No trace of the vessel or its 35 hands has ever been found.

This story will be told in a new exhibition, War at Sea – the Navy in WWI. It will be opened at the Jervis Bay Maritime Museum on Saturday, July 1.  

While Australian National Maritime Museum director Kevin Sumption said the experiences of Australian sailors in World War I has largely been overshadowed by the stories of soldiers on the Western Front or at Gallipoli, this Australian National Maritime Museum travelling exhibition draws on the personal accounts of Navy servicemen – through their diaries, mementoes, ship’s logs and letters home – to tell their stories of bravery and sacrifice amidst the drudgery of life at sea, patrolling, blockading and escorting troopships.

The mystery of what happened to AE1 is explored alongside the story of Australia’s second submarine AE2, which became the first Allied vessel to breach the Dardanelles in Turkey, disrupting the Turkish forces moving to defend the Gallipoli peninsular in April 1915, and the story of the RAN Bridging Trains at the Gallipoli campaign.

The exhibition features rare objects from the National Maritime Collection, the Australian War Memorial, and the National Film and Sound Archives including medals posthumously awarded to Lieutenant Leopold Florence Scarlett - lost with submarine AE1.

Letters of condolences following the disappearance of AE1, including a letter from Winston Churchill to a grieving widow are on display. 

Also on display are sailors love tokens and grand commemorative medallions dedicated to Australia’s first major naval victory – the defeat of the seemingly invincible German raider SMS Emden by HMAS Sydney in November 1914.

Visitors will see rare archival footage of the Navy during WWI which gives a window into life on battleships as well as the troop transport ships which ferried soldiers around the globe.

The activities and subsequent loss of AE2 off Gallipoli is highlighted by footage from inside the shipwreck filmed by archaeologists earlier this year. Sailor’s diaries offer an insight.

Mr Sumption reflected on the importance of the exhibition in telling the full story of Australia in World War I.

“It is our hope that this exhibition will give due recognition to the brave naval servicemen who sacrificed so much,” he said. 

The exhibition is currently on a national four year tour and is being presented in the Shoalhaven area by Fleet Air Arm Museum in partnership with the Jervis Bay Maritime Museum.

It is on display until October 15. Entry is $10 for adults and $8 concession. School groups are $5 per student.

More information at jervisbaymaritimemuseum.com.au