Unidentified body on Christmas Island

An unidentified human corpse was found on a life raft in the Indian Ocean, off Christmas Island, in 1942. The origins of the body are a subject of great interest in Australia, because it is widely believed that it came from HMAS "Sydney", which sank off Western Australia in November 1941, after a battle with the German auxiliary cruiser "Kormoran". "Sydney" was lost with no survivors and its wreck was not located until 2008. No remains of its crew have ever been identified.

The body was found on or about 6 February 1942. It is reported that an inquest was held on Christmas Island, soon afterwards. [JSCFADT 1999] The remains were later buried with military honours, in an unmarked grave, in the Old European Cemetery on the island. Christmas Island was captured by Japanese forces on 31 March 1942 and remained in their hands until 1945. Relevant records, including any relating to the inquest, appear to have been lost or destroyed during this period.

A Royal Australian Navy (RAN) archaeological expedition in September–October 2006 recovered the body. Although DNA has been recovered from the remains, DNA testing to determine the identity of the body has so far been unsuccessful. Researchers are attempting to locate relatives of crew members from "Sydney", for the purposes of DNA matching.

Description

The deceased appears to have been a young adult male caucasoid, and tall by the standards of his time. [Chase 2006]

A preliminary examination in 1942 by the island's Medical Officer, Dr J. Scott Clark, found that the remains were partly-decomposed: its eyes, nose and all of the flesh from the right arm were missing. [JSCFADT 1999] The body was clothed in a blue boilersuit which had been bleached white by exposure. It was not carrying "dog tags" or personal effects.

In addition to the boiler suit, a shoe was found beside the body. Clark did not believe the shoe belonged to the dead man, raising the possibility that there may have been other people on the float, before it was found. Later recollections of the shoe varied: Clark stated that it was "probably branded "CROWN BRAND PTY 4", although he had some doubts about "CROWN" and "4". The island's Harbour Master at the time, Captain J. R. Smith, recalled a canvas shoe of a brand named "McCOWAN PTY" or "McEWAN PTY", which also carried symbols representing a crown and/or a broad arrow.

In Captain Smith's opinion, the life raft was a naval Carley float. The wooden decking was manufactured and branded with the word "PATENT". One hole, apparently caused by a bullet, was found in this decking. The outer covering of the float was also damaged in several places; a few pieces of metal were found embedded in the kapok filling. One of these appeared to be a spent bullet.

Recovery of body

The RAN made an unsuccessful attempt to locate the grave in June 2001.

When it was found, the body was in an unusually-shaped coffin, which appeared to have been constructed around it. In addition to human remains, press studs and small fragments of clothing were found in the coffin.

Forensic scientists later found a metal projectile embedded in the skull, and this was initially reported to be a small arms bullet. However, in 2007, the Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence, Bruce Billson, stated that it had been identified as shrapnel, made of an alloy consistent with World War II German ammunition. [Billson 2007] He added that Japanese ammunition of that era was made with a different alloy, as was German-made ammunition supplied to Japan.

Regarding the unknown man's injuries, Billson reported that::...it was found that the shrapnel struck the front of the skull and lodged in the left forehead. In addition to this injury, the pathologist identified a second major skull injury, with bone loss on the left side of the skull, above and behind the left earhole, which is also believed to have occurred around the time of death... The analysis also identified multiple rib fractures, but it is unknown whether these occurred around the time of death or long after death with the settling of the grave. No other shrapnel or projectiles have been found elsewhere in the remains. [Billson 2007]

References

;Footnotes

;External links
* [http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/jfadt/sydney/Sydch_7.htm Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence & Trade (JSCFADT), 1999, "Report on the Loss of HMAS Sydney", Chapter 7 "The Unknown Sailor"]
* [http://www.defence.gov.au/defencemagazine/editions/200611/features/feature05.htm Katharina Chase, "Unravelling a World War II mystery" ("Defence Magazine", November/December 2006)]
* [http://www.minister.defence.gov.au/BillsonTpl.cfm?CurrentId=6366 Bruce Billson (Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence) "Further Results in Relation to Christmas Island Remains"] (Press Release, February 12, 2007)