HMAS Success (Commander Ainsley Morthorpe CSM RAN) sailors joined with the crews of Ships Te Mana and Te Kaha, as well as the crew of HMS Richmond at a Dawn Service at the Kranji War Cemetery, Singapore.
Kranji War Cemetery is the final resting place for Allied soldiers who perished during the Battle of Singapore and the subsequent Japanese occupation of the island from 1942-1945 and in other parts of Southeast Asia during World War II.
The ceremony was also attended by the Commander Australian Fleet, Rear Admiral Steve Gilmore AM CSC RAN. It was a moving experience for all to watch the tropical sunrise over the surrounding graves of over 4,460 men.
Following the service the ships' company returned to Sembawang, where maintenance is currently being conducted on Success, to attend a breakfast cooked by the Success chefs at the Australian White Ensign Club, an all ranks facility run by the RAN Liaison Office in Singapore for the benefit of the local service community and visiting war ships.Following five months living around the facility the Success crew welcomed the Fleet Commander to their home-away-from-home and regaled him with their local knowledge, and showed him around the WWII vintage building and its outstanding facilities.
The ships' company of Success also took the opportunity to make a presentation to the RAN Liaison Officer, LCDRRachael Thompson RAN, in the presence of the Fleet Commander, to express their appreciation for the outstanding support provided by her team to the Success crew over the last five months.
Success deployed in August 2010 for a South East Asian deployment followed by an extensive stop in Singapore from early December 2010. Success has remained in Singapore to undertake a recently completed conversion to double-hull the ship, bringing her in line with the latest International Maritime Organisation guidelines for tankers. Success will return to Australia in June.
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