From the Archives: RIP Jim Haywood

From the ARCHIVE

Don Wild 2020

RIP Jim Haywood: 5th February 1955

It was just one, loud shot that rang out, but very close by.

Groups of excited teenage boys gathered on the dusty rigging hard, preparing to sail their homebuilt, ply VJ yachts when the shot rang out. At first the boys dismissed it as another car backfiring, amused watching one of them fall, playacting like in the spaghetti westerns. Only this time, no playacting. He was shot in the temple, his eyes rolling to the back of his head and his blood spilling onto the dirt, near the bicycles.

Noel Simmons vividly recalls rushing to the Clubrooms calling “Quick! someone ring an ambulance, a boy’s been shot”. The Vice Commodore presumed it was a prank so continued to drink his tea.

Bev Wakelin remembers her father Mick Hall quickly escorting her to the far end of the Clubhouse then home across the road to Mary Street to safety. One of the mothers, Phyllis Wild, used beach towels and tea towels to staunch the bleeding. She held and comforted the lad in her lap while they waited for the ambulance to arrive. Those about, still offering assurance and looking on, knew that young lad had tragically passed away before them, near the rigging lawn at South Perth Yacht Club on that Saturday, 5th February 1955. 9 years earlier the South Perth Yacht Club rooms were built very nearby to the Como Sea Scouts Clubhouse, just 50 yards or so on the northern side. The rigging hard and dry lawn, shaded by two gnarly gums, separated the two Clubrooms. The approach to the buildings was a dusty unsealed road flanked by carparking stretching back along past the length of the rear of the Clubhouse. Bicycles were strewn and motorbikes parked alongside square concrete bollards which marked the lawn boundary.

Jim Haywood, the lad who’d been struck, sailed out of Nedlands as crew for Lester Black on VJ Mustang. Jim had asked his parents’ permission to ride down to South Perth Yacht Club to see the new VJ Daring, built by the Wild twins. Jim had spent the morning, along with his brother Harry, helping move to their new house in Collier Street Applecross, and was keen to see the Wild twins’ newest boat.

The boys’ craftsmanship and woodwork skills were admired by all on the river and at school. Rod Wild was known to reject many hand carved pieces before selecting his best when boatbuilding, and off-casts were gratefully accepted by other eager boat builders. The timber work was maintained with a mirror varnish finish. Don recalls the story of when he and his brother Rod stripped the Californian Redwood skirting boards from their family home while their parents were on holidays. Rather than chastising, their parents praised the lads for their skills, building another new VJ named Trouble. They promised to replace the skirtings.

Jim arrived at the Club on his bike and asked Noel Simmons to point out Daring.

That’s when the shot rang out.

The Scoutmaster was teaching a small group of boys’ knot-tying skills over on the jetty. He asked a 13-year-old scout to climb up into the turret lookout to fetch a book from his Gladstone bag. In the bag was a 38-caliber revolver. In awe, the young scout fondled the gun, unwittingly firing off a live bullet. The round travelled through the asbestos wall, near floor level and down to the unsuspecting group of sailors standing below.

Don Wild and his mum, who’d comforted young Jim to the end, went to the station next morning to help police try to piece together what had happened. Noel Simmons, who had been standing alongside Jim and raised the alarm, was never interviewed. Nor does he recall police attending the scene to investigate. Nobody remembers any announcements about the incident, and it was never mentioned again around the Club.

Jim’s bike was still leaned up against the Sea Scout Hall the following week. A stain of dry blood in the dirt marked the spot where he fell.

James Scott Haywood died aged 17 years; his grave is in Fremantle cemetery.

The Scout Master was fined Ten Pounds for keeping an unlicensed firearm.

Painful and vivid memories of the tragedy these young sailors witnessed that day, shared after 65 years.

Written by Amanda Watson (Archive Research Team) Firsthand accounts and photos from former SPYC members, Don Wild, Noel Simmons and Bev Wakelin. Thank you for sharing these and many other stories with the archive team.

Jim Haywood’s Grave in Fremantle Cemetery 2020