Tom Derrick
Thomas Currie "Diver" Derrick, was an Australian soldier and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces. In November 1943, during the Second World War, Derrick was awarded the Victoria Cross for his assault on a heavily defended Japanese position at Sattelberg, New Guinea. During the engagement, he scaled a cliff face while under heavy fire and silenced seven machine gun posts, before leading his platoon in a charge that destroyed a further three.
Born in the Adelaide suburb of Medindie, South Australia, Derrick left school at the age of fourteen and found work in a bakery. As the Great Depression grew worse he lost his job and moved to Berri, working on a fruit farm before marrying in 1939. In July 1941, Derrick enlisted in the Second Australian Imperial Force, joining the 2/48th Battalion. He was posted to the Middle East, where he took part in the siege of Tobruk, was recommended for the Military Medal and promoted to corporal. Later, at El Alamein, Derrick was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for knocking out three German machine gun posts, destroying two tanks, and capturing one hundred prisoners.
Derrick returned to Australia with his battalion in February 1943, before transferring to the South West Pacific Theatre where he fought in the battle to capture Lae. Back in Australia the following February he was posted to an officer cadet training unit, being commissioned lieutenant in November 1944. In April 1945 his battalion was sent to the Pacific island of Morotai, an assembly point for the Allied invasion of the Philippines. Engaged in action the following month on the heavily defended hill Freda on Tarakan Island, Derrick was hit by five bullets from a Japanese machine gun. He died from his wounds on 24 May 1945.
Early life
Derrick was born on 20 March 1914 at the McBride Maternity Hospital in the Adelaide suburb of Medindie, South Australia, to David Derrick, a labourer from Ireland, and his Australian wife, Ada. The Derricks were poor, and Tom often walked barefoot to attend Sturt Street Public School and later Le Fevre Peninsula School. In 1928, aged fourteen, Derrick left school and found work in a bakery. By this time, he had developed a keen interest in sports, particularly cricket, Australian Rules Football, boxing and swimming; his diving in the Port River earned him the nickname of "Diver".With the advent of the Great Depression, Derrick scraped a living from odd jobs—such as fixing bicycles and selling newspapers—to supplement his job as a baker. When in 1931, the Depression worsened, Derrick lost his bakery job and, with friends, headed by bicycle for the regional town of Berri, approximately away, in search of work. Jobs in Berri were hard to come by and Derrick and two friends spent the next few months living in a tent on the banks of the Murray River. When the annual Royal Adelaide Show opened that year, Derrick went to the boxing pavilion to accept a challenge of staying upright for three rounds with the ex-lightweight champion of Australia. Although he was knocked down in the second round, he immediately got back to his feet and won the bet; albeit at the cost of a black eye, and a few bruised ribs.
Eventually, towards the end of 1931, Derrick found work picking fruit at a vineyard in Winkie, a short distance outside Berri. He later moved on to a full-time job at a nearby fruit farm, remaining there for the next nine years. On 24 June 1939, Derrick married Clarance Violet "Beryl" Leslie—his "one true love" whom he had met at a dance in Adelaide seven years earlier—at St Laurence's Catholic Church, North Adelaide.
Second World War
Derrick did not join up when war broke out in September 1939 but, like many Australians, enlisted after the fall of France in June 1940. He joined the Second Australian Imperial Force on 5 July 1940, and was posted to the 2/48th Battalion, 26th Brigade, as a private. Derrick first joined his unit at the Wayville Showgrounds, before basic training at Woodside. Derrick thrived on military life, but found discipline difficult to accept.In October, the 2/48th Battalion paraded through the streets of Adelaide to Mitcham railway station before its embarkation for the Middle East. The battalion's voyage overseas was postponed until 17 November, when the unit boarded the. The ship made a stop at Perth, where Derrick was confined on board for going absent without leave to sightsee. He was soon in more trouble, and was charged and fined for punching another soldier who taunted him over this incident.
North Africa
On arrival in Palestine, the 2/48th Battalion encamped at El Kantara and began training in desert warfare. For relaxation, the battalion set up athletic events, and Derrick became well known for often winning cross-country races—and for organising a book on the outcomes. In March 1941, the unit went by train and truck to Alexandria, Egypt, then along the North African coast to Cyrenaica, in Libya, to join the 9th Australian Division.After the 2/48th Battalion completed its training with the 9th Division at Cyrenaica, they were moved further along the coast to Gazala. Then, just as they began to dig in, the battalion was abruptly withdrawn to Tobruk in response to the German Afrika Korps' advance. They entered Tobruk on 9 April 1941, and spent the following eight months besieged by Axis forces. While there, Derrick acquired an Italian Breda machine gun and regularly led fighting patrols against both German and Italian troops. Although Derrick's bravery was noted during the siege, he wrote in his diary about his constant fear of dying.
On the night of 30 April, the Axis forces assaulted Tobruk's outer defences and managed to capture substantial ground. In response, the 2/48th Battalion was ordered to counter-attack the following evening. During the ensuing engagement, Derrick fought as a section member in the far left flank of the attack. After suffering heavy casualties in what Derrick described as "a bobby dazzler of a fire fight", the battalion was forced to withdraw. Praised for his leadership and bravery during the assault, Derrick was immediately promoted to corporal, and recommended for the Military Medal, but the award was never made.
In late May, Derrick discovered a German posing as a British tank officer and reported him to company headquarters; the man was immediately arrested as a spy. Following a period of heavy fighting in June, the 2/48th Battalion was placed in reserve for a few days the following month. Promoted to platoon sergeant in September, Derrick—along with the rest of his battalion—was withdrawn from Tobruk and returned to Palestine aboard on 22 October. Disembarking at Tel Aviv, they were given three days' leave in the city, before returning for training.
Following a period of rest and light garrison duties in Syria, the 2/48th Battalion was rushed to El Alamein, Egypt, to reinforce the British Eighth Army. During the First Battle of El Alamein on 10 July 1942, Derrick took part in the 26th Australian Brigade's attack on Tel el Eisa. In the initial assault, Derrick, against a barrage of German grenades, led an attack against three machine gun posts and succeeded in destroying the positions before capturing over one hundred prisoners. During the Axis counter-attack that evening, the Australian line was overrun by tanks. As the German infantry following the tanks advanced, Derrick's company led a charge against the men. During the engagement, Derrick managed to destroy two German tanks using sticky bombs. Commended for his "outstanding leadership and courage", Derrick was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his part in the fighting at Tel el Eisa. The award was announced in a supplement to the London Gazette on 18 February 1943.
Promoted to sergeant on 28 July, Derrick led a six-man reconnaissance on 3 October, successfully pinpointing several German machine gun positions and strongholds; this information was to be vital for the upcoming Second Battle of El Alamein. The El Alamein offensive was launched on 23 October, the 9th Australian Division taking part. At one point during the engagement, Derrick jumped up onto an Allied gun carrier heading towards the Germans. Armed with a Thompson submachine gun and under intense heavy fire, Derrick attacked and knocked out three machine gun posts while standing in the carrier. He then had the driver reverse up to each post so he could ensure each position was silenced. By the following morning, Derrick's platoon occupied all three posts. The members of the 2/48th Battalion who witnessed Derrick's action were sure he would be awarded the Victoria Cross, though no recommendation was made.
For part of 31 October, Derrick assumed command of his company after all of the unit's officers had been killed or wounded in fierce fighting. On 21 November 1942, Derrick was briefly admitted to the 2/3rd Australian Field Ambulance with slight shrapnel wounds to his right hand and buttock. Twelve days later, the 2/48th Battalion left El Alamein and returned to Gaza in Palestine, where, later that month, Derrick attended a corps patrolling course. In January 1943, the 2/48th Battalion sailed home to Australia, aboard the along with the rest of the 9th Division.
South West Pacific
Disembarking at Port Melbourne in late February 1943, Derrick was granted a period of leave and travelled by train to Adelaide where he spent time with Beryl. He rejoined his battalion—now encamped in the outskirts of Adelaide—before they went by train to the Atherton Tableland for training in jungle warfare. Brought up to full strength by the end of April, the 2/48th Battalion completed its training following landing-craft exercises near Cairns. On 23 July, Derrick was attached to the 21st Brigade Headquarters but admitted to hospital for old injuries to his right eye later the same day. After hospital, Derrick returned briefly to brigade headquarters before rejoining the 2/48th Battalion on 27 August.For much of August, the 2/48th Battalion had been in training for the Allied attack on Lae, in Papua New Guinea. The unit's objective was to land on a strip of land designated as "Red Beach", and then fight their way approximately west towards Lae. Following a bombardment by American destroyers, Derrick's wave landed on the beach with minimal casualties on 4 September. Ten days later, the 2/48th Battalion's C Company—led by Derrick's platoon—captured Malahang airstrip, before Lae fell to the Allies on 16 September. Derrick was scornful of the Japanese defence of Lae, and wrote in his diary that "our greatest problem was trying to catch up" with the retreating Japanese force.