles of the past which had dragged it into these great wars.Hence the movement for change. There was immense confidence and a belief that there had to be a better way.Again, the experience of the war had boosted peoples'confidence in their ability to decide for themselves, many of their superiors and imagined "betters", had failed the test of war as they had more often done in WW I. Enough was enough - authorities came under increasing pressure. The very idea of Monarchy was fading until by our time,  the whole enterprise is seen as primarily a tourist attraction, save only for sentimental esteem for the young Queen Elizabeth you knew of - who is still reigning.

When you typed this last page, you were then the same age as I am now .The tendency to devalue old ideas is in effect far more advanced, but largely this is happening in ignorance. For the worst of the present situation is that , for very many in our present society,  there is total ignorance of all history, even rather recent history,and an absence of any moral ,ethical or social principles. As a result, public life is being conducted by a broad mass of people largely "winging it" as the phrase goes - making it up as they go along, as if there were no past, no lessons to learn from, no known pitfalls to be avoided, and no guiding principles to follow. The barbarians are not at the gate, they are well inside the walls.And the Keep is besieged.

 At our age we are always inclined to cry with Cicero "O Tempora , O Mores"( O the Times, O the Customs). Maybe things are getting worse, and we are like the citizens of Rome as she began to slide into the Dark Ages. Or, very optimistically, things have always been this bad, and we just see them better analysed and publicised  to-day.I am naturally an optimist. But in this case, I have my doubts.

And in your conclusion you are so right , we have to place ourselves ultimately at the disposal of God's Will for us.And we must look forward to that joy which "cometh in the morning.".

HUBRIS AND VULNERABILITY LEARNING FROM HISTORY

K.M.S. BISMARCK escorted by seagulls.

"In May of 1941, the War had just begun" according to the American pop song   " Sink the Bismarck" of 1960. Well, it was a pop song and not History.  The Second World War began on 3rd September 1939. By May of 1941, it was already 21 months old. Through all those 21 Months the full panoply of British patriotic fervour and all its manifestations had been swiftly mobilised to win the War. "God Save the King", "Land of Hope and Glory" and especially "Rule Britannia!" swelled loyal chests.  The people did not really need to be reminded that:

"It is upon the Navy 
under the good Providence of God 
that the safety, honour, and welfare 
of this realm do chiefly depend" 
( taken from the preamble to "Articles of War" of King Charles II (1630-1685). 

RULE BRITANNIA

H.M.S. HOOD

Nothing better exemplified the inevitability of Victory in this struggle than that same Royal Navy. And the pride of the Fleet remained the 46,680 tons Battle Cruiser  H.M.S. HOOD with her awesome main armament of eight 15 inch guns and her impressive speed of 32 Knots, even though she had been commissioned in 1920. Unknown to the populace, she was overdue for a major refit when War broke out. Her steaming capacity was limited so much that she could only make 28 knots.  Despite this, HOOD was sent , in company with the new Battleship H.M.S. PRINCE OF WALES to attack and destroy the new German Battleship K.M.S. BISMARCK sailing in company with the Heavy Cruiser K.M.S. PRINZ EUGEN. 

K.M.S. BISMARCK

But the key to what happened was not only the nature of each ship but also the way it was being used.

HOOD was designed to avoid a battle with a superior ship such as BISMARCK, but she was used to seek out and attack BISMARCK. Of course, it could be argued that sailing in company with the Battleship PRINCE OF WALES - brand new and still suffering some operating problems, the pair were nominally far superior to BISMARCK and PRINZ EUGEN. 

K.M.S. PRINZ EUGEN

H.M.S. PRINCE OF WALES

PRINCE OF WALES had been commissioned on 19th January 1941. She had a displacement of 43,786 tons, a speed of 28.3 Knots and a main armament of 10 x 14-inch guns. But both before and throughout the brief but disastrous encounter, she was suffering major equipment failures, the worst of which was the jamming of "Y" Turret (the final one toward the stern, the second of her two four- gun turrets).

Another intruding factor was that the Flag Officer Commanding the Squadron was in HOOD. It was unthinkable that he would leave the attack to his hierarchically subordinate companion vessel.

THE ACTION

The brief engagement on 24th May 1941 provided what were to be among the most devastating minutes of the War. The British Squadron first spotted the German ships at 05.37  and the action was broken off by PRINCE OF WALES at 06.05. Twenty-eight minutes had elapsed. But in three of those minutes,  HOOD had been hit by BISMARCK'S remarkably accurate gunnery, blew up and sank with the loss of 1,418 men leaving only 3 survivors. It was a horrendous and awe-inspiring event which profoundly shocked those onlookers in the other ships, both German and British.

We know from eyewitness accounts, and from the wreck discovered in 2001, that the after magazine had exploded breaking the great ship's back and destroying her stern. The wreck also revealed that portion of the bow was missing - suggesting an explosion of the forward magazine either just before, or just after the ship sank below the surface.

Precisely what caused the catastrophe is keenly debated. The probable causes are either :

a direct hit by BISMARCK's 15" Shells penetrating to the HOOD's after magazine, or 

that a massive fire known to have been caused by another of BISMARCK's 15-inch shells in the midships section caused the 4-inch ammunition lockers (which were not armoured) to explode, causing damage to the 15-inch magazines resulting in the fatal explosion, or 

that a BISMARCK 15 inch shell fell short and travelled underwater striking the ship below its armour plating and exploding in or near the after magazine. 

There were also several theories suggesting that accidents within HOOD's own guns or the explosion of her own torpedoes might have been to blame. Both have been conclusively disproved. The ideas seem to have been intended to suggest that it was not the enemy that sank the HOOD- foolish disinformation.

The British had opened fire at 05.52 with HOOD firing on PRINZ EUGEN which was ahead of BISMARCK. Three minutes later the Germans returned fire, both their ships concentrating on HOOD.  An 8-inch shell from Prinz Eugen struck HOOD between the funnels starting a large fire amongst the ready use ammunition for the anti-aircraft guns. Just before 06.00 HOOD was hit directly by BISMARCK's fifth salvo at a range of 10.35 Miles. This resulted in the catastrophic explosion and within three minutes HOOD was gone along with all her crew save three, as we have said.

The first two salvos from PRINCE OF WALES had landed more than half a mile beyond BISMARCK. Her 6th, ninth and thirteenth salvos straddled BISMARCK. Two direct hits were made - one holed her bow and caused the loss of 1,000 tons of fuel oil. The second had fallen short and struck BISMARCK below the armour belt exploding in a boiler room. 

Tellingly, HOOD and PRINCE OF WALES in their eagerness to engage BISMARCK and PRINZ EUGEN had approached them at an angle of about 30 Degrees off the bow. The effect of this was to limit the British guns that could be brought to bear to the forward "A" and "B" turrets of each ship., whereas the German ships were able to bring all of their guns to bear. This was a serious tactical misjudgement. Nevertheless, it still left the British with 4 x 15-inch guns and 5 x 14-inch guns in action vs. the German ships with 8 x 15-inch guns and 8 x 8-inch guns in action. This meant that each firing of the British guns hurled 23,335lbs. of shells toward the Germans, and each time the Germans fired they hurled only 16,152 lbs in return. This is a result of the disparity in shell weights  :

HOOD                                       1,920 lbs. each x 8      Rate of Fire  2.0 per min. per gun

                                           

PRINCE OF WALES      1,595 lbs each x 5      Rate of Fire  1.3  per min. per gun

BISMARCK                      1,800 lbs each x 8      Rate of Fire 2.5 per  min.per gun

PRINZ EUGEN                 269  lbs each   x 8      Rate of Fire 4.0 per  min.per gun

The actual difference in weight of shells fired depends of course on the rate of fire actually achieved since the above rates of fire are design figures.  We know that the BISMARCK was firing its salvos at the rate of one per minute.

                               K.M.S. BISMARCK  bows on (note the "escort" of gulls.)

SUMMARY

The complexities of the contest are even greater than shown above, but the main outline has been given. The struggle was one of epic proportions and intensity.

The crushing loss of H.M.S. HOOD was a psychological blow to British confidence. It was the falling of one's champion in battle. Contrary to the anthem, it called into question the claim that "Britannia Rules the Waves." To British pride, this was intolerable, quite apart from being tragic. The old Lion Rampant himself, Winston Churchill gave the order: "SINK THE BISMARCK" and all hell broke loose at sea as the Royal Navy threw everything it could muster into that effort. On the 26th May, as BISMARCK made for the port of Brest for repair of damage sustained, Torpedo Bombers from the Aircraft Carrier H.M.S. Victorious made hits on her stern, jamming her port rudder in a turning position. This condemned her to steaming around in a given area.  

British destroyers kept watch on her position overnight. And finally on the 27th May the British Battleships KING GEORGE V and RODNEY came up into position , and with the aid of several Cruisers attacked the crippled BISMARCK and sank her with considerable loss of life , 111 survivors were rescued, but hundreds more were left in the water when U Boats were detected in the vicinity. These later saved some of those survivors after the British ships departed.

HUBRIS

The headlong dash of H.M.S. HOOD and H.M.S. PRINCE OF WALES into the attack on K.M.S. BISMARCK and K.M.S. PRINZ EUGEN brings to mind the quote attributed to Admiral Lord Nelson :

 "Never mind manoeuvres go at them" 

Was this necessary, or advisable? The two German ships had been spotted the previous day by the British Heavy Cruisers H.M.S. SUFFOLK and H.M.S. NORFOLK. These two sister ships were substantial combatants in their own right each displacing 13,450Tons, carrying a main armament of 8  Eight Inch guns (as did K.M.S. Prinz Eugen). They also carried two quadruple mounts of 21" Torpedo Tubes and they each had a speed of 31.5 Knots.  They had not only sighted  BISMARCK and PRINZ EUGEN the day before the battle, but they had followed them continually, vectoring HOOD and PRINCE of WALES onto the German Squadron. They clearly had no trouble keeping up with the great ships of either side. Their involvement in the action would have had the advantage of enabling the British to achieve the maximum advantage in achieving the best angle of attack so that ALL their guns were brought to bear. This could be done using the Cruisers' torpedo tubes to fire on the German ships causing them to alter course to avoid the torpedoes. (This was done repeatedly during the war, often by mere Destroyers with great effect.) Even their main armament  - a combined 16  8 Inch guns could have been very useful as we see with PRINZ EUGEN and her 8 Inch guns scoring hits on the HOOD.

But the services of SUFFOLK and NORFOLK were NOT used. However, after HOOD had been sunk and BISMARCK damaged, they joined company with PRINCE OF WALES at last and then were brought in to assist KING GEORGE V and RODNEY to despatch the crippled BISMARCK.

It seems that the hubris induced by the "Britannia Rules the Waves" syndrome, the Nelsonian  "Never mind manoeuvres " exhortation,  and the myth of "the Mighty Hood" as she had long been known, had led to the decision not to use all available forces, and not to seek the optimum angle of approach. It is easy to be the armchair Admiral after the event of course. But the facts are the facts.

In December of the same year 1941, the British Battleship PRINCE OF WALES and the Battle Cruiser REPULSE were sunk when attacked by eighty-eight Japanese land-based Aircraft. The ships, with only 4 Destroyers and no air superiority cover, were despatched to reinforce Singapore. With its massive seaward pointing defence guns, Singapore had been "impregnable".  Until the Japanese attacked "through the back door" piercing through the"impenetrable" jungle. These two traumatic events, following so closely on the loss of HOOD, finally put "paid" to British hubris.

VULNERABILITY

For all the consideration given to Armour to protect the waterline and beneath it, to protect the main deck, the gun turrets, the barbettes on which the turrets were mounted ,adding thousands of tons of weight to the great ships, they all retained a point of vulnerability out of necessity : the stern beneath which there extended the propellers and their drive shafts and the rudders. Both propellers and rudders must, of necessity, be exposed in order to have their influence on the seas.

                                 Fairey "Swordfish" Maximum Speed 134 MPH.

And it was at this point of vulnerability, that the ancient, obsolescent Fairey "Swordfish" bi-plane Torpedo Bombers from the carrier H.M.S. VICTORIOUS were successful in striking the BISMARCK, leading to her sinking. One of their torpedoes struck her stern and the explosion jammed BISMARCK's port rudder at an angle of 12 Degrees to Port. This caused the great ship to begin to circle and defied all efforts to regain control of her direction. 

The whole story is too long to recount here, but basically, the British had lost contact with BISMARCK earlier due to her clever maneuvering and the pursuing armada of battleships, battlecruisers, cruisers, and destroyers had, in any case, desperate needs for fuel. Only King George V and Rodney were able to stay the course and were joined by Suffolk and Norfolk. Finally, a Catalina Flying Boat detected Bismarck and those ships moved in for the kill.


The great drama came to a close

SUMMARY

A matter of Hubris and Vulnerability - there are lessons here - not only Naval but for all of us in our lives not to be led astray by inflated ideas of ourselves and to know ourselves well enough to consider our weakest points both moral and spiritual.

 

1959 FATHER CON DONOVAN BUILT A CHURCH

Interior of Saint Peter Chanel Church Berala N.S.W.
The main jewel in Father Con Donovan's
huge Parish building crown
(Photo Parish Website)

My recent intrusion into some minor storage areas produced a small cache of old photos which have inspired many memories. Not the least of these were some taken on the 15th March, 1959, when the then Archbishop of Sydney Norman Thomas Cardinal Gilroy Blessed and opened our new Parish Church.

Cardinal Gilroy Blesses the outside of the new church

But the real star of the day, we all knew in our hearts was the big , but shy, Irishman our devoted longtime hard-working Parish Priest Father Cornelius ("Con"to his brother Priests) Donovan.  He had led the Parish since July, 1938 - in his first 12 years living in a room of the Regent's Park Hotel owned by Parishioners.He had approval (dating from before his arrival) to build a Presbytery. But he saw the rapid growth of the Parish school as more important , and so he set about the building of the Church-School in which I  began my education in 1946.

As you will see , the church is light , for Father Con did not like dark churches. But most of all, it keeps the focus on Our Lord Jesus Christ truly present in the Tabernacle. The same Jesus Christ young Con Donovan had given his life to at his Ordination to the Priesthood on 15th June, 1924 at All Hallows Seminary back in Ireland. Within months he departed for Australia, arriving on Melbourne Cup Day, 1924. He must have wondered what he had gotten himself into! Father Donovan worked well into his old age but finally succumbed to illness and had to move to a Retirement Home at Randwick where he died at age 78 yrs on 30th December,1975. 

The new church was modern in style and straightforward like its parishioners.
The old Parish Hall can be seen to the left. Note the many Children of Mary still
evidence.

The rear view is reasonably impressive, with the ship like section housing the Sanctuary.
The grassed school play area to the left of the path ,just about where the black car is,is the place where, in about 1948, I dropped the box containing the Mass Kit when I was carrying it to the Presbytery (even then, I was a "trustie"). I thought it had not been noticed...but a week or so later, Father Donovan asked me if anything had happened when I carried the Box for him.I confessed. "Oh. That's alright..don't worry...there was a small dent in the Chalice....but I have had it fixed" No reprimand- just a big generous and kind smile.

The church had cost 52,000 Pounds ($104,000) . The same amount would barely build half of a cottage to-day.

Two more images of a fondly remembered Parish life are shown below featuring once again Cardinal Gilroy who was kept busy opening extensive Parish plant additions. I cannot precisely recall the occasion, but they probably were taken at the Blessing of the Foundation Stone of the new Parish Hall or School  or Convent extensions.

Cardinal Gilroy back to Berala again and a
smiling,happy Father Con Donovan leads him along
In this picture the Sanctuary of the Church/School in which I received my Primary Schooling
 is behind the lady on the left holding a baby and the Sacristy has the window behind father's head. 

Cardinal Gilroy with Father Con Donovan and on the left young Father John Doherty (an RAAF Chaplain and Assistant Priest (with his back to the camera) ,  the other Priest to Fr Doherty's right may have been the Cardinal's Secretary).Note the Altar Boys properly attired in  red soutanes and wearing surplices. I have a photo of Father with Thirty Three Altar Boys - all properly outfitted! He almost rivalled the heroic Father John O'Neill of Doonside who has I believe 36 Servi Christi!
The old Parish Hall in the background had originally stood on land in Fourth Avenue immediately behind my Grandma Dixons home at 34 Third Avenue', Berala . It was moved up the hill to this location on a trailer dragged by draught horses in  1923. My father had his schooling in it, in its original location. My Brother had his Primary Schooling in it, in the new location.And lastly I had my First Holy Communion celebratory Breakfast in it along with my Classmates. . 

"And so we say farewell" to Saint Peter Chanel Church Berala with this picture showing the Presbytery in which I met with Father Donovan to request his recommendation for my 1957 entry into the Minor Seminary.

A BEAUTY TO BEHOLD

PILOT STEAMER "CAPTAIN COOK"

First impressions are often lasting. The first impression of Sydney that hundreds of thousands of passengers on ships arriving off Sydney Heads received was the very beautiful Pilot Steamer "CAPTAIN COOK" coming out to meet their ship and to put the Pilot aboard to bring their ship into the glorious haven that is Sydney Harbour.

In the following photo, "CAPTAIN COOK" is seen again at her mooring in Watson's Bay. She had a remarkable elegance of line and was only rivalled in elegance by the Steam Yacht           "LADY HOPETOUN" (built and launched in 1902) intended for Vice-regal use. She is still in existence and owned by the Sydney Heritage Fleet  and is hired out commercially for Harbour cruises.

                                              Steam Yacht "LADY HOPETOUN" 
                                              at festive occasion on the Harbour,     
                                                           off Farm Cove

Sadly , "CAPTAIN COOK" did not enjoy the same fate.  she was the third Pilot Steamer of that name.She had, despite her Victorian era appearance been launched in 1939 on the eve of the War and saw service through that incredibly busy period on the Harbour until well after the war when in 1959 She was replaced by three double ended Diesel powered cutters. The Harbour is the poorer for her loss, for, not content with de-commissioning her, the authorities had her sunk off the Heads

BEEN THERE - BEEN DONE BY THAT, TWICE!

Originally posted 12th March, 2011.

To-day with my dear wife,I went to the movies. We saw "THE COMPANY MEN". Here is the link to the Trailer which does not adequately reflect it powerful dramatic impact :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pie66GR63Fc

Without hesitation I urge you to see it. It is very much a story of our times - the shedding of activities and employees by major companies seeking to ride out difficult times. Along the way , we are shown the degrading effects of being "let go" , of family and personal degradation by the rolling consequences of lost position and status. And interestingly and very accurately, we are shown how tough it is even for small business operators to stay afloat in hard times. We are still feeling the "crush of the wagon wheels"which a Wyoming Jesuit once hoped I would avoid.

The acting and direction are brilliant, the whole being very tightly managed and free of unnecessary theatrics, making it so much more effective.

Having been twice a victim of such a situation, though with very different backgrounds, I found the movie very realistic, and telling. In fact, afterwards I could scarcely talk about it without being moved to tears. Go! See it! Please, for my sake and yours - these are uncertain times.You may begin to understand.

I thank God someone has made this movie , and with such integrity.