Patricia Cam was a wooden motor vessel built by G. Beattie at
Brisbane Waters, NSW, Patricia Cam began life as a tuna fishing boat for Cam & Sons Pty Ltd of
Sydney. The minelaying activities of German Surface raiders in 1940-41 highlighted the shortage of suitable vessels to keep Australian sea lanes clear of this threat and Patricia Cam was requisitioned on 9 February 1942 as an auxiliary minesweeper. She commissioned on 3 March 1942 under the command of Lieutenant John A. Grant, RANR(S).
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On 8 March 1942 Patricia Cam sailed from
Sydney and headed north. Arriving in
Darwin on 5 April, she was employed as a general purpose vessel, which included store carrying and in May salvage on the wreck of the American ship Don Isidoro. The transportation of personnel and supplies around the north and north-western coastline continued throughout 1942.
On 22 January 1943, while near the Wessel Islands off the north coast of the Northern Territory, Patricia Cam was attacked and sunk by a Japanese floatplane. As she sank,
the pilot of the Japanese aircraft machine gunned and bombed the survivors. The aircraft then landed on the
water and captured one of the survivors, the Rev. Leonard Kentish, a Methodist missionary. Eight other crew and passengers were killed during the attack.
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The 13 survivors were rescued by HMAS Kuru on 29 January. Kentish was flown to Dobo in the Aru Islands where he was interrogated, including the frequent use of beatings, for several weeks, before being executed by his captors on or about 4 May.
Leonard Kentish, a Methodist missionary and civilian coastwatcher, had been one of the passengers on the stores carrier, HMAS Patricia Cam as it travelled from Millingimbi towards Cape Wessel in the Northern Territory. On 22 January 1943, there was a tremendous explosion on board and the ship began to sink. Two men were killed in the explosion and the survivors leapt quickly into the
water, some without even their life jackets. The Japanese floatplane, which had bombed the ship, flew over the men in the
water. It strafed them and dropped another bomb into their midst killing more of the men. The aircraft landed in the
water and one of the Japanese air crew ordered Kentish, who was nearest them, to swim over. He was hauled onto the aircraft and they flew away. The survivors from the Patricia Cam were rescued a week later but the fate of Kentish was not discovered until long after the Japanese had surrendered.
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In 1946, it was discovered that Leonard Kentish’s Japanese captors had beheaded him on 5 February 1943. At 9.45 am on 21 May 1948, a Military Court was convened in Hong Kong and the three men accused of his murder appeared before the court.
Former Sub-Lieutenant Sagejima Maugan, who had ordered the execution was sentenced to death. He was subsequently hung in Hong Kong's
Stanley Gaol on 23 August 1948. Hoyama Kenzo, and Kohama Shozuke both received a sentence of Life Imprisonment for their part in the execution of Leonard Kentish.
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HMAS Patricia Cam
Type fishing vessel
Commissioned 3 March 1942
Displacement 301 tons
Length 120 feet 9 inches
Beam 30 feet 3 inches
Draught 6 feet 4 inches
Armament ?1 x 20 mm Oerlikon
2 x .303 Vickers machine guns
1 x Browning machine gun
Main Machinery ?diesel engines, 160 HP
Speed 8 knots max
Complement 2 officers, 17 ratings
.