BENTLEY, Roy William
| Service Number: | S5104 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Ordinary Seaman |
| Last Unit: | HMAS Perth (I) D29 WW2 |
| Born: | Scarborough, England, 20 October 1923 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Sunda Strait, Netherlands East Indies, 1 March 1942, aged 18 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Commemorated: - Panel 73, Column 1, Plymouth Naval Memorial, England |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, East Fremantle HMAS Perth (I) Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Ordinary Seaman, S5104, HMAS Perth (I) D29 WW2 |
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Help us honour Roy William Bentley's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Dianne Black
Parents:- Stanley Alderson Bentley, and Elizabeth Bentley, of Arncliffe, New South Wales, Australia.
Ordinary Seaman Roy William Bentley was presumed to have been killed in action during the “Battle of Sunda Straits” when HMAS Perth was sunk by superior Japanese Naval Forces.
HMAS Perth encountered superior naval forces protecting more than 50 transports of the Japanese 16th Army’s Western Java Invasion Convoy on 1st March 1942. HMAS Perth received her first hit at 23:26, her second at 23:32 and a third at 23:50. About midnight, HMAS Perth had very little 6-inch main gun ammunition remaining. At that juncture, The ship’s commander Captain Waller decided to attempt to force a passage through Sunda Strait and ordered full speed. HMAS Perth was then struck on the starboard side by a torpedo at 00:05. At this point in time HMAS Perth’s ammunition was almost expended with the main guns now firing practice shells and the 4-inch guns reduced to using star shells. HMAS Perth then received a second torpedo hit under the bridge on the starboard side. Captain Waller gave the order to abandon ship. HMAS Perth sank at about 00:25, having received two further torpedo hits, another on the starboard side, and a fourth struck her port side. According to Japanese reports, 85 torpedoes were expended by Japanese ships during the Sunda Straits action.
During the abandon-ship operation, HMAS Perth was under fire from several destroyers at close range and many hits were scored resulting in many more casualties. Many were killed or wounded in the water by the explosion of the last two torpedoes and by shells exploding in the water. At the time of her loss, HMAS Perth’s ship’s complement was 681. Of these, 347 (including Captain Waller) died when HMAS Perth was sunk. Only 328 men survived the sinking, though four naval personnel died ashore shortly afterwards. Red Lead the cat also survived. 324 naval personnel, three Royal Australian Air Force personnel, and 17-year-old Alfred Hawkins, the only civilian canteen assistant to survive, entered Japanese captivity. At war’s end, only 214 men, including Hawkins, survived Japanese captivity and were able to be repatriated home to Australia.