Sid Sidebottom (Braddon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the House:

(1)

recognises the heroic efforts of Ordinary Seaman Teddy Sheean and his crew mates upon the sinking of the HMAS Armidale on 1 December 1942 off the Timor coast;

(2)

implores the Government to award a posthumous Victoria Cross of Australia to Ordinary Seaman Teddy Sheean to recognise properly his valour and sacrifice on 1 December 1942; and

(3)

urges the Government to establish a mechanism to address outstanding issues and anomalies in the military honours system such as recognising the courageous deeds of people such as Ordinary Seaman Teddy Sheean on 1 December 1942.

I have spoken before in this place about two related injustices in Australia’s military history. The first is that, despite a long, distinguished history of engagement in all manner and types of combat and service, not one member of the Royal Australian Navy has been awarded the Victoria Cross. Why is this? Is the history of the RAN without one incident or act of bravery by any individual worthy of being awarded a VC? In the annals of the RAN, is there nothing remotely familiar to the following: in July 1940, Leading Seaman Jack Mantle of the Royal Navy, although mortally wounded, kept firing his gun right to the end when a swarm of Nazi Stukas attacked his anti-aircraft ship HMS Foylebank in the English harbour of Portland? For his valour, Jack Mantle was fittingly awarded the Victoria Cross. In light of this story, what I am about to briefly describe clearly highlights the second injustice. I am speaking of the tragic yet heroic events surrounding the sinking of the corvette HMAS Armidale on 1 December 1942 off the coast of Timor. More specifically, I am referring to the case of an 18-year-old Tasmanian from the township of Latrobe in my electorate of Braddon—Ordinary Seaman Edward ‘Teddy’ Sheean. Sixty-six years ago, Teddy Sheean gave up his life to help save some of his mates who were being strafed by Japanese planes as the Armidale sank. Teddy ran back to his gun, strapped himself in and, despite being seriously wounded in the chest, kept firing to the end.

Journalist, author and navy wartime veteran, the recently departed Frank Walker, in his book HMAS Armidale: the ship that had to die, described the final moments:

Even when there was nothing left of the ship above the water, tracer bullets from Sheean’s gun kept shooting from under the water …

Jack Mantle RN was awarded the VC for his extraordinary valour; Teddy Sheean was merely mentioned in dispatches. Why has this act of courage, for example—and many others, particularly in the Royal Australian Navy—witnessed then and undisputed today, not been rewarded with a VC?

I have here copies of statements made by seven survivors of HMAS Armidale, all collected by the late Frank Walker and testifying to the historical accuracy and extent of Teddy Sheean’s bravery. Do these eyewitness accounts mean nothing? Were they not countenanced in the official inquiry into the sinking of HMAS Armidale? Clearly, Armidale’s Lieutenant Commander Richards’ special mention of the Sheean bravery would have counted for something—but apparently not. In his search for justice for Teddy Sheean, Frank Walker has pointed to the inadequacy and the absurdity of the awards system as related to the Royal Australian Navy. And here lies the anomaly: unlike the AIF and the RAAF, where awards were decided by Australians in Australia, RAN awards were not. The Australian Commonwealth Naval Board, headed by a Royal Navy officer, had to send recommendation to the Admiralty in London where the awards and honours committee made the decision. Furthermore, Walker points out that the commanding officers of Royal Navy ships were entitled to recommend sailors for certain awards, but the captains of Royal Australian Navy ships were instructed ‘the nature of the award is not to be suggested’.

It is Walker’s contention that it was impossible for Australian officers to recommend Australian sailors for a VC. And he did not mince his words. According to Frank, snobbery and class distinctions played their part in this discrimination.

What then is the problem about resolving this issue, about doing the right thing? Contrary to popular belief, since a royal warrant of 31 December 1942, Australia has retained or adopted the Victoria Cross as the supreme award for military heroism in this country. It can be given on a recommendation from the Australian government to the Queen. It can in fact be legislated for and/or recommended by the present government. So why has this not occurred despite the overwhelming recognition of the merit and authenticity of the case? The answer basically is: ‘Let sleeping dogs lie.’ In condescending bureaucratic speak of 25 October 1999, the departmental response, from an adviser, to this very question was:

It is not practical for better judgments about individual actions or merit to be made at this time than were made by contemporary authorities who had direct access to eye witness reports and could test evidence when it was fresh.

Where was the danger? The danger was in:

… creating a precedent for unwanted and perhaps divisive comparisons between these ‘hindsight-awards’ and those recommended and granted at the time.

I call on my government, through its newly established Independent Defence Honours and Awards Tribunal, to right the wrongs of the past— (Time expired)

Bruce Scott (Maranoa, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Patrick Secker (Barker, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion. It is a great honour for me to support my colleague from the other side, the member for Braddon, who I count as a friend in this House.

In February 2001, in my home state of South Australia, a Collins class submarine was commissioned, the HMAS Sheean. The HMAS Sheean’s motto is ‘Fight on’. She is the only Australian naval vessel to be named after a sailor—Ordinary Seaman Teddy Sheean. Teddy Sheean was no ordinary Australian. In late 1942, during World War II, 18-year-old Teddy Sheean was a sailor posted on the corvette HMAS Armidale on a dangerous mission just off the Timor coast. On 1 December 1942, the Armidale came under Japanese air attack by 13 Japanese aircraft. The Armidale was hit by two aircraft launched torpedoes. She began to sink fast and the crew were ordered to abandon ship.

Teddy Sheean was wounded and could have tried his luck to swim to the Timor coast. Instead, seeing his shipmates being picked off in the water by Japanese aircraft, wounded, he made his way across the deck of the Armidale and strapped himself into his Oerlikon gun. Teddy Sheean started firing at the enemy, forcing some of the planes to sheer away from the stricken vessel and its crew in the water. One of the fighter planes was shot down. Sheean was again hit in the chest by bullets, the ship was sinking fast and the water was lapping his feet. This is what survivors say of that day:

The men in the water gasped in amazement as they saw the blood-stained, desperate youngster wheel his gun from target to target, his powerless legs dragging on the deck.

As the gun was dragged into the sea its barrel kept recoiling and shots kept pouring from it.

Even as he sank below water, Sheean’s gun kept shooting. Teddy Sheean died that day, aged just 18. Only 49 of the 149 men on board survived the attack and subsequent ordeal on rafts and in lifeboats, many saved by his heroic actions. Teddy Sheean died fighting to the end against impossible odds. He epitomised the phrase ‘Fight on’, a common saying uttered by those trying to encourage their fellow sailors, or by the tired sailors themselves, and it is this motto that the HMAS Sheean took as its own.

Many consider that Sheean’s actions deserved the Victoria Cross. I do. He was not recommended for the VC at the time because commanding officers of RAN ships at the time were not entitled to specify the nature of the award. Unbelievably, while AIF and RAAF awards were recommended and decided by Australians in Australia, RAN awards were not. A recommendation had to be sent to the Royal Navy Admiralty in London, where an awards and honours committee made the decision. This discrimination meant that no member of the Royal Australian Navy has been awarded the Victorian Cross. Sixty-six years later, bureaucratic madness dictates that Teddy Sheean remains ineligible for the honour, because supposedly end-of-war lists for World War II cannot be reopened.

When I think of how I was at 18 years of age and of Teddy Sheean’s courage and valour in sacrificing himself to save others, it is abundantly clear that his actions deserve nothing less than the posthumous award of a Victoria Cross. Australia has retained the Victoria Cross as the supreme award for military heroism. It can be given on a recommendation from the Australian government to the Queen. It can be legislated for and/or recommended by this present government. The only thing that stops Teddy Sheean from receiving this country’s highest military honour for bravery is an unwillingness on the part of the government to tamper with a bureaucratic filing process. Teddy Sheean is remembered and honoured in a variety of ways by family, friends and supporters. He gave his life for his country and his mates in the true Australian tradition. It is now time for Australia to honour him with our highest award for gallantry, the Victoria Cross.

Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It gives me great pleasure to speak on this motion on Ordinary Seaman Teddy Sheean. I would like to congratulate the member for Braddon for bringing this matter to the House—and not just once. The member for Braddon also presented the Defence Act Amendment (Victoria Cross) Bill 2001 to the House on 4 June 2001, which was the basis of the Labor Party’s election promise in 2001 to posthumously award a Victoria Cross to Teddy Sheean.

In speaking to this motion tonight, I pay credit to Frank Walker. Frank Walker was a very close and dear friend of mine who campaigned tirelessly for Teddy Sheean to be awarded the Victoria Cross. I have before me a letter that he wrote to me in December 2007, in which he asked me to pursue the case for the award of a Victoria Cross to Australian servicemen who had been very heroic. In that letter he said he was particularly concerned about Teddy Sheean and his feats on HMAS Armidale. As the member for Braddon mentioned, Frank Walker wrote a book entitled HMAS Armidale: the ship that had to die. In that book, he detailed the great courage and feats of Teddy Sheean and the reasons why he should be awarded the Victoria Cross. Previous speakers have spoken about the fact that Navy personnel have not received the VC when they have deserved it, and Teddy Sheean sure is an example of somebody who deserved the Victoria Cross.

Frank Walker campaigned for many years for Teddy Sheean to be awarded the Victoria Cross. In his book, he talks about the acts of bravery Teddy Sheean performed as a Royal Australian Navy sailor. He talks about how Teddy Sheean tied his gun to himself and kept firing as HMAS Armidale went down. I might just go through some of the feats of Teddy Sheean, because they are outstanding. Although twice wounded, he continued to return fire to try and protect the sailors in the water, bringing down one Japanese bomber in the process and severely damaging two others. Teddy Sheen was seen firing his gun even as the Armidale sank. In fact, witnesses reported seeing tracer rising from beneath the water—Sheean had kept firing underwater. There were 102 survivors of the sinking of the Armidale, thanks to the bravery of one man, Teddy Sheean—although many more were lost in life rafts on that day. That was because of what Teddy Sheean did. The Japanese continued to fire upon the ship and also machine-gunned sailors who had jumped into the water. This happened at around 3 pm on 4 December 1942. Afterwards, Sheean was mentioned in dispatches for his bravery. In 1999 a Collins class submarine was named after him—HMAS Sheean. This is the only vessel in the Royal Australian Navy to be named after an ordinary seaman. His sister, Mrs Ivy Hayes, launched the submarine in Adelaide on 1 May 1999.

This is an exceptionally important motion that we are debating here tonight. I call on the government, through its newly established and independent Defence Honours and Awards Tribunal, to right the wrongs of the past and take up the case of Teddy Sheen and others by establishing a mechanism to address the outstanding issues and anomalies in the military honours system in this country, particularly those relating to the actions of RAN personnel. This is the least we can do for people like Teddy Sheean. Lest we forget. (Time expired)

Luke Simpkins (Cowan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I came here tonight with some notes that I was going to refer to, but having listened to the previous speakers I think I will dispense with those more formal notes in making a few comments on the circumstances of this great Australian, Teddy Sheean. I understand that at about the time of World War I the Royal Australian Navy fleet was often referred to as the Australian squadron of the Royal Navy. I think things like that really put this into perspective.

The link between the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Navy has gone on for a long time, and the traditions are obviously very clearly there. But now we see that such traditions have worked against the best interests of this country and people like Teddy Sheean. I think that that is an absolute tragedy and I join with the government members to endorse the call for Teddy Sheean to be properly recognised in the appropriate manner. When you see what a MID, Mention In Dispatches, looks like when worn on a uniform—it is a small wreath—you note that clearly there is a significant difference between that and the crimson ribbon and the gunmetal cross of the Victoria Cross.

Teddy Sheean is certainly a fine example of the great traditions of this country. He was under pressure, under enormous odds after being wounded twice, fighting to the end with no regard for his own safety, only a regard for those he was trying to protect. He was out there fighting the fight, trying to destroy the Japanese bombers and fighters that were machine-gunning his friends in the water. He was there doing his duty for his country. He was a great Australian and a great Tasmanian. I understand that he was from—

Sid Sidebottom (Braddon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Latrobe.

Luke Simpkins (Cowan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In fact it was very interesting to have read ‘Latrobe’, but there was also a reference to Lower Barrington.

Sid Sidebottom (Braddon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That’s it—just near Latrobe.

Luke Simpkins (Cowan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have had the pleasure of being in Barrington, and it is a most excellent part of the country. To know that someone of such significance in this country’s history has come from such a pretty place—but not exactly the biggest place—is another one of those great examples of how someone’s background possibly contributes to the effort that they put in.

We have had a number of references tonight to what Teddy Sheean did. With his corvette, the Armidale, having been torpedoed twice—and I understand it received a bomb blast as well—he strapped himself to the aft Oerlikon machine-gun and continued that fight. We also know that HMAS Sheean was named after him.

Bruce Scott (Maranoa, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.