Heroes: Benalla’s Hec Waller (right) and Edward ‘Weary’ Dunlop.
To the Axis Powers, the Australian flotilla that fought in the Mediterranean during World War II appeared to be no threat.
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Anyone looking at the old, small and slow destroyer group would think the same.
Soon, however, the Axis and the rest of the world would learn just how formidable it was.
The ‘Scrap Iron Flotilla’ and those who manned it proved just how much grit, determination and valour can achieve.
Australia acquired the vintage destroyers, readying them when war broke out in 1939. Just three months in, they were sent to Singapore to protect the country from a potential Japanese attack.
By 1940, the situation in the Middle East and along the Mediterranean had grown more dangerous.
Honoured: The memorial to Hec Waller in Benalla.
Photo by
Simon Ruppert
When the Axis first discovered the ships were in the Mediterranean, they saw it as a chance to win a propaganda victory.
Compared to the modern, fast, and powerful ships of the German and Italian navies, the Australian destroyers seemed outclassed.
So Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels thought he was being intimidating when he named it the 'Scrap Iron Flotilla'.
Taking to nicknames, the Australians proudly renamed the flotilla as such.
The Scrap Iron Flotilla was the backbone of the Tobruk Ferry Service, which kept the besieged garrison of Australian troops at Tobruk supplied and able to fight.
However, warships are only as formidable as the sailors manning them.
One of those sailors was Hector Waller.
Born in Benalla, where he attended primary school, at 13, Hector MacDonald Laws Waller joined the Royal Australian Naval College as a cadet midship.
He climbed the ranks, rising to the command of HMS Brazen monitoring the Spanish Civil War.
When World War II broke out, Mr Waller was appointed captain of the HMAS Stuart, the lead destroyer of the Scrap Iron Flotilla.
Mr Waller was highly respected both by the officers and men he led, and those who commanded him.
In the words of Admiral Cunningham, he was “one of the greatest captains who ever sailed the seas”.
He trained his crews hard, moulding them into an effective fighting force and ensuring they had the best chance of success and survival.
After leading the Scrap Iron Flotilla, he was promoted to commander of the cruiser HMAS Perth, which was sunk after fighting valiantly in the Battle of the Sunda Strait in March 1942.
Hec Waller went down with his ship.
The submarine HMAS Waller is now named in his honour.
To read more about the Australians who served in the Mediterranean during World War II, visithistoryguild.org
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