"Action is going to last all night and at our posts we'll lie. Thinking of the folks at home. For tomorrow we may die."
So reads a handwritten entry in a diary belonging to a young Australian man lost at sea on HMAS Sydney 80 years ago today.
Cyril James Nugent gave his diary and photos of his adventures aboard the Sydney to his family before embarking on the warship's final ill-fated journey.
Nugent was among the 645 HMAS Sydney seamen who died in a battle between the Sydney and German cruiser Kormoran off Shark Bay, in Western Australia, on November 19, 1941.
For years, Nugent's family treasured the diary and photos as personal mementos of the young man lost at sea.
They handed them down through the generations.
And this year — the 80th anniversary of the HMAS Sydney's demise — they've donated the diary and photos to the WA Museum.
Wartime adventure beckons
Born on Christmas day in 1920, Nugent joined the Sydney crew as a stoker who would fire the ship's engines.
His great nephew Barry Thomson said Nugent had been a troubled teenager who often fought with his father, and his mother thought joining the navy would instil some discipline.
So she marched him from the family home to Melbourne to sign up.
By the time Nugent returned home on a break in 1940, he was hailed a hero. Indeed, all of the Sydney's crew were celebrated across the nation.
Changing fortunes of war
Flicking through the pages of his diary reveals Nugent's growing maturity.
At the start of his war adventure he was desperate for action. On April 22, 1940, he wrote: "Seven months of war have passed and not a scrap of action have we see[n] but the prospects look good."
Then came the excitement of spotting foreign shores: "Java and Sumatra on either side of us now. My first glimpse of a foreign land."
And just a couple of months later, he wrote: "Italy declares war. Very excited. Looks like a bit of action at last." Then came "air raids every day — never get lonely or bored now".
Realities of war
Nugent described the sinking of the Italian ships Espero and the Bartolomeo Colleoni, burials at sea, and other battles.
He described witnessing the great wonders of Egypt's pyramids, tombs, desert and camels.
And occasionally he admitted to homesickness.
In October 1940, he wrote: "I keep thinking of the chaps back home having a great time with all the Aussie girls. I am completely washed up. We opened fire at midnight then I had a 4 hour watch. No sleep at all. O' hell why did I join this flaming navy?"
But for Mr Thomson, it's the sense of camaraderie among the HMAS Sydney crew that shines most brightly through Nugent's words.
"When you read the official things it's not the same as sitting down and reading about someone who was talking about things like, 'Yes we went out, yes his fellow comrade was knifed one night and the whole crew was very sombre'.
"It brought to the forefront the self-confidence, conviction, integrity, leadership, compassion, objectivity, strength in adversity, fear and mateship held by the officers and crew but also respect for their enemy."
The diary ends with a poem:
There's action on the Sydney. The enemy is in sight.
At last we have a chance to show that we can fight.
Action has been sounded off. There's panic for a while.
But soon the Aussies settle down and face it with a smile.
Now Italy has joined the Huns. We'll fight them in the Med
and the blue of the sea will change to the stain of a bloody red.
Action is going to last all night and at our posts we'll lie.
Thinking of the folks at home. For tomorrow we may die.
