Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Frank Edmund Getting was born in Sydney on the 30th of July 1899 to Mr and Mrs P.E Getting[i]. Getting joined the cadets at the age of 14 and became a cadet midshipman for the Australian Navy. At 18 years of age, he was promoted to midshipman then a lieutenant at the age of 21[ii].

Getting was admitted to the Royal Australian Naval College in Osborne House, Geelong, Victoria which was later on relocated to HMAS Creswell Jervis Bay. Getting spent 3 years in Naval College and was one of the 23 midshipmen posted in the UK to continue their training for the Royal Navy’s Grand Fleet[iii]. This transfer would mark the beginning of his long training period before serving in the navy. On the 4th of April 1917 he was appointed to the light battle cruiser the “HMS Glorious” and was promoted to Sub-Lieutenant 2 years later. His his first assignment was to escort 6 ‘J’ class submarines while aboard the submarine tender ‘The HMS Platypus’ to help set up the Royal Australian Navy’s second submarine[iv]. After the completion of the voyage he was awarded with the Bridge Watch Keepers Certificate for his performance during his expedition[v].

Returning to England on the 25th of September in 1919 so that he could continue submarine training, he distinguished himself and set himself apart from the others in his class by placing first in his class of 46 in the torpedo course at the HMS Vernon[vi]. Getting was promoted to Lieutenant during his stay in England. After the completion of his training course in 1929 his instructor stated that he was “A keen and capable officer who has taken great interest in the course and has carried out good attacks. He has plenty of self-confidence and initiative and has a good power of command. He should make a good and reliable Commanding Officer of a submarine”[vii].

After being promoted to commander and being appointed to the role of the Operations and Intelligence Officer, he was elected first President of the Submarine Old Comrades Association by his peers due to his being well liked and respected. Getting married Mrs Hazel Jennings on the 17th June 1933.

Getting was a well-respected submariner and navy commander by WW2  and was promoted to the ranks of a commander. Just before the outbreak of WW2 Commander Getting had served on the HMAS Canberra and after the advent of World War 2 he was promoted to Acting Captain and Commanding Officer of the HMAS Kanimbla. Kanimbla left Australia on the 8th of December 1939 on a direct course for the China Station. They arrived at their destination on the 3rd of January 1940 where they were stationed in Hong Kong with the sole task of intercepting German merchant fleets that left the ports of Japan. Getting obtained the position of Captain shortly before embarking to Hong Kong. He remained within Hong Kong for roughly 2 years before he received command and transferred over to the HMAS Canberra, this day was the 17th of June 1942.

Getting on the HMAS Canberra was a part of ‘Task Force 44’ alongside the HMAS Australia (which was the flagship) the HMAS HOBART and U.S Cruisers SALT LAKE CHICAGO alongside three other destroyers. Task Force 44 departed from Brisbane on the 26th of July. A surprise Japanese attack on the HMAS CANBERRA on the 9th of August 1942 left the HMAS CANBERRA irreparable. The ship was bombarded with torpedoes and 24 high calibre shells at a point-blank range. 109 sailors were wounded and 82 were killed as a result of the attack. Captain Getting was among those who were injured in the attacks yet when he was discovered by the surgeon Commander Downward, he refused medical attention but instead ordered the surgeon to attend to the other wounded and leave him to co-ordinate the doctors and surgeons on board to help deal with the injured onboard[viii]. Captain Getting was then transferred to the USS BARTETT which took off for New Caledonia[ix].

Unfortunately, Captain Getting passed away from his injuries. His wife had received word that her husband had passed away before word of the HMAS CANBERRA’s destruction, and she was to keep his death a secret from the public[x]. After his death his wife made the following statement about Getting when interviewed by journalist J.J Adams on his life: “I am proud of Frank. He loved the sea and he was willing if needs be, to give his all for his country. He would not have wished to go in any other way”[xi]. The Admiral Sir Ragnar Colvin, formerly First Naval Member to the Australian Naval Board wrote that “No finer sailors ever trod the deck … They assimilated the knowledge and traditions of the older service, but blended with it something peculiar to themselves and the result was unmistakable and unmistakably good “[xii]. After his death, the Submarine Old Comrades Association of which Getting was the president held memorial service to him and four other members for giving their lives to God, King and Country.

By Anthony Kourtis

Sydney Technical High School

Bibliography

Discoveringanzacs.naa.gov.au. (2018). GETTING FRANK EDMUND: Date of Birth - 30 Jul 1899 : Place of Birth - SYDNEY NSW : Place of Enlistment - SYDNEY : Next of Kin - GETTING HAZEL | Discovering Anzacs | National Archives of Australia and Archives NZ. [online] Available at: https://discoveringanzacs.naa.gov.au/browse/records/475831 [Accessed 9 Aug. 2018].

Memorial, T. (2018). Portrait of Captain Frank Edmund Getting RAN, Commander of HMAS Canberra, who lost his life when .... [online] Awm.gov.au. Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/019436 [Accessed 9 Aug. 2018].

Navy, R. (2018). Captain Frank Edmund Getting | Royal Australian Navy. [online] Navy.gov.au. Available at: http://www.navy.gov.au/biography/captain-frank-edmund-getting [Accessed 9 Aug. 2018].

Smith, P. (2018). Captain Frank Edmund Getting, RAN - 1899-1942 | NHSA. [online] NHSA. Available at: https://www.navyhistory.org.au/captain-frank-edmund-getting-ran-1899-1942/ [Accessed 9 Aug. 2018].

[i] Peter Smith, ‘Captain Frank Edmund Getting, RAN – 1899-1942’, June 1994 edition of the Naval Historical Review (all rights reserved), 1944 p. 1.
[ii] Ibid 1
[iii] THS Journal vol 2 no.1 1917, p10.

 
[iv] Peter Smith, ‘Captain Frank Edmund Getting, RAN – 1899-1942’, June 1994 edition of the Naval Historical Review (all rights reserved), 1944 p. 1.
[v] Ibid 1

 
[vi] Ibid 1
[vii] Ibid 1
[viii] Peter Smith, ‘Captain Frank Edmund Getting, RAN – 1899-1942’, June 1994 edition of the Naval Historical Review (all rights reserved), 1944 p. 2.
[ix] Ibid 3

 
[x] Ibid 3

 
[xi] Ibid 3
[xii] Ibid 3