Physical description
Petty Officer James Arthur HAINING, (Service no: 19561), was born in Williamstown on 15 May 1913 and enlisted in the RAN on 4 January 1932. He served on the HMAS Canberra and was Killed in Action, aged 29 years, on the 9 August 1942.
In the darkness of the early hours of the morning of 9 August 1942 the RAN heavy cruiser HMAS Canberra was severely damaged off Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands) in a surprise attack by a powerful Japanese naval force in an action that became known as the Battle of Savo Island. Canberra was hit 24 times in less than two minutes and 84 of her crew were killed including Captain Frank Getting.
Source: vwma.org,au and www.awm.gov.au
