Herbert (Bert) Harry (SN 2090) joined the navy as a 21 year old in August 1912. He trained initially on HMAS Cerberus before joining the crew of HMAS Sydney. He was involved in Australia’s first action in WW1 when the Australian Naval & Military Expeditionary Force engaged the Germans near Rabaul in New Guinea in September 1914. He was then aboard the Sydney as it escorted the first Anzac fleet, engaging with and disabling the German cruiser SMS Emden at Cocos island on November 9th 1914. For most of the remainder of the war he was based in London and during this time he revealed that he had enlisted under an assumed name, his real name being Blaise Stanley Beaton.