Hugh Randall Syme, (20 February 1903 – 7 November 1965) was an Australian naval officer,

bomb disposal Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the militar ...

operative, and newspaper proprietor. He was awarded the

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, has be ...

for his actions in defusing unexploded bombs and landmines during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Syme is one of only two people to be awarded the George Cross,

George Medal The George Medal (GM), instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI,''British Gallantry Medals'' (Abbott and Tamplin), p. 138 is a decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, awarded for gallantry, typically by civilians, or in circ ...

, and

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (un ...

, the other being

John Bridge Lieutenant-Commander John Bridge, (5 February 1915 – 14 December 2006) was a British bomb disposal expert of the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve during the Second World War and a recipient of the George Cross. He was the first person to be awarde ...

Early life

He was born in the

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

suburb of

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...

, and educated at Scotch College and the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb n ...

. His father, John Herbert Syme was called to the Bar, but instead managed the accounts of the city newspaper ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territo ...

'' which his father

David Syme David Syme (2 October 1827 – 14 February 1908) was a Scottish- Australian newspaper proprietor of ''The Age'' and regarded as "the father of protection in Australia" who had immense influence in the Government of Victoria.C. E. Sayers,Syme, ...

owned. Hugh Syme himself worked on the paper for a time before the outbreak of war.

Second World War

He was a keen amateur yachtsman and part-owner of an yacht, and joined the

Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RANVR) was a reserve force of the Royal Australian Navy. Formation In late 1920, the Navy Board proposed the creation of an Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve scheme, with approaches made to ya ...

on the outbreak of war. He was posted to Britain and ended up at HMS ''Vernon'', the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

's mine disposal and developing mine countermeasures establishment. He won the

in 1941 for defusing a series of mines, and was awarded a

to this in 1942 after defusing a mine lodged in a reservoir embankment in London. In 1943 he was awarded the

"for great bravery and undaunted devotion to duty". He had carried out nineteen mine-recovery operations. The most important was in November 1942 at

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare, also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in North Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes the suburbs of Mead Vale, Milton, Oldmi ...

, Somerset, where he defused a new mine known as a Type T. He had to hang upside down in a mudhole and endure painful electric shocks while insulating the wires for the detonator. His George Cross made him the most decorated member of the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

at that time. He returned to Australia in 1943 and set up a mine disposal unit at HMAS ''Cerberus''. However the unit was not used operationally, as the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

controlled mine clearance operations in the Pacific area. The story of his wartime service was told in ''Softly Tread The Brave – A triumph over terror, devilry, and death by mine disposal officers John Stuart Mould, GC, GM and Hugh Randal Syme, GC, GM and Bar'', and ''Seventeen Seconds – The gripping true story of the men who dismantled live Nazi bombs in England during World War II'', both by

Ivan Southall Ivan Francis Southall AM, DFC (8 June 192115 November 2008) was an Australian writer best known for young adult fiction. He wrote more than 30 children's books, six books for adults, and at least ten works of history, biography or other non-fi ...

Later life

He returned to ''The Age'' and became general manager in 1946. He continued in senior posts in newspapers and broadcasting for the rest of his life. He was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal in 1953 but turned down a knighthood, feeling that he had performed no more than his duty. Hugh Syme died on 7 November 1965 from a cerebral tumour at Epworth Hospital, Richmond, and was cremated with Anglican rites and full naval honours.

References

;Footnotes ;Bibliography * Richard Refshauge,
Syme, Hugh Randall
' (1903–1965)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 16, Melbourne University Press, 2002, pp 355–356. Online edition accessed 20 November 2007

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Syme, Hugh Randall 1903 births 1965 deaths Australian newspaper publishers (people) Australian recipients of the George Cross Bomb disposal personnel Australian recipients of the George Medal Royal Australian Navy officers Royal Australian Navy personnel of World War II People from Kew, Victoria Military personnel from Melbourne People educated at Scotch College, Melbourne Australian people of Scottish descent