A retired Australian admiral thought to have been the last survivor of HMS Repulse has died aged 101.
Rear Admiral Guy Griffiths was a midshipman aboard the battlecruiser when, together with HMS Prince of Wales and 840 men from both ships, she was lost on December 10, 1941.
Born in Sydney on March 1, 1923, Griffiths was a keen sportsman and was proficient in rugby, athletics and rowing before joining the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in 1937 as a cadet. Griffiths graduated from college in 1940 and was posted to HMAS Australia. The cruiser was in the Atlantic but by the time he arrived in Britain it was elsewhere, so instead he and five other RAN midshipmen were selected to join Repulse.
He joined Repulse in time for the May 1941 Bismarck chase, but the battlecruiser was kept back in part due to concerns about how her armour may stand up following the dramatic sinking of Hood. “The whole ship fell flat and frustrated on not being involved,” he recalled.
With the threat posed by Japan, Repulse went to the Far East as part of Force ‘Z’. Sortieing from Singapore to intercept an invasion force bound for Malaya, it came under sustained air attack and despite the expert handing …
