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Horsnell, Donald Leslie


Donald Leslie Horsnell was born 29 July 1921, the son of gardener Leslie Herbert Horsnell and Irene Alexandra Elizabeth Horsnell (nee Lange). Leslie and Irene divorced 1932. Leslie married Gussie Evelyn Matschoss on 14 November, 1935 1. Paternal grandparents were George Herbert Horsnell and Alice Mary Horsnell (nee Constandt). Donald’s birth place is registered as North Kensington, Norwood, South Australia.

Donald died on 24 July, 1993 in Victoria and was cremated at the Springvale Botanical Cemetery on 28 July 1993. The remains were subsequently collected and his final resting place is unknown2.

Donald Horsnell enlisted on 23 May, 1940 at Wayville, South Australia as Warrant Officer Class 2 in the 27th Infantry Battalion. His place of residence at the time of enlistment was Magill. His service number was SX 3396 and his discharge date is 7 December, 19453.

The rank of Warrant Officer 2 is a senior management role focusing on the training, welfare and discipline of a company, squadron or battery of up to 200 soldiers. WO2s act as senior adviser to the commander of a sub-unit.

WO2s are also employed in more senior logistics and technical trades across most corps of the Army. They can have titles such as Artificer Sergeant-Major, Chief Clerk or Quarter Master Sergeant. WO2s can also be supervising instructors in Army schools4.
Donald was awarded an Australian Efficiency Medal by the Governor General (Prince Henry Duke of Gloucester) 24 October 19465.
He was also mentioned in despatches6.

From 1940 the 27th Battalion’s main role was to provide training to conscripts as part of the compulsory training scheme which was re-established in early 1940.

Together as part of the 3rd Brigade, 27th Battalion undertook garrison duties in South Australia as well as running a number of training camps designed to increase the nation's defences in case of war in the Pacific. With Japan's entry into the war following the attacks on Pearl Harbor and Malaya, the battalion was mobilised for wartime service on 9 December 1941 and transported to Darwin in northern Australia where it formed part of the garrison force to defend against possible Japanese attack. During this time it was based at Winnellie and took part in building defences in the north7.

Horsnell Family

Historic Horsnell Gully in the Eastern Adelaide Hills was named after the state Governor’s coachman, John Horsnell. Relics and reminders of the Horsnell family property still remain. Along the signposted walking trails, remains of a large homestead, including the coaching sheds, stable and cowsheds can be seen8.

Pioneer John Horsnell (1812-1895) was the father of George Herbert Stanley Horsnell (1869-1932) and the grandfather of Leslie Herbert Horsnell (5th June 1899). Leslie Herbert Horsnell was the father of Donald Leslie Horsnell (Born 29th July 1921), the member of Z special unit and subject of this article9.

Z Special Unit

Z Special Unit (known as Z Force) was Australia’s special commando unit formed during World War 2. It is credited as being the forerunner for the Special Air Services Regiment, commonly known as the SAS. Z Special Unit was also known as the Special Operations Executive (SOE), Special Operations Australia (SOA), Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD).

Z Force was a joint Allied special forces unit formed during the Second Word War to operate behind Japanese lines in South East Asia. Predominantly Australian, Z Special Unit was a specialist reconnaissance and sabotage unit that included British, Dutch, New Zealand, Timorese and Indonesian members, predominantly operating on Borneo and the islands of the former Netherlands East Indies10.

Z Force Members were trained in several disciplines at different locations around Australia. Camp Z was in Refuge Bay which is an offshoot of Broken Bay north of Sydney. Z Experimental Station (also known as the “House on the Hill” or ZES) was near Cairns in Queensland. The Fraser Commando School (FCS) was on Fraser Island. Training included, amongst other things, hand to hand combat, explosives, camouflage and weapons training. One particular exercise involved paddling folboats between Fraser Island and Cairns11.

During 1943 – 45, Z Special Unit conducted surveillance, harassing attacks and sabotage behind Japanese lines in Borneo, as well as the training of natives in resistance activities12. It is probable that Warrant Officer Donald Leslie Horsnell was involved in Z Force as a trainer given his experience training conscripts in Wayville from 1940 to 1943.

The Z Force missions into South East Asia were called Operation Python, Operation Agas, Operation Semut, Operation Opossum and Operation Platypus. The other Z Force Missions were called Operation Scorpion, Operation Jaywick, Operation Rimau and Operation Copper. Reports from these operations are rare as official versions have never been fully released. There are some personal accounts such as the autobiographical account of the Semut mission by Tom Harrisson recorded in “World Within” (Cresset Press, 1959). There were also personal reports from some of the other members of the Semut mission. In the memoirs of leading aircraftsman Jack Wong Sue, it is claimed that Z Special Unit commandos in Borneo killed 1700 Japanese for the loss of 112 commandos, as well as training more than 6000 guerrilla fighters from the native population. According to Sue, the activities of the commandos laid the groundwork for the Allied invasion of Borneo in 1945.

Operation Semut

Operation SEMUT was a series of reconnaissance and training operations carried out by Z Special Unit. The operation was under the control of Major G. S. Carter and was divided into three parties: SEMUT 1, SEMUT 2, and SEMUT 3. Donald Horsnell was involved in SEMUT 2. The purpose of these operations was to work behind enemy lines gathering intelligence and training local indigenous tribes into resistance groups. They also carried out demolitions and harassed the Japanese troops and supply lines where they could13.

The idea for this type of operation was first conceived in December 1941. Second Lieutenant P.M. Synge of the British Intelligence Corps proposed that “a force of 500 men or more if necessary, skilled in forest-craft, could be raised from the Long Houses of the Baram, Tinfar [Tinjar] and Niah rivers and organised into an effective guerrilla force.” The proposal was submitted in February 1942 but it was not considered feasible at the time. Later in July 1942, Major Tom Harnett Harrisson drew another similar proposal that put an emphasis on operations against Seria oilfields in Brunei rather than Miri oilfields in Sarawak. Meanwhile, Captain D. L. Leach proposed the need to contact ex-Brooke officials, natives, and Chinese who are still loyal to the Allied forces and to establish three main bases at Baram river, Rejang basin, and Rejang upriver.14 Operation SEMUT was eventually carried out in 1945 by the Australian Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD).

Semut II

SEMUT 1 was under the command of Major Tom Harrison and operated in the Trusan valley, SEMUT 2 was under the command of Major G.S. Carter and operated at Baram valley and SEMUT 3 was under the command of Captain W.L.P. Sochon and operated in the Rajang valley.

Tom Harrisson and his SEMUT 1 team parachuted at Bario, Kelabit highlands in March 1945, however, upon the completion of small airstrip in Bario by using native labour, he shifted his base to Belawit in the Bawang valley in Dutch Borneo. SEMUT 2 team also parachuted into Bario in mid-April with the full support from the Kelabit people, the moved to the Baram valley and established a base at Long Akah. Sochon and his team then moved out from SEMUT 2 team and lead the SEMUT 3 team to Belaga at Upper Rajang, with full support from the Kayan and Iban there. All the intelligence from these operations were relayed to Blamey's Advanced Land Headquarters at Morotai in the Halmahera15. The Success of all of the SEMUT missions including their individual assaults and captures of enemy forces and outposts paved the way for the Battle of North Borneo (Operation Oboe Six).

Each of the SEMUT missions was successful. SEMUT 1 established bases at Dutch Borneo and supplied intelligence about Japanese positions and movements in Brunei and northern Sarawak as well as supplying information about prisoners of war in the area. SEMUT 1 also trained and supplied approximately 600 of the indigenous people. SEMUT 2 expanded their operation to include Bintulu and Upper Rajang at central Sarawak and trained a guerrilla force numbering approximately 350. SEMUT 3 expanded their operation to Kapit in central Sarawak16. In 1959 Major Tom Harrison claimed that "The unit had inflicted some 1,700 casualties on the Japs at the cost of some 112 white lives", and credited SEMUT 1 with over 1,000 out of 1,700 Japanese killings.”17

The MV Krait

The Krait was the vessel used in all of the Z Force missions. This meant that over the course of the war, the 70-foot wooden-hulled boat, MV Krait, sank more shipping than any other ship in the Australian Navy.

In 1943, in what is regarded by many as the most successful clandestine military operation ever — Operation Jaywick — a team of 14 Z Special Unit commandos paddled into Singapore Harbour in kayaks and attached limpet mines to Japanese enemy shipping.
The stealthy raiders sank seven ships or 39,000 tonnes before escaping home to Australia undiscovered.18

Krait’s association with Australia’s wartime history is legendary. The little Japanese fishing vessel was used by Master Mariner Bill Reynolds to evacuate around 1000 civilians from Singapore in 1942, after which it was taken over by the military to take part in a daring and highly successful wartime raid. The operation, codenamed ‘Jaywick’, was comprised of 14 men of the Z Special Unit who were led by an Englishman, Ivan Lyon. The men of Operation Jaywick sailed Krait close to Singapore before stealing into the harbour in darkness and destroying close to 40,000 tons of Japanese shipping.

After the war Krait was sold and used for commercial timber haulage in Borneo before a number of public appeals saw the vessel returned to Australia in the mid-1960s in an attempt to preserve and commemorate its historic wartime record. In 1964 the vessel became a dedicated memorial to the members of Z Special Force and by 1991 Krait had found a home, caretakers and an owner. It is now on display as part of the Australian National Maritime Museum at Darling Harbour in Sydney19.

Foundation of SAS

For 30 years members of Australia's World War II commando Z Special Unit were sworn to secrecy and their heroism unacknowledged, however recently there has been growing recognition of the specialist reconnaissance and sabotage unit the Australian Army credits as the foundation for the modern Special Air Services Regiment or SAS.
The special military unit, the existence of which was kept secret for decades, was made up of ordinary Australians who ended up being responsible for some of the most heroic acts in World War II.20

References

  1. Ancestry Library. Viewed on 26th April, 2018.https://search.ancestrylibrary.com.au
  2. Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust (2018). Deceased Details - Donald Leslie Horsnell. [online] Available at: https://smct.org.au/deceased-search/584744 [Accessed 19 Jul. 2018].
  3. Awm.gov.au. (2018). Warrant Officer Class 2 Donald Leslie Horsnell. [online] Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P10684817 [Accessed 19 Jul. 2018].
  4. Army.gov.au. (2018). Other Ranks | Australian Army. [online] Available at: https://www.army.gov.au/our-people/australian-army-rank-structure/other-ranks [Accessed 26 Apr. 2018].
  5. 1947 'EFFICIENCY AWARDS FOR S.A. SOLDIERS', News (Adelaide, SA : 1923 - 1954), 16 June, p. 3. , viewed 19 Jul 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article127305808
  6. Australian War Memorial. Viewed 26th April, 2018. https://www.awm.gov.au/collection
  7. 27th Battalion (Australia). Wikipedia. Viewed 26th April, 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/27th_Battalion_(Australia)
  8. National Parks South Australia. Viewed 26th April, 2018. https://www.environment.sa.gov.au/parks/find-a-park/Browse_by_region/Adelaide_Hills/horsnell-gully-giles-conversation-parks
  9. Park Friends. (2018). Pioneer John Horsnell. [online] Available at: http://parkfriends.com.au/more-on-john-horsnell/ [Accessed 26 Apr. 2018].
  10. Z Special Unit. Wikipedia. Viewed 26th April, 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z_Special_Unit
  11. Z Special Unit. Wikipedia. Viewed 26th April, 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z_Special_Unit
  12. Z Special Unit. Wikipedia. Viewed 26th April, 2018.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z_Special_Unit
  13. Operation Semut. Wikipedia. Viewed 26th April, 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Semut
  14. Gin, Ooi Keat (October 2002). "Prelude to Invasion: Covert Operations Before the Re-occupation of Northwest Borneo, 1944–45". Journal of the Australian War Memorial. Canberra: Australian War Memorial (37). ISSN 1327-0141. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  15. Operation Semut. Wikipedia. Viewed 26th April, 2018 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Semut
  16. Operation Semut. Wikipedia. Viewed 26th April, 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Semut
  17. Gin, Ooi Keat (October 2002). "Prelude to Invasion: Covert Operations Before the Re-occupation of Northwest Borneo, 1944–45". Journal of the Australian War Memorial. Canberra: Australian War Memorial (37). ISSN 1327-0141. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  18. Purtill, J. and Dunlevie, J. (2018). Daring deeds of World War II commandos Z Special Unit kept secret for 30 years. ABC News. [online] Available at: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-30/z-special-unit-history/5706968 [Accessed 26 Apr. 2018].
  19. Cama, N. (2018). Up close and personal with MV Krait. [Blog] Australian National Maritime Museum. Available at: https://anmm.blog/2013/03/06/up-close-and-personal-with-mv-krait/ [Accessed 26 Apr. 2018].
  20. Oriti, T. (2018). Z Special Unit: Secret military commando group to be recognised by Australian War Memorial. ABC News. [online] Available at: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-20/z-special-unit-to-be-recognised-by-australian-war-memorial/7526788 [Accessed 26 Apr. 2018].

Photo References

  1. Australian War Memorial (2018). Informal group portrait of members of the Semut II team at Long Akar, Borneo.. [image] Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C70079 [Accessed 26 Apr. 2018].