Vice Admiral Sir John Augustine COLLINS
KBE CB RAN Chief of Navy (1948 - 1955)
Vice
Admiral
Sir John Augustine Collins, Naval officer and
diplomat, was born on 7 January 1899 at Deloraine, Tasmania,
fourth son of Michael John Collins, a medical practitioner
from Ireland, and his English wife Esther, née Copeland.
The Australian novelist Cuthbert Quinlan Dale Collins was
his elder brother. His father, who had spent
many years as a Merchant Navy doctor, died of typhoid at
Launceston, Tasmania, on 31 May 1898, seven months
before John was born. The family moved to Melbourne
where John was educated at Christian Brothers’
College, East Melbourne.
He entered the Royal Australian
Naval College, Osborne House, Geelong, with the first intake
in 1913. The college relocated to Jervis Bay, Federal
Capital Territory, in 1915. Collins became a cadet captain,
gained colours in Rugby and Athletics, and graduated in 1916
with prizes for Seamanship and Engineering (theory) and 'maximum time gained', which accelerated his eventual
promotion to Lieutenant.
Appointed as a Midshipman on 1 January 1917, Collins was
sent to Britain for training with the Royal Navy. His first
sea posting was to the battleship HMS Canada, a unit of the
Grand Fleet. He was promoted to Sub-Lieutenant in September
1918 and, as World War I drew to a close, he joined the
destroyer HMS Spenser, becoming her Gun Control Officer. After serving in the destroyer HMAS
Stalwart and rising to
Lieutenant in December 1919, he returned to Australia in
1921 to join the cruiser HMAS Melbourne.
It was while he was serving with the Grand Fleet that he
decided to specialise in gunnery and in 1922 Collins went back to Britain to undertake the long
gunnery course. He distinguished himself by winning
the Commander Egerton Memorial Prize, which was founded in
memory of Commander FG Egerton RN, who was mortally wounded
in 1899 in the defence of Ladysmith. This prize is awarded
annually to the naval officer of the Royal Navy, or any Navy
of the Commonwealth, who, when qualifying as a Gunnery
Lieutenant in England, wins the highest marks in practical
gunnery and completed the advanced course before coming home
in 1925 to rejoin Melbourne, this time as her
Gunnery Officer. As later events proved in the
Mediterranean in the Second World War, Admiral Collins'
specialised knowledge of gunnery was to stand him in good
stead.
Melbourne soon deployed to the
Mediterranean Fleet as part of an exchange program with the
RN. On his return to Australia, Collins was appointed
Naval
Liaison Officer for the 1927 visit of the Duke and Duchess
of York. He accompanied the Royal Party at the opening of
Parliament House in Canberra and in their passage in the
Battle Cruiser HMS Renown back to Britain.
Promoted to Lieutenant Commander in December 1927, Collins
joined the new heavy cruiser HMAS Australia, which was
fitting out at Clydebank, Scotland. After serving in her for
two years as Squadron Gunnery Officer, he was placed in
command of the destroyer leader HMAS Anzac in 1930. This
appointment was a clear recognition of his potential for
higher rank and the Navy’s desire to round out his
professional development. At St Mark’s Church of England,
Darling Point, Sydney, on 3 June that year he married
Phyllis Laishley McLachlan.
Collins was posted as First Lieutenant of Flinders Naval
Depot, Westernport, Victoria, in 1931. He attended the staff
course at the RN College, Greenwich, England, in 1932 and
was promoted to Commander in June. In 1933 he joined the
Admiralty’s Plans Division, where he was responsible for
Imperial port defences. While on leave at Portwrinkle,
Cornwall, in 1934, he rescued a girl swept away by a rip. Phyllis assisted by manning an improvised lifeline. The
Royal Humane Society, London, awarded Collins a testimonial
on parchment for his actions.
In 1935 Collins was appointed Executive Officer of the new
light cruiser HMAS Sydney. His commanding officer was the at
times brilliant, but unpredictable Captain J. U. P.
Fitzgerald, RN, who made Collins’s duties even more of a
challenge. Sydney was attached to the Mediterranean Fleet in
response to the Abyssinian crisis and did not arrive in
Australian waters until August 1936. Promoted to Captain in
December 1937, Collins became Assistant-Chief of Naval Staff
and Director of Naval Intelligence at Navy Office,
Melbourne, in February 1938. He played an important staffing
role in the procurement of much-needed anti-Submarine
Escorts; the successful Bathurst-class Corvettes were the
result. Another pressing issue was the production of Naval
Mobilisation Plans and Procedures.
The period at Navy Office and his earlier service in the
Mediterranean prepared Collins well for his most memorable
operational appointment, that of Commanding Officer of
Sydney. He had a good grasp of the strategic environment and
knew his superiors from Prime Minister (Sir) Robert Menzies
down. Collins assumed Command in November 1939 and in May
1940 Sydney once again joined the Mediterranean Fleet,
Commanded by the redoubtable Admiral Sir Andrew (Viscount)
Cunningham. Cunningham’s leadership style was based on broad
direction with the expectation that subordinates would use
common sense and initiative to achieve the strategic aim. Captain Hec Waller and the 10th ('Scrap-Iron') Destroyer
Flotilla flourished under this approach. The less flamboyant
but highly competent and astute Collins was to prosper
equally.
Left: Captain JA Collins was
a natural choice as Sydney’s first Australian Commanding
Officer,
having served three years in her as the Executive Officer.
Right: In Fremantle Sydney’s wartime complement was
bolstered to 645 men.
In June-July 1940 Sydney took part in the bombardment of
Bardia, Libya, sank the Italian destroyer Espero and fought
in the Battle of Calabria. On 18 July Sydney, with the
destroyer HMS Havock, conducted a sweep off the Cretan coast
while at the same time providing support to four other
British destroyers. Collins used the freedom provided by
Cunningham to remain close to the smaller ships while they
remained vulnerable to attack in the Aegean Sea. Next
morning the destroyers encountered two Italian cruisers, the
Bartolomeo Colleoni and the Giovanni delle Bande Nere. Collins decided to maintain radio silence while closing for
battle. This tactic proved decisive. Sydney’s appearance
caught everyone by surprise, including Cunningham, and in
the ensuing engagement Colleoni was stopped and subsequently
sunk by torpedoes from two destroyers. Outnumbered,
Bande
Nere escaped using her superior speed.
During the Cape Spada action
Sydney fired 956 rounds of 6-inch shell at the enemy.
Note the blistered paint visible on her gun barrels.
The crippled Italian cruiser
Bartolomeo Colleoni.
The Battle of Cape Spada was the first substantial Naval
victory in the war against Italy. It catapulted Collins and
the Sydney into the world’s headlines. It was
for his ability in Commanding Sydney in the
Mediterranean and especially for his destruction of
Bartolomeo Colleoni that Captain Collins was awarded
the Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) because of...
...'his quick appreciation of the situation, offensive
spirit and resolute handling of his ship achieved a victory
over a superior force which has had important strategic
effects'
Throughout Australia news of Sydney’s victory
dominated the newspapers. The Melbourne Herald of 20
July 1940 reported in its evening edition that...
...'Once again the Australian Navy has shown the
splendid fighting quality and efficiency of the last war.
Sydney outfought and destroyed the famous Emden and now her
younger sister writes another page of naval history that
will thrill the civilized world'.
And thrill it, she did. Newspapers in London and New
York enthusiastically acknowledged Sydney’s victory over the
two superior Italian cruisers, while the Sydney Morning
Herald of 22 July 1940 announced that...
...'Flags will be flown on all Government buildings
throughout New South Wales today in honour of a great naval
exploit'.
Collins became a National hero and was to wear that mantle
for the remainder of his life.
HMAS Sydney returns home to Australia (1941) The city of Sydney, Australia welcoming Captain John Collins and HMAS Sydney home after
a year-long deployment, during which it sank the Italian cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni
Sydney returned to her
namesake port in February 1941 to a tumultuous welcome. Collins had only three months remaining in
Command, but in
that time Sydney took the First Naval Member Admiral Sir
Ragnar Colvin to a conference in Singapore. There it was
decided that Collins would be appointed Assistant Chief of
Staff to Vice Admiral Sir Geoffrey Layton,
Commander-in-Chief, China (based in Singapore).
Collins took up his duties in Singapore in June 1941,
accompanied by his wife and daughter. His immediate task was
to plan for the employment of Allied Air and Naval forces. He established a good rapport with Layton and was
disappointed when Admiral Sir Tom Phillips relieved him. On
news of the sinking of the British capital ships Prince of
Wales and Repulse and the death of Phillips in December,
Collins had the presence of mind to rush to the departing
Dominion Monarch to recall Layton to duty. So began a
gruelling period for Collins. Having arranged for the
evacuation of his family, in January 1942 he became
Commodore Commanding China Force, which consisted of RN and
RAN cruisers and destroyers based in Batavia (Jakarta). It
was a significant command and Collins, who was made
Commodore, second class, was junior for the post.
Exercising his authority within the complex and unwieldy
Australian-British-Dutch-American Command, Collins employed
his forces escorting shipping to and from Singapore or
assigned them to a Dutch-led striking force. After the
surrender of Singapore and the Allied defeat in the battle
of the Java Sea, it was clear to him that Batavia would
fall. Collins organised evacuations of civilians and
military personnel to Australia and India and embarked in
one of the last departing ships.
In recognition for his work in that post he was mentioned in
despatches...
...partly for his work in Singapore... 'as an
outstanding officer who has rendered extremely good
service'. The second part of the citation noted that
Collins had... 'handled his force in the ABDA area with
skill and discretion in untoward circumstances'.
Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands also conferred upon him
the honour of Commander of the
Order of Oranje-Nassau for...
...'service to the Royal Netherlands Navy'
On his arrival at Fremantle in March 1942, Collins became
Senior Naval Officer, Western Australia. During his tenure
he was involved in the controversial decision to relieve his
RANC classmate Acting Commander Paul Hirst of his command of
the Corvette HMAS Toowoomba. In Hirst’s assessment the ship
was not in a fit material state to take to sea. This view
was not shared by his superiors including Collins.
In 1943 Collins went to England to assume Command of the
Cruiser HMAS Shropshire, which the British
Government had presented to the Commonwealth Government to
replace HMAS Canberra after she was lost during the
Battle of Savo Island. He took Shropshire to the Pacific theatre, where she
joined other RAN ships attached to the United States Seventh
Fleet.
In May 1944, on Prime Minister John Curtin’s insistence,
Collins was appointed Commodore, first class, and given
Command of the Australian Squadron. His force took part in
the New Guinea and Philippines campaigns and on 21 October
at Leyte Gulf his flagship, Australia, was struck on the
Bridge by a Japanese dive-bomber. Thirty men, including
Captain Emile Dechaineux, were killed and Collins was
seriously wounded. After convalescence he returned to
Command the Squadron in July 1945 and was the RAN
representative for the Japanese surrender on board USS
Missouri in Tokyo Bay on 2 September.
Commodore Collins, Captain
Dechaineux and Commander Gatacre on the compass platform
of HMAS Australia. Dechaineux was killed and Collins
badly injured when a Japanese suicide aircraft
struck the bridge on 21 October 1944.
The US government
appointed him an Officer of the Legion of Merit (1946) for
his command of Task Force 74. The citation noted his
time in command of Shropshire and continued...
...under his command the cruisers and destroyers of the
Royal Australian Navy have aided by their accurate
bombardment Allied landings which have been made in the
Southwest Pacific Area. Those tasks have been
performed in closest coordination with units of the US Navy.
The services of his Task Force have been of invaluable aid
to Commander Allied Naval Forces, Southwest Pacific Area.
At all times he has demonstrated a spirit of complete
cooperation; his presence has strengthened already friendly
relations between the naval services of the two nations.
A Rear Admiral from January 1947, Collins attended the
Imperial Defence College, London, that year. On 24 February
1948 he became the first Australian-trained officer to
become Chief of Naval Staff. He considered himself too young
for the post, but Prime Minister Ben Chifley was adamant
that an Australian should lead the RAN.
Left: Rear Admiral Collins
was appointed First Naval Member of the
Australian Commonwealth Naval Board and Chief of the Naval
Staff, on 24 February 1948.
Right: Rear Admiral Collins with Cadet Midshipman
Andrewartha, during a visit to the RAN College, circa 1947.
Promoted to Vice
Admiral on 10 May 1950, Collins was to remain in the
appointment for seven years. This long tenure was partly the
result of the war losses suffered by his generation of
officers.
Collins proved to be a shrewd and capable administrator who
enjoyed the respect of the higher echelons of Defence and
Government. These qualities were much needed as he reshaped
the Navy to meet changing strategic, social and fiscal
circumstances. Collins oversaw the introduction of
Aircraft-Carriers into the Fleet as well as the involvement
of the RAN in the Korean War and the Malayan Emergency. He
instigated co-ordinated strategic and operational planning
by the RAN, RN and Royal New Zealand Navy, and followed this
success with similar arrangements with the US Navy. The
resultant Radford-Collins Agreement (1951) came to symbolise
the postwar primacy of the RAN’s relationship with the USN
which is still in force to this day.
In the King's Birthday Honours List of 1951 he was made a
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE)....
...'for his service to the Navy and the nation as the
Chief of Naval Staff'.
On 23 February 1955 he relinquished his post and retired from the
Navy on 16 March.
In 1956 Collins accepted the appointment of High
Commissioner to New Zealand. By virtue of his wife’s New
Zealand heritage and his frequent Naval visits, he was well
acquainted with his host Nation. He proved to be a sensitive
observer of National affairs and developed an unrestrained
love for the natural beauty of New Zealand. Travelling
throughout the country, he especially enjoyed angling. His
travels were further extended when in 1957 he also became
one of the Australian members of the South Pacific
Commission. He retired in 1962.
Settling at Rose Bay,
Sydney, he kept in regular contact with his former naval
comrades, particularly at the Royal Sydney Golf Club. He
wrote his memoirs, 'As Luck Would Have It' (1965), and further
pursued his hobby of bookbinding. In 1965 Menzies offered
him the Governor-Generalship, but he refused the honour.
From the outset of his brilliant Naval career, it was clear
that Collins was a clever and ambitious officer. The reports
by his superiors on his performance are striking in their
consistently glowing assessments. Most notable in their
estimation were his professionalism, cool head and keen
sense of judgment, attributes he was to demonstrate in the
battle of Cape Spada. As a leader he was brave and forceful. Conservative by nature, he actively maintained the
traditions of the service. His patience would occasionally
be tested by poor performances from subordinates, which
probably led to his being viewed with more respect than
affection by ships’ companies.
Collins was handsome and always well turned out. He was for
a generation the public face of the Australian Navy. Unlike
most Naval Officers, he was very aware of the importance of
the media and some of his peers accused him of
self-promotion. Whatever the case, his contribution to the
positive public image of the Navy was considerable. There
are numerous portraits of Collins, including one by Dennis
Adams (1945) and another by (Sir) William Dargie (1958) held
by the Australian War Memorial, Canberra.
Survived by his
wife and their daughter, Sir John died on 3 September 1989
at St Luke’s Hospital, Darlinghurst, and, following a
funeral conducted with full Naval Honours.
In recognition of his service to the RAN, the Collins Class
of submarines was named in his honour. In 1993
Lady Collins launched HMAS Collins, the lead ship of
the new
class of Submarines.
Vice
Admiral
Sir John Augustine Collins, Naval officer and
diplomat, was born on 7 January 1899 at Deloraine, Tasmania,
fourth son of Michael John Collins, a medical practitioner
from Ireland, and his English wife Esther, née Copeland.
The Australian novelist Cuthbert Quinlan Dale Collins was
his elder brother. His father, who had spent
many years as a Merchant Navy doctor, died of typhoid at
Launceston, Tasmania, on 31 May 1898, seven months
before John was born. The family moved to Melbourne
where John was educated at Christian Brothers’
College, East Melbourne. 
Mediterranean and especially for his destruction of
Bartolomeo Colleoni that Captain Collins was awarded
the Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) because of...
Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands also conferred upon him
the honour of Commander of the
Order of Oranje-Nassau for...
