Awarded in Australia! Hilfskreuzer + Memel grouping

[butschekantiques]

Hello everyone,

I found this grouping very interesting. This sailor was awarded the Auxiliary War Cruiser Badge in Australia as a POW. I guess that is not too common?
Thanks!
Klaus

www.butschek-antiques +++ www.ratisbons.com

[W Petz]

Klaus nice grouping! The unusual part was the sinking of this ship near Australia. He became a POW in Australia but I believe the awards were awarded and probably sent to his family in Germany. I have some correspondence on a sailor Machinen-Maat Franz Heinze who was lost on the Hilfkreuzer "Kormoran" that was sunk by the Kreuzer "Sydney" off the West coast of Australia. In letters from Marineoberkommando Ostsee Heimatstab Ausland...reference is made to the name of the ship as "Cormoran" and also "Kormoran". These letters have a lot of information about the sinking and states 2 Officers and 78 Uffz/Mannschaften were lost. It also has names of some of the crew. Sorry...No mention of Schueller. One letter from the Father also named Franz Heinze mentions something about receiving awards.

[Martin W]

Hi Klaus,

this is a wonderful grouping from a former member of the HK Kormoran.

I have the complete crewlist of the Kormoran and Schuller's name is on there.

The Kormoran and the Cruiser HMAS Sydney sank each other off the coast of Western Australia on 19 Nov.1941.
Although the Kormoran sustained heavy losses,there were 320 survivors who were captured and spent the remainder of the war in Australian POW camps,mainly Murchison.
Sadly,the Sydney lost all 645 officers and crewmen.
I have a similar award document issued to another Kormoran crewman that was interned at Murchison POW camp.

It is also nice to see the period made Steinhauer & Luck Hilfskreuzer award that was sent to his family while he was interned in Australia.
Some years ago i purchased a similar S&L award from the family of a former Kormoran crewman.It was a similar S&L award,and it was sent to the family while he was interned.
Unfortunately,i never received the award as it was stolen by an employee in my local post office....Another story.
Anyway,a great grouping.

Regards,Martin.

[W Petz]

Again nice grouping. I found a small konvolut of correspondence at a small flea market in Worms belonging to a Herr Georg Schneller who also lost a son by the name of Georg was on a ship sunk in the mediterranean off the coast of Tripolis. Ob.gefr. Schneller was a member of 15th Panzer Division. Included was a letter and 9 pages of correspondence from Herr Franz Heinze whose son also by the name of Franz was lost on the Kormoran.

[W Petz]

Kormoran 2

[W Petz]

Kormoran 3

[W Petz]

Kormoran 4

[W Petz]

Kormoran 5

[W Petz]

Kormoran 6

[W Petz]

Kormoran 7

[W Petz]

Kormoran 8

[W Petz]

Kormoran 9

[W Petz]

Here is the Letter from Herr Heinze to Herr Schneller

[butschekantiques]

Thanks Bill & Martin for additional information! Greatly appreciated!

[muzrub]

My brother lives in Murchison, which is about 120 km from Melbourne, Victoria.
Like most small towns in Australia there's a Pub and a bakery, but not much else. There were other camps close by in, Rushworth and Tatura which held a mix of prisoners. Many of the Italian prisoners came back after the war and farmed (this includes my cousins Grand father).
There's a German war cemetery in Tatura which is well maintained.

Cheers,

Jamie.