|
Sergeant (Lieutenant) Thomas Currie DERRICK VC DCM |
 |
Lt. T C DERRICK, VC DCM New Guinea. 3 December 1945. Fall of Japanese held Sattelberg. Australian troops stormed the steep heights to wrest the village of Sattelberg from the Japanese. Sgt. T.C. Derrick DCM of Adelaide, Sth. Aust., led a South Australian unit, first to enter Sattelberg. Sgt. Derrick, after the decision to withdraw, secured permission to launch a final attack in failing light up a steep slope. His unit met terrific resistance but cleaned out six Japanese positions. An artillery barrage covered the position Derrick's men had won. |
|
Lieutenant Thomas Currie Derrick, VC, DCM was a man in whom dwelt the best of history's gallantry. He was the modern representative of those renowned medieval heroes who fought their way to fame by valour, skill at arms and sheer force of character. In that same tradition he died, fighting an action as gallant as any he had fought. Like so many of Australia's great fighting soldiers, Derrick's civilian life was one of hard work and struggle, yet such was the man that he gave far more to his country than she had ever given to him. He
was born on Oaklands Estate, near Adelaide, on 20 March 1914. Who would
have dreamt that he was destined to become a legend in his own lifetime
and leave behind him glory and an inspiration? From the time he enlisted in June 1940, at Berri, a town in the Murray irrigation areas of South Australia, his hardiness marked him as likely to be a good soldier. When he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal at El Alamein in July 1942, for "taking three machine-gun outposts and personally capturing a hundred of the enemy", no man of the 2/48th Battalion was surprised.
When word came through that he had won the Victoria Cross at Sattelberg, where "he reduced ten Japanese posts", and with his platoon "moved on to capture Sattelberg", still no one was greatly surprised. The
qualities of soldiering which he had so clearly exhibited on the
sand and rock desert of North Africa were no less outstanding in
the jungle. This lack of surprise by his comrades was perhaps the greatest of all the compliments which have been paid to "Diver" Derrick. It meant that he was not just a medal winner, but that he was a man whose quality compelled recognition. It
was typical of the man that he would not leave his own battalion. When
offered a chance to attend an Officers' Training School by the then
chief of staff (Lieutenant-General J. Northcott) Derrick refused
acceptance unless he was assured of being allowed to return to the
2/48th Battalion. It was against the established custom, but General
Northcott made an exception. That fateful decision cost "Diver" Derrick his life. He received his commission on 25 November 1944 and returned to his beloved battalion as a platoon commander-a position he had frequently filled as a sergeant-in time to train for the desperate fighting ahead at Tarakan.
Well-intentioned
people have wondered why the Army Command should send him back after he
had done so much, but it was his own wish, and one which is understood
by those who knew him. At
Tarakan, Lieutenant Derrick, fighting as an officer after five years in
the ranks, led his platoon inspiringly, making long personal
reconnaissances, and moving boldly in the open during attacks. Mortally
wounded during a night counterattack he still continued to inspire his
men, and when the stretcher-bearers arrived in the morning sent the
other wounded out first, although he knew he had but a slight hold on
life. Blood transfusions failed to stir his strong heart, and on that
day, 23 May 1945, he died. In
his home State there have been many suggestions for a fitting memorial,
but none devised of man could equal the memorial he himself erected in
the hearts and minds of his comrades, and fellow Australians. Edward
FAYF, (Second
A.I.F.) from As you Were 1946 by the AWM |
