Hector Macdonald Laws Waller, (4 April 1900 – 1 March 1942) was a senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). His career spanned almost thirty years, including service in both world wars. At the helm of the flotilla leader in the Mediterranean from 1939 to 1941, he won recognition as a skilful ship's captain and flotilla commander. He then transferred to the South West Pacific as captain of the light cruiser , and went down with his ship during the Battle of Sunda Strait in early 1942.
Born in Benalla, Victoria, Waller entered the Royal Australian Naval College aged thirteen. After graduating, he served with the Royal Navy in the closing stages of World War I. Between the wars, he specialised in communications and was posted as signals officer to several British and Australian warships. He gained his first seagoing command in 1937, as captain of the destroyer . In September 1939, he took command of HMAS Stuart and four other obsolete destroyers that together became known as the "Scrap Iron Flotilla". In 1940, these were augmented by other ships to form the 10th Destroyer Flotilla, supporting Allied troops in North Africa.
Waller was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and Bar, and twice mentioned in despatches, for his achievements in the Mediterranean. He assumed command of HMAS Perth in October 1941, taking part in the Battle of the Java Sea shortly before his final action in Sunda Strait. He received a third mention in despatches posthumously, and in 2011 came under formal consideration for the award of the Victoria Cross for his performance as Perths captain. The submarine is named in his honour.
Early life and World War I Born on 4 April 1900 in Benalla, Victoria, Hector Macdonald Laws Waller was the son of William Frederick Waller, a grocer, and his wife Helen Waller (née Duncan).Lewis (2004), "The Navy's Finest Fighting Leader", p. 1. Hec Waller was named in honour of General Hector MacDonald, hero of the Boer War, and a forebear called Laws who was an admiral and a contemporary of Viscount Nelson.McKie (1953), Proud Echo, p. 25. The youngest of ten children, of whom eight survived infancy, he attended Benalla Higher Elementary School.
Waller entered the Royal Australian Naval College (RANC) as a cadet midshipman on 31 December 1913, aged thirteen. He gained recognition as a rugby player and became cadet captain.Eldridge (1949), A History of the Royal Australian Naval College, p. 438. In 1917, his final year at the college, he was raised to chief cadet captain and won the King's Medal, awarded for "gentlemanly bearing, character, good influence among his fellows and officer-like qualities".Eldridge (1949), A History of the Royal Australian Naval College, pp. 79–80. Promoted to midshipman on 1 January 1918, he was posted to Britain where, in April, he was appointed to serve in the Royal Navy's (RN) Grand Fleet with the dreadnought .Dennis et al. (2008), The Oxford Companion to Australian Military History, p. 563. The ship did not see combat while he was on board.Lewis (2004), "The Navy's Finest Fighting Leader", pp. 2–3.
Between the wars In February 1919, Waller was assigned to the light cruiser HMAS Melbourne, and two months later returned to Australia. He transferred to the light cruiser HMAS Sydney as an acting sub-lieutenant in September; his rank was made substantive the following month. In April 1920 he was again posted aboard Melbourne. Promoted to lieutenant in March 1921, he underwent further training in Britain before returning to join the staff of the RANC. Waller married Nancy Bowes, a minister's daughter, on 7 April 1923 in the Sydney suburb of Lewisham; the couple had two sons, Michael and John. In April 1924, he was posted to the light cruiser HMAS Adelaide. Later that year, he began training as a signals officer in England; his classmates included Lord Louis Mountbatten. Waller finished at the top of the advanced course and, in May 1926, took charge of the Signals and Wireless-Telegraphy School at Flinders Naval Depot in Westernport, Victoria. From 1928 to 1930, he served with the RN as a signals officer aboard the destroyer HMS Broke. He was promoted to lieutenant commander in March 1929.
By this stage of his career, Waller had acquired a strong reputation for his communications work. In July 1930, he was posted aboard the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN) flagship, the heavy cruiser HMAS Australia, as squadron signals officer. He continued in this role upon transferring to Australias sister ship, HMAS Canberra, in May 1931. In early 1932, he was assigned to the Navy Office in Melbourne, returning to Canberra as squadron signals officer in August 1933. He was promoted to commander in June 1934 and the following month became executive officer of the RANC. Departing the college in July 1936, he returned to England and spent six months in the British Naval Intelligence Division. A stint as executive officer of the repair ship HMS Resource followed.Lewis (2004), "The Navy's Finest Fighting Leader", pp. 4–5. In November 1937, Waller was given his first command at sea, the RN destroyer HMS Brazen. His ship handling was criticised early on, but was soon reported by his superiors as having "improved greatly". Stationed in the Mediterranean, Brazen monitored progress of the Spanish Civil War, a duty that included protecting British merchant vessels and rescuing the crews of sinking ships.Stevens (2001), The Royal Australian Navy: A History, p. 97. By June 1939, Waller had returned to Australia to become Director of Signals and Communications at the Navy Office.
World War II
HMAS Stuart in the Mediterranean
At the outbreak of World War II, Waller was appointed captain of HMAS Stuart, taking charge of a group of four other obsolete ex-RN destroyers—HMA Ships Vampire, Vendetta, Voyager, and Waterhen—that the Germans later nicknamed the "Scrap Iron Flotilla".Frame (2004), No Pleasure Cruise, p. 153. The ships were en route to Singapore for training when the British and Australian governments agreed that they should be assigned to the Mediterranean as the 19th Destroyer Division, under Waller's control.Stevens (1996), The Royal Australian Navy in World War II, p. 67. Arriving at Malta in late December, Waller made a positive initial impression on senior RN commanders; this was soon borne out by his actions during the salvage of the Trocas, a disabled tanker. In May 1940, he was appointed to command the 10th Destroyer Flotilla, which included the vessels of the "Scrap Iron Flotilla" plus four modern British destroyers, and a month later was promoted to captain.
Following Italy's entry into the war on 10 June 1940, Waller was involved in the search for minefields off the North African coast. A keen shooter, he blew up floating mines using a rifle and armour-piercing bullets. On 21 June, Stuart shelled the Italian-held town of Bardia.Lewis (2004), "The Navy's Finest Fighting Leader", pp. 9–10. The next month, his 10th Destroyer Flotilla participated in the Battle of Calabria. Waller's ships carried out bombardments of Fort Capuzzo on 17 August and an Italian seaplane base in the Gulf of Bomba one week later.Gill (1957), Royal Australian Navy, 1939–1942, pp. 206–207. In September, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for "courage, enterprise, and devotion to duty on recent engagements"—in particular, his pinpointing of enemy minefields. The same month, he transferred to HMAS Vampire while Stuart went in for refit.Lewis (2004), "The Navy's Finest Fighting Leader", pp. 10–11. As the Allied armies began to counterattack Italian forces in December 1940, the Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet, Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, gave Waller command of the new Inshore Squadron, comprising destroyers, minesweepers, and auxiliaries. In his role as Cunningham's Senior Officer Afloat, Waller took charge of naval support for the Battle of Bardia, which fell to the Allies on 5 January 1941.Stevens (1996), The Royal Australian Navy in World War II, pp. 70–75.Gill (1957), Royal Australian Navy, 1939–1942, p. 292. Shortly afterwards, he handed over command of the Inshore Squadron and returned to Stuart.
Stuart and other ships of Waller's 10th Destroyer Flotilla supported the assaults on Tobruk in January 1941 and Benghazi the following month.Frame (2004), No Pleasure Cruise, p. 160. In March, Stuart escorted Allied troop transports to Greece as part of Operation Lustre, narrowly avoiding falling victim to Axis dive-bomber attacks.Gill (1957), Royal Australian Navy, 1939–1942, pp. 304–306. During the Battle of Cape Matapan at the end of the month, Waller's ships were credited with sinking two Italian destroyers. From May to July, the 10th Destroyer Flotilla made 139 ferry runs during the siege of Tobruk, carrying supplies to the town's garrison and evacuating the wounded.Gill (1957), Royal Australian Navy, 1939–1942, pp. 390–395. Waller was mentioned in despatches twice during 1941: in July for his army cooperation role with the Inshore Squadron off the Libyan coast, and in November for his service during the Greek campaign. In January 1942, he was awarded a Bar to his DSO for "bravery and enterprise in the Battle of Cape Matapan".
Waller earned the personal admiration of Admiral Cunningham, who described him as "one of the finest types of Australian naval officers ... greatly loved and admired by everyone".Stevens (2001), The Royal Australian Navy: A History, p. 112. On the occasion of a visit to Alexandria by Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies, Cunningham escorted him to Stuart and declared: "And now you are going to meet one of the greatest captains who ever sailed the seas—his name is Waller". According to author Ray Parkin, who began writing while a prisoner of war, "Andrew Cunningham and Hector Waller were cast in the same mould: men would follow them, suffer, and be glad about it. These were both men made by Fate for those ever-recurring Saint Crispin's Days of human affairs".Lewis (2004), "The Navy's Finest Fighting Leader", pp. 13, 25.
HMAS Perth and the Battle of Sunda Strait
Departing the Mediterranean, Waller returned to Australia in August 1941 for service in the South West Pacific.Gill (1957), Royal Australian Navy, 1939–1942, p. 391. On 24 October, he took command of the light cruiser HMAS Perth, berthed in Sydney.Lewis (2004), "The Navy's Finest Fighting Leader", p. 16. Perth had also lately returned from action in the Mediterranean, where she had participated in the Greek, Cretan, and Syrian campaigns, and been damaged on two occasions by German bombers.Frame (2004), No Pleasure Cruise, pp. 160–164. Waller was reportedly "tired" and "quite a sick man" at this time but nonetheless prepared Perth for action quickly. In January 1942, the ship was assigned to American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDA) to help defend the Dutch East Indies. She set sail for the ABDA Area on 15 February, the day that Singapore surrendered.Gill (1957), Royal Australian Navy, 1939–1942, pp. 578–580.
The ABDA Striking Force that Perth had joined was crushed by an overwhelming Japanese force at the Battle of the Java Sea on 27 February. Low on ammunition, Waller made the decision to withdraw, accompanied by the heavy cruiser USS Houston under the command of Captain Albert H. Rooks. Waller's action contravened the orders of his Dutch superior, Admiral Conrad Helfrich, to "continue action whatever the cost, and till the bitter end", but the Australian was convinced that further engagement would mean pointless sacrifice.Gill (1957), Royal Australian Navy, 1939–1942, pp. 615–616.