Mostyn (Moss) Berryman

Early life

Moss Berryman was born in Kent Town, South Australia, on 9 November 1923. He attended primary schools at Glencoe and Mount Gambier and then Mount Gambier High School. After school, he worked as a clerk in the stockbroking firm, S C Ward & Co.

Moss had a family history of military service. His Cornish grandfather, William Berryman, served in the British Royal Navy before migrating to Australia in 1883. His father, Archibald Cresswick Berryman, was a signaller with the 10th Australian Infantry Battalion in World War I. After the first Japanese air raid on Darwin in February 1942, Moss was ready to serve.

World War II

Moss joined the Royal Australian Navy on 7 April 1942, aged 19. He was still doing basic training in Melbourne when he heard that 2 British officers were looking for volunteers 'to go somewhere and do something'. During an interview, Moss was asked if he could swim, sail or row boats and handle firearms. About 24 men were selected, including Moss.

When training began in the Melbourne suburb of Frankston, Moss discovered he was part of the 'Z' Special Unit (Z Force). The Allies formed this special unit to operate behind Japanese lines in South-East Asia.

Shortly afterwards, Moss and about 15 others were sent to Refuge Bay on Cowan Creek, north of Sydney, to continue training. Z Force's commanding officer, Major Ivan Lyon, was responsible for the unit's first secret mission.

Operation Jaywick

Operation Jaywick would be an audacious raid on Singapore harbour using collapsible canoes launched from MV Krait. Singapore had been a British Crown colony for 75 years until Japanese forces occupied the island in February 1942.

MV Krait is a 21 m Chinese-built fishing trawler originally called Kofuku Maru. The boat was in Singapore before the Japanese occupied the island. The British requisitioned Krait to evacuate civilians from Singapore, and then it was acquired for Z Force.

Moss was among 8 commandos chosen for Operation Jaywick, along with 6 boat crew. In late August 1943, Krait set off for the US submarine base in Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia. After taking on supplies, the boat left Australia on 2 September, heading north.

AWM P00986.001

It was not until Krait was at sea that Moss and the others heard from Lyon about their operation. The raid was considered so hazardous that everyone was promised £235 in danger money.

To get to Singapore, Krait had to sail nearly 4,000 km, mostly through Japanese-occupied territory. The voyage took more than 2 weeks. Life aboard the Krait was very uncomfortable. Most of the space below decks was filled with 44-gallon oil drums, leaving little room to sleep or eat.

Concerned about the threat of detection, the men disguised themselves. They wore sarongs and constantly applied foul-smelling brown dye to their skin. Krait also flew the Japanese flag.

AWM 067336

On 18 September, Krait arrived near Singapore. Six commandos disembarked in 3 double canoes. Much to their disappointment, Moss and his mate Fred Marsh were told to stay behind and 'babysit' because Krait's crew had not been trained to handle weapons.

For the next 2 weeks, Moss and Fred waited with the trawler, out of touch with the canoeists.

In Singapore harbour, the canoeists attached time-delayed limpet mines to 7 vessels. Having sunk or badly damaged all 7 ships, they eluded Japanese patrols and tried to meet up with Krait on the night of 1 to 2 October. Only one of the canoes turned up at the rendezvous point.

Major Lyon, who was aboard one of the missing canoes, had told Krait's crew to leave that night no matter what. However, the crew ignored his orders and came back 2 nights later. Happily, the other 2 canoes appeared out of the dark.

On the return journey to Australia, just before midnight on 11 October, a Japanese destroyer drew alongside Krait. Moss had concealed himself with his Bren gun trained on the warship. Everyone on Krait waited anxiously for a searchlight to be turned on them, or to be hailed, or to be fired on.

Each man had a cyanide capsule in case they were captured, and Major Lyon had packed the prow of the trawler with explosives for such an event. If Krait was fired upon, they planned to steer it into the stern of the attacking ship, destroying both vessels.

Moss believes the warship observed them for about 15 minutes before peeling off and disappearing into the night. Why the Japanese took no action isn't clear. Moss said, 'It was pure luck'.

The men returned to Exmouth on 19 October 1943, having been away for 48 days. Operation Jaywick was one of the most successful clandestine raids in Australian history.

Moss was invited to volunteer for a subsequent Singapore raid — Operation Rimau — but quickly decided not to go. He escaped certain death. The now Lieutenant Colonel Lyon and everyone else who took part were killed.

Moss spent the rest of the war serving on the destroyer HMAS Vendetta, patrolling off New Guinea.

Several books have been written about Operation Jaywick. Glenn Darlington wrote a television miniseries, The Heroes, released in 1989, which Moss says was fairly accurate.

Life after the war

After the war, Moss became a stockbroker in Adelaide, married and had 4 daughters. He remained in touch with several members of Operation Jaywick for many years.

He visited MV Krait several times after it was restored by the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney, where it is now docked. Museum staff sailed Krait around Sydney Harbour with Moss and his family aboard on one memorable occasion.

ANMM 132038

In 1993, at the 50th anniversary of Operation Jaywick, Moss met Ivan Lyon's son, Brian – the 'spitting-image' of his dad – at the former's grave at Kranji War Cemetery, Singapore. They cried together because Brian had never met his heroic father.

In 2018, Moss finally received the danger money he and the others had been promised in 1943. This was close to $5,000.

Moss was the last surviving member of Operation Jaywick. He passed away on 6 August 2020 at the age of 96.

AWM2017.520.1.3973