Hugh Charles Sweeny[1] from Dalby, Queensland along with two other sailors were the first Australian POWs captured in World War II. They were captured during the initial outbreak of fighting in the East African Campaign.
On 9 August 1940, three volunteers from HMAS Hobart[2] went ashore in response to an urgent request for artillery support for the hard-pressed garrison. Petty Officer Hugh Jones from Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, Able Seaman William James Hurren from Sydney, New South Wales, and Able Seaman Hugh Charles Sweeny from Dalby, Queensland were landed with a QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss saluting gun on an improvised mounting, a reinforced 44-gallon drum.
By early the next morning they were in position, manning the gun and dressed in military uniform on the main British defence line at Tug Argan Gap, some 60 kilometres south of Berbera. The fighting continued during the next five days but when the British evacuated between 15–19 August, the three Australian sailors were reported missing believed killed in action 15 August 1940. Instead, they had been captured by the Italians, the first members of an Australian unit taken prisoner of war (POW) during World War II.
The three POWs from HMAS Hobart were recovered from Adi Ugri in Eritrea on 29 April 1941 after Italian East Africa fell to the British.[3]
Referencesedit
^"Sweeny, Hugh Charles". World War Two Nominal Roll. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
^Royal Australian Navy. "HMAS Hobart (I)". navy.gov.au. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
^"Our first POWs". ww2australia.gov.au. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
Further readingedit
Gill, G. Hermon (1957). "Chapter 5, R. A. N. Ships Overseas June–December 1940" (PDF). Royal Australian Navy, 1939–1942. Australia in the War of 1939–1945, Series 2. Vol. I (online ed.). Canberra, ACT: Australian War Memorial. pp. 140–246. OCLC 848228. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
October 29, 2023
hugh, sweeny, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, topic, this, article, meet, wikipedia, notability, guideline, biographies, please, help, demonstrate, nota. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia s notability guideline for biographies Please help to demonstrate the notability of the topic by citing reliable secondary sources that are independent of the topic and provide significant coverage of it beyond a mere trivial mention If notability cannot be shown the article is likely to be merged redirected or deleted Find sources Hugh Sweeny news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message This biography of a living person relies on a single source You can help by adding reliable sources to this article Contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately September 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Hugh Charles Sweeny 1 from Dalby Queensland along with two other sailors were the first Australian POWs captured in World War II They were captured during the initial outbreak of fighting in the East African Campaign On 9 August 1940 three volunteers from HMAS Hobart 2 went ashore in response to an urgent request for artillery support for the hard pressed garrison Petty Officer Hugh Jones from Kalgoorlie Western Australia Able Seaman William James Hurren from Sydney New South Wales and Able Seaman Hugh Charles Sweeny from Dalby Queensland were landed with a QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss saluting gun on an improvised mounting a reinforced 44 gallon drum By early the next morning they were in position manning the gun and dressed in military uniform on the main British defence line at Tug Argan Gap some 60 kilometres south of Berbera The fighting continued during the next five days but when the British evacuated between 15 19 August the three Australian sailors were reported missing believed killed in action 15 August 1940 Instead they had been captured by the Italians the first members of an Australian unit taken prisoner of war POW during World War II The three POWs from HMAS Hobart were recovered from Adi Ugri in Eritrea on 29 April 1941 after Italian East Africa fell to the British 3 References edit Sweeny Hugh Charles World War Two Nominal Roll Retrieved 21 February 2016 Royal Australian Navy HMAS Hobart I navy gov au Retrieved 21 February 2016 Our first POWs ww2australia gov au Retrieved 21 February 2016 Further reading editGill G Hermon 1957 Chapter 5 R A N Ships Overseas June December 1940 PDF Royal Australian Navy 1939 1942 Australia in the War of 1939 1945 Series 2 Vol I online ed Canberra ACT Australian War Memorial pp 140 246 OCLC 848228 Retrieved 20 February 2016 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hugh Sweeny amp oldid 1158445448, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
