Territory Stories
Reginald Hemming Erickson
Details:
Title
Reginald Hemming Erickson,
Name
Reginald Hemming Erickson,
Also known as
Erickson, Reginald Hemming,
Collection
WWII Roll of Honour,
HistoryNT,
Second World War, 1939-1945,
Date
2021,
Occupation
Wharf superintendent,
Date of death
1942-02-19,
Place of death
Town wharf,
Biographical notes
Reginald Hemming Erickson was forty-one years old, with a wife and child living in Sydney. He was attached to the Australian United Steam Navigation Company in Cairns, having joined the company in 1920. He worked as a wharf superintendent. When the difficulty in obtaining wharf labourers and officials in Darwin was most acute, he was transferred and arrived in Darwin on 13 February 1942. Erickson assumed the position of supervisor and began his role in assisting in the reorganisation of the stevedoring vessels in Darwin Harbour.
On the eve of the raid on Darwin, Erickson ordered only five gangs of men to work on the wharf the following morning. This infuriated Union Secretary John Hynes as the wharf was often criticised for its notoriously slow work rate. Union Chairman Joseph 'Yorky' Walker persuaded Hynes not to pursue the matter. He had an ulterior motive for doing so: his gang was not rostered on until the afternoon and he wanted to sleep in. In convincing Hynes not to complain to the supervisor, Walker inadvertently saved his own life. Erickson was one of the first killed by the bombs.,
Notes
Metadata: Attribution International 4.0 (CC-BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 ,
Photo of Darwin Wharf from Australian War Memorial, Public Domain.,
Language
English,
Subject
Second World War, 1939-1945,
Bombing of Darwin,
Roll of Honour,
Northern Territory history,
File type
image/jpeg,
Use
No known copyright,
Copyright owner
Australian War Memorial,
License
https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/pubic-domain/pdm ,
Related links
https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=334209&S=9&R=0 [Darwin Raids - Casualty Lists and Enquiries] ,
https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C255857 [Australian War Memorial : Photograph 305001, Second World War, 1939-1945] ,
https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=334209&S=9&R=0 [Darwin Raids - Casualty Lists and Enquiries] ,
https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C255857 [Australian War Memorial : Photograph 305001, Second World War, 1939-1945] ,
Parent handle
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/839257 ,
Citation address
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/839257
Related items
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/840426 ,
Territory Stories
Reginald Hemming Erickson
Details:
Title
Reginald Hemming Erickson,
Name
Reginald Hemming Erickson,
Also known as
Erickson, Reginald Hemming,
Collection
WWII Roll of Honour,
HistoryNT,
Second World War, 1939-1945,
Date
2021,
Occupation
Wharf superintendent,
Date of death
1942-02-19,
Place of death
Town wharf,
Biographical notes
Reginald Hemming Erickson was forty-one years old, with a wife and child living in Sydney. He was attached to the Australian United Steam Navigation Company in Cairns, having joined the company in 1920. He worked as a wharf superintendent. When the difficulty in obtaining wharf labourers and officials in Darwin was most acute, he was transferred and arrived in Darwin on 13 February 1942. Erickson assumed the position of supervisor and began his role in assisting in the reorganisation of the stevedoring vessels in Darwin Harbour.
On the eve of the raid on Darwin, Erickson ordered only five gangs of men to work on the wharf the following morning. This infuriated Union Secretary John Hynes as the wharf was often criticised for its notoriously slow work rate. Union Chairman Joseph 'Yorky' Walker persuaded Hynes not to pursue the matter. He had an ulterior motive for doing so: his gang was not rostered on until the afternoon and he wanted to sleep in. In convincing Hynes not to complain to the supervisor, Walker inadvertently saved his own life. Erickson was one of the first killed by the bombs.,
Notes
Metadata: Attribution International 4.0 (CC-BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 ,
Photo of Darwin Wharf from Australian War Memorial, Public Domain.,
Language
English,
Subject
Second World War, 1939-1945,
Bombing of Darwin,
Roll of Honour,
Northern Territory history,
File type
image/jpeg,
Use
No known copyright,
Copyright owner
Australian War Memorial,
License
https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/pubic-domain/pdm ,
Related links
https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=334209&S=9&R=0 [Darwin Raids - Casualty Lists and Enquiries] ,
https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C255857 [Australian War Memorial : Photograph 305001, Second World War, 1939-1945] ,
https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=334209&S=9&R=0 [Darwin Raids - Casualty Lists and Enquiries] ,
https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C255857 [Australian War Memorial : Photograph 305001, Second World War, 1939-1945] ,
Parent handle
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/839257 ,
Citation address
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/839257
Related items
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/840426 ,