Offered for sale is a unique and irreplaceable Journal commenced in 1933 by Arthur Irwin Chapman, who was just 17 years old, when he commenced his maritime / naval career. In 1933 Chapman was employed by the E & A S.S. Co. Ltd. Chapman’s first ship was the T.S.S Tanda, where he remained as a Cadet for 3 years. It is clear from the journal that Chapman was both a very observant and a meticulous recorder of events and facts to further his knowledge. (The outset of WW II saw Chapman assume the role of Naval Intelligence Officer and Assistant Navigator). The importance of this Journal as a rare and unique survivor of pre-war naval history cannot be overstated. The journal shows the development of Chapman as a Naval Cadet to an intelligence Officer who actively gathered sensitive information (such as the 1939 Japanese map of the islands of Japan and Japanese Warship descriptions etc.), prior to his promotion as an Intelligence officer in the RAN.
FOLLOWING IS A DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE MAN FROM 1933 TO 1945 PLUS A DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE CONTENTS OF THE BOOK
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN PURCHASING THIS BOOK THIS DATA WILL GIVE YOU A DETAILED BACKGROUND TO ASSIST YOUR EVALUATION OF THE ITEM - PLEASE READ
Biography
Arthur Irwin Chapman was born in Adelaide in 1916 to Marie Chapman (nee Hosier), an American from Virginia and Dr Arthur Irwin Chapman, a prominent Adelaide dental surgeon. Educated at St Peters College in Adelaide, Chapman accepted a position with the AUSN Shipping Co. in 1932, initially doing coastal runs. After a short time he was transferred to the parent Company, the Eastern and Australia Line (E&A), running from Australia to Japan via New Guinea, the Philippines, Hong Kong and the China Coast. His first ship was the SS Tanda.
He spent about three years as a Cadet on this run with one year (1936) as a midshipman onboard the heavy cruiser HMAS Canberra and the destroyer HMAS Vendetta. Chapman’s capacity for intelligence gathering on runs to the Far East is worth noting. It is said that he carried a small camera up his sleeve and by fraternizing with his counterparts in the Japanese merchant navy he was able to gain valuable intelligence including the dimensions of a Japanese dry-dock. It is very interesting to note that the Journal once contained information regarding the HMAS Canberra and HMAS Vendetta, which were later removed - probably due to “security concerns” if the journal was misplaced or lost.
On completion of his RANR sea time Chapman was promoted to Sub Lieutenant and also gained his Second Mates Foreign Going Certificate. He then served on the passenger cargo liner SS Nankin as Third Officer, gaining his First Mates Foreign Going Certificate in 1939. As a Merchant Navy deck officer Chapman had become a competent seaman and navigator, which stood him in good stead for his subsequent career in the RAN. The outset of WW II saw Chapman assume the role of Naval Intelligence Officer and Assistant Navigator in HMS Arawa, a passenger liner that had been requisitioned by the Admiralty and converted to an armed merchant cruiser.
Together with HMAS Ship Kanimbla and HMAS Moreton Bay, Arawa was assigned to the China Station and although flying the British white ensign, the crew was mostly Australian reservists. The ship operated in the North and South Atlantic in the early stages of the war and in 1941 she narrowly missed intercepting the German raider Kormoran. From Arawa Chapman joined HMAS Whyalla on commissioning in late 1941. She was one of sixty Australian minesweepers, commonly known as corvettes, built during WW II in Australian shipyards. Chapman served in HMAS Whyalla for about twelve months during which time the ship performed escort and patrol duties on the Australian East coast and was in Sydney Harbour on the night of 31 May 1942 when the Japanese midget submarine attack took place.
A highlight of Chapman’s Naval career was being appointed in command of the Dutch mine warfare vessel Abraham Crijnssen. This ship succeeded in escaping the Japanese advance in the Dutch East Indies and was subsequently transferred to the RAN. She was commissioned in September 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Chapman. Under Chapman’s command, the Abraham Crijnssen performed vital escort duties for convoys on passage along the eastern Australian coast.
Following the novel experience of serving in a Dutch vessel Chapman was given a second command. This time it was HMAS Inverell, a sister ship to the HMAS Whyalla, whose primary role at the time was escorting ships between Darwin and Thursday Island. The ship survived occasional attacks by Japanese aircraft before being based in Fremantle in a training role.
An appointment to the River class frigate HMAS Barcoo as First Lieutenant, or second-in-command, immediately followed Chapman’s long haul on the HMAS Inverell. After the war Barcoo became a survey ship and here Chapman learnt the craft of hydrography while the ship was engaged on survey duties in Australian and New Guinea waters for more than two years. He qualified as a Fourth Class Surveyor. On leaving Barcoo Chapman was appointed to the Permanent Naval Forces and promoted to Acting Lieutenant Commander. Thereafter he served in Kanimbla as Executive Officer and was granted a certificate as Master by the Board of Trade. Amongst other roles Kanimbla operated in support of the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces in Japan.
The T.S.S Tanda:
The T.S.S Tanda was British Merchant vessel was built by Alexander Stephen & Sons, Glasgow, Yard No 458, completed in May 1914 as the SS Tanda, for British India Steam Navigation Co Ltd, London. In October, 1914, the Tanda was chartered by the Madras War Fund and served as a Hospital Ship for Indian troops and renamed HMHS Madras. In August 1918, she was converted into an Ambulance Transport and sailed to Vladivostok. In 1919 The Tanda was used as an Expeditionary Force Transport ship until 1919 when she was returned to her owners and renamed the SS Tanda.
In 1924 she was transferred to Eastern & Australian (E & A S.) Steam Ship Co Ltd, London, who employed her on the Australia - East Asia & Asia service. On the 2nd September, 1937, the Tanda successfully rode out a typhoon that struck Hong Kong via South China Sea, owing to the experience of her Captain. Known as the 1937 Great Hong Kong Typhoon, it was one of the deadliest typhoons in Hong Kong history killing 11,000 people including the deaths of 21 people in Macau.
At 22.13 hours on 15 July 1944 while on a journey from Melbourne via Colombo to Bombay (Mumbai), the unescorted SS Tanda was hit by two torpedoes from U-181 and sank about 52 miles northwest of Mangalore (Mangaluru, India) in the Arabian Sea. 18 crew members and one passenger were lost including the Radio Officer, Robert Claud Vivian Humphrey, who sent the distress call that saved the lives of the master, 158 crew members, twelve gunners and 26 passengers who were picked up and landed at Colombo on 18 July.
The Biographical Information of Commander Chapman was derived from an article published by the Naval Historical Review (December 2012 edition) and the biography, “They Also Served – Arthur Irwin Chapman, 11 January 1916 – 21 August 2012”, was written by Jo Morrice.
Description of the Journal Contents
The following is a detailed description of the contents of the Commander Chapmans journal. As mentioned before, the journal was begun in 1933, the last entries are dated 1939. Please note: where the term “insert” is used, we mean an item such as a map, a printed chart, distance tables, navigational instructions etc., is included in the journal next to the relevant page.
1. General Index
2. Melbourne to Risdon (Hobart) - navigational instructions
3. Risdon to Sydney (inside track) - navigational instructions
4. Risdon to Sydney (outside track) - navigational instructions
5. Melbourne to Newcastle (inside track) - navigational instructions
6. Melbourne to Newcastle (outside track) - navigational instructions
7. Sydney to Melbourne (outer track) - navigational instructions
8. Sydney to Brisbane (inside track) - navigational instructions
9. Risdon to Newcastle (outer track) - navigational instructions
10. Melbourne to Port Stephens, Hobart to Port Stephens and Port Stephens to Newcastle
11. Sydney to Brisbane (outer, inside track and North West or South Chanel)
12. Brisbane to Sydney continued from page 11
13. Brisbane to Sydney - navigational instructions
14. Brisbane to Sydney – more navigational and anchorage instructions
15. Brisbane to Townsville - additional navigational instructions over the page
16. Brisbane to Townsville (continued)
17. Townsville to Brisbane - navigational instructions
18. Townsville to Brisbane(continued)
19. Brisbane to Port Alma from Freeman’s Channel - navigational instructions
20. Port Alma to Townsville - navigational instructions
21. Townsville to Cairns - navigational instructions
22. Cairns to Bay Rock, Bay Rock to Brisbane - navigational instructions
23. Townsville to Rabaul via China Straits - navigational instructions (also see over page)
24. Townsville to Rabaul via Palm Pass - navigational instructions (also see over page)
25. Townsville to Rabaul (continued)
26. Townsville to Rabaul via Magnetic Passage - navigational instructions
27. Townsville to Rabaul via Grafton Passage to Adele Island - navigational instructions
28. Townsville to Rabaul via Magnetic Passage and Adele Island - navigational instructions see over page – more detailed navigational instructions for Adele Island
29. Rabaul to Brisbane – navigational instructions - see over page re San Bernadino strait currents
30. Manilla to Raboul (needed revision) see over page for more information- navigational instructions
31. Manilla to Raboul via San Bernadino Strait- navigational instructions
32. Manilla to Raboul via Basilan Strait- navigational instructions
33. Raboul to Manilla- navigational instructions
34. Manilla to Hong Kong and (insert) a printed Buoy Plan of Hong Kong Harbour
35. Hong Kong to Shanghai - navigational instructions and (inserts) a printed distance tables (HK to Shanghai) and a printed 1938 Tidal Prediction Table (for Shanghai)
36. Hong Kong to Shanghai - navigational instructions and (insert) distance tables (Woosung to Chinkiang) as well as Buoy information and hand drawn diagram
37. Hong Kong to Shanghai - navigational instructions and (insert) printed Inshore passage distance chart for Hong Kong to Ningpo and Shanghai
38. Hong Kong to Shanghai, buoy information, dredger information and (inserts)a printed 1934 plan of Shanghai Harbour, two hand drawn maps of the entrance to the Yang Tse River estuary and hand drawn illustration of Shanghai dredging buoy signals
39. Shanghai to Moji and (insert)a printed berthing map of Shanghai Harbour berthing arrangements
40. Hong Kong to Moji – navigational instructions
41. Hong Kong to Moji (over page details of customs piers)
42. Moji to Kobe and (insert) a RARE 1939 printed in Japan, a map of the islands Japan
43. Moji to Kobe and (insert) a handwritten note on approach to Moji harbour from the north and the south (over page notes and a hand drawn map of the Gulf of Japan)
44. Osaka to Yokoyama – navigational notes (over page notes and distance table from Nagoya to Yokohama
45. Nagoya to Yokohama - distance table (over page distance table from Melbourne to Yokohama)
46. Yokohama to Hakodate – distance table (over page a printed table of Woosung tidal balls)
47. Printed chart of “House” shipping flags (e.g. Blue Star Line – over page a printed Typhoon disc
48. Printed Typhoon chart
49. Thermometer and barometer chart
50. Chinese weights and measures chart
51. Greek Alphabet
52. Navigation shipping lights (on ships) including hand drawings
53. Blank page
54. Navigation shipping lights (on ships) including hand drawings
55. Blank page
56. Navigation shipping lights (on ships) including hand drawings
57. Blank page
58. Navigation shipping lights (on ships) including hand drawings
59. Detailed description of the S.S Nellore
60. Detailed description of the S.S Tanda and (insert) a hand drawn capacity plan for the S.S Tanda)
61. Detailed description of the S.S Orungal
62. Mariners Visual and Sound Signals
63. Mariners Visual and Sound Signals
64. Mariners Visual and Sound Signals
65. Mariners Visual and Sound Signals
66. Climate of China and (insert) a printed Weather chart – All of China to Siberia
67. Climate of China
68. Climate of China
69. Climate of China
70. Fog signals
71. Fog signals
72. Chinese coloured Buoys and diagrams
73. Chinese lighting on Vessels
74. Chinese coloured Buoys and diagrams
75. Climate of China - continued
76. N.B: Pages 76 to page 83 contained “Gunnery Notes” and other sensitive information about the HMAS Canberra and the HMAS Vendetta – these pages were removed at a later date probably due to “security concerns” should the Journal be misplaced or lost.
The next entries are recorded towards the back of the journal after a large section of blank / unused pages – please note that these pages are not numbered.
Price: $5,800 AUD
Please also note that we may not necessarily agree with the views presented in all of the items that we sell, but simply offer them on their historic merit.
We only have a fraction of our collection online, so if you're looking for a specific item please send us a message and we should be able to help you with any request. We have over 4 warehouses worth of stock so it's rare that we can't find an item for someone!
We offer a bulk discount on items such as ephemera and magazines. We are also happy to consider any reasonable offer on items such as artworks and expensive collectables.
We welcome local pick-up on all items. Please contact us for postage bundling or to request a courier.
Buy with confidence from a seller who has been collecting and operating for over 30 years! And don't forget to look at our other items!