Thomas Currie Derrick VC DCM (1914 - 1945)

Ancestors

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 North Africa and Syria 1.2 South West Pacific 1.3 Final battle field, Borneo 1.4 Legacy 2 See also 3 Sources

Biography

"Who was the best soldier of all time?"
After a short pause, he replied: "Diver Derrick".
– General Sir Peter Cosgrove, 2004, then Chief of the Australian Defence Force

Lieutenant Thomas 'Tom' Currie Derrick VC DCM was born on 20th March 1914 in the Salvation Army Hospital, Medindie (an inner northern suburb of Adelaide), South Australia, Australia. He was the older son of David Derrick, a labourer from Ireland, and his Australian-born wife, Ada née Whitcombe.^[1]
Tom was educated at local schools, Sturt Street Public School and Le Fevre Peninsula School. After leaving school he found work in a bakery. Tom developed a keen interest in sports, particularly cricket, Australian Rules football, boxing, swimming and diving; his diving in the Port River earning him the nickname 'Diver Derrick'.

During the Great Depression, Tom initially supplemented his bakery income with odd jobs such as repairing bicycles and selling newspapers. After he lost the bakery job, together with some friends, he rode his bicycle to Berri, approximately 225 kilometres (140 miles) away, in search of work. Eventually, towards the end of 1931, Tom found work picking fruit at a vineyard in Winkie, a short distance outside Berri, before obtaining a full-time job at a nearby fruit farm, remaining there for the next nine years.

On 24th June 1939 in St Laurence's Catholic Church, North Adelaide, Tom married Beryl Leslie—his "one true love"—whom he had met at a dance in Adelaide in 1932.^[2]

North Africa and Syria

Sergeant Tom 'Diver' Derrick

Enlisting in the Second Australian Imperial Force, his nation's all-volunteer expeditionary force for the Second World War on 5th July 1940, following the fall of France; Private Derrick was posted to the 2/48th Australian Infantry Battalion, 26th Brigade.^[3][4]
The battalion embarked for the Middle East on 17th November, aboard the SS Stratheden.^[5]
In March 1941, the battalion travelled by train and truck to Alexandria, Egypt, then along the North African coast to Cyrenaica, in Libya, to join the remainder of the 9th Australian Division. Tom was about to become one of the famous 'Rats of Tobruk'.

Praised for his leadership and bravery during an assault on a German post at Tobruk on 1st May 1941, Tom was immediately promoted to Corporal and recommended for the Military Medal. The award, however, was never made. In late May, Tom discovered a German posing as a British tank officer and reported him to company headquarters; the man was immediately arrested as a spy. Tom was promoted to Platoon Sergeant in September. The battalion was withdrawn from Tobruk and returned to Palestine aboard HMS Kingston on 22nd October.

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 10th July 1942, Tom, against a barrage of German bombs (hand grenades), led an attack against three machine gun posts and succeeded in destroying the positions before capturing over one hundred prisoners. Later, during a German counter-attack, he destroyed two German tanks using 'sticky' bombs. Commended for his 'outstanding leadership and courage', Tom was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM). The award was announced in the London Gazette on 16th February 1943.^[6][7]

During an offensive phase at El Alamein, on 23rd October, Tom jumped up onto an Allied gun carrier heading towards the Germans. Armed with a Thompson submachine gun and under intense heavy fire, he 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, Tom's platoon occupied all three posts. The members of the 2/48th Battalion who witnessed Tom's action were sure he would be awarded the Victoria Cross, though no recommendation was made.

On 31st October 1942, after all of the unit's officers had been killed or wounded in fierce fighting Tom, as a Sergeant, assumed command of his company. On 21st November, he was briefly admitted to the 2/3rd Australian Field Ambulance with slight shrapnel wounds to his right hand and buttock. In January 1943, the 2/48th Battalion sailed home to Australia, aboard the SS Nieuw Amsterdam, along with the rest of the 9th Division. There were battles to be won closer to home.

South West Pacific

Victoria Cross

After re-training for jungle warfare, the 2/48th landed on 'Red Beach, New Guinea on 4th September 1943 with minimal casualties. Ten days later, the 2/48th Battalion's C Company—led by Tom's platoon—captured Malahang airstrip, before Lae fell to the Allies on 16th September. Scornful of the Japanese defence on this occasion, he wrote in his diary that 'our greatest problem was trying to catch up' with the retreating Japanese force.

Following Lae, the 9th Division was tasked to seize Finschhafen, clear the Huon Peninsula and gain control of the Vitiaz Strait. The 26th Brigade was ordered to capture Sattelberg, a densely wooded hill rising 1,000 metres (1,100 yd) and dominating the Finschhafen region. It was his actions in the assault on this position that resulted in Tom being awarded the Victoria Cross. He had been acting as Company Sergeant Major for the previous month and was given command of B Company's 11 Platoon after the unit had 'lost all but one of their officers'.

ordered to personally hoist the Australian flag

On 24th November, the 2/48th Battalion's B Company was ordered to outflank a strong Japanese position sited on a cliff face, prior to attacking a feature 140 metres (150 yds) from the Sattelberg township. The nature of the terrain meant that the only possible route was up a slope covered with kunai grass directly beneath the cliffs. Over a period of two hours, the Australians made several attempts to clamber up the slopes to reach their objective, but each time they were repulsed by intense machine gun fire and grenade attacks. As dusk fell, it appeared impossible to reach the objective or even hold the ground already gained, and the company was ordered to withdraw. In response, Tom replied to his company commander: "Bugger the CO. Just give me twenty more minutes and we'll have this place. Tell him I'm pinned down and can't get out." Moving forward with his platoon, Tom attacked a Japanese post that had been holding up the advance. He destroyed the position with grenades. The section soon came under heavy machine gun and grenade fire from six Japanese posts. Clambering up the cliff face under heavy fire, he held on with one hand while lobbing grenades into the weapon pits with the other, like "a man ... shooting for [a] goal at basketball". Climbing further up the cliff and in full view of the Japanese, Tom continued to attack the posts with grenades before following up with accurate rifle fire. Within twenty minutes, he had reached the peak and cleared seven posts, while the demoralised Japanese defenders fled from their positions to the buildings of Sattelberg. He gathered his first and third sections in preparation for an assault on the three remaining machine gun posts in the area. Attacking the posts, he personally rushed forward on four separate occasions and threw his grenades at a range of about 7 metres (7.7 yds), before all three were silenced. Tom's platoon held their position that night, before the 2/48th Battalion moved in to take Sattelberg, unopposed, the following morning. The battalion commander insisted that Tom personally hoist the Australian flag over the town; it was raised at 10:00 on 25th November 1943.

On 21st March 1944, the announcement and accompanying citation for Tom Derrick's Victoria Cross appeared in a supplement to the London Gazette. ^[8][9]

On 20th August 1944, Tom was posted to an officer cadet training unit in Victoria. He requested that he be allowed to rejoin the 2/48th Battalion at the end of the course; contrary to normal Army policy that prevented officers commissioned from the ranks from returning to their previous units. An exemption was granted only after much lobbying. Tom was commissioned as a Lieutenant on 26th November 1944; his appointment as a platoon commander in his old company was met by 'great jubilation'.

Final battle field, Borneo

On 1st May 1945, Tom took part in the landing at Tarakan; an island off the coast of Borneo.^[10]
Under the cover of a naval and aerial bombardment, he led his men ashore in the initial waves of the landing, where they were initially posted at the boundary of the 2/48th Battalion and 2/24th Battalion's area of responsibility. The Japanese force on the island mounted a determined resistance, and Tom was later quoted in the Sunday Sun as saying he had 'never struck anything so tough as the Japanese on Tarakan'.

Tom 'Diver' Derrick

Whilst fighting their way inland on 23rd May, Tom was hit by five bullets from a Japanese machine gun. He continued to issue orders for several hours before being evacuated to the hospital. He died at Tarakan the following day during a second operation on his wounds. He was buried in the 2/48th Battalion's cemetery on Tarakan that afternoon, and after the war re-interred in the Labuan War Cemetery, plot 24, row A, grave 9 (Indonesia)(in today's Malaysia).^[11]

"From what I learnt; not only was Derrick a magnificent soldier, but also a splendid leader who, immediately he saw a tactical problem, fixed it with either personal bravery or leadership imbued with determination and common sense."
– General Sir Francis Hassett, Hassett: Australian Leader

On 7th May 1947, Beryl Derrick attended an investiture ceremony at Government House, Adelaide, at which she was presented with her late husband's Victoria Cross and Distinguished Conduct Medal by the Governor of South Australia, Lieutenant General Sir Charles Norrie. Tom Derrick's Victoria Cross and other medals are now displayed at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra.

Lieutenant Tom 'Diver' Derrick VC DCM medal set

• Victoria Cross
• Distinguished Conduct Medal
• 1939-1945 Star
• Africa Star
• Pacific Star
• Defence Medal
• War Medal 1939-1945
• Australia Service Medal 1939-1945

Derrick had arguably deserved "a VC and two bars:
at El Alamein, at Sattelberg and now at Tarakan."
– historian Michael McKernan ^[12]

Legacy

As well as his great soldiering abilities, Tom Derrick is remembered for his personal qualities: he was sensitive and reflective. Despite receiving a basic formal education, he was a 'forceful and logical debater, with a thirst for knowledge'. Tom kept a diary, composed poetry, collected butterflies and frequently wrote to his wife while on active service.^[13]
Tom 'Diver' Derrick has been commemerated in several ways that help us who follow to remember this great Australian who gave everything for his family and country.

• a street in Campbell, Australian Capital Territory.
• a rest stop on Remembrance Driveway between Sydney and Canberra.
• a public park was named the Derrick Memorial Reserve on Carlisle Street, Glanville, South Australia.
• the newly-built Tom 'Diver' Derrick Bridge over the Port River on the Port River Expressway.^[14]
  

See also

• Blanch, Craig and Pegram, Aaron; For Valour: Australians awarded the Victoria Cross. (Sydney: New South Publishing, 2018) ISBN 978 17422 35424
• Gammage, Bill; Derrick, Thomas Currie (Tom) (1914–1945)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1993; accessed online 1 Jun 2019
  
• Horner, David; The Second World War: The Pacific. (Botley: Osprey Publishing, 2002) ISBN 978-1-84176-229-6
  
• Macklin, Robert; Bravest: How some of Australia's war heroes won their medals. (Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin, 2008) ISBN 978-1-74114-882-4
• Stanley, Peter; Tarakan. An Australian Tragedy (Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1997) ISBN 978-1-86448-278-2
  
• Staunton, Anthony; Victoria Cross: Australia's Finest and the Battles they Fought. (Prahran: Hardie Grant Books, 2005) ISBN 978-1-74066-288-8
  
• Johnston, Mark (Ed.); Derrick VC In his own words. (Sydney: NewSouth Publishing, 2021) ISBN 9781742237244
  
• Wikipedia profile: Tom Derrick en.wikipedia.org; accessed 1 Jun 2019
  

Sources

1. ↑ South Australia Birth Index #931/430 1914
2. ↑ record of marriage yet to be located
3. ↑ Australian War Memorial nominal roll: SX7964 Thomas Derrick; accessed 1 Jun 2019
4. ↑ Australian War Memorial unit record: 2/48th Australian Infantry Battalion; accessed 1 Jun 2019
5. ↑ Australian War Memorial embarkation roll: SX7964 Private Thomas Derrick; accessed 1 Jun 2019
6. ↑ Australian Honours: Distinguished Conduct Medal; accessed 1 Jun 2019
7. ↑ London Gazette 16 February 1943 Supplement: 35908 Page: 864; accessed 1 Jun 2019
8. ↑ Australian Honours: Victoria Cross; accessed 1 Jun 2019
9. ↑ London Gazette 21 March 1944 Supplement: 36436 Page: 1361; accessed 1 Jun 2019
10. ↑ Stanley, Peter (1997). Tarakan. An Australian Tragedy. (Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1997) ISBN 978-1-86448-278-2
11. ↑ Commonwealth War Graves Commission; accessed 9 Nov 2021
    

    Country of Service: Australian

    Awards: Victoria Cross, Distinguished Conduct Medal

    Additional Info: Son of David and Ada Derrick; husband of Beryl Violet Derrick, of North Adelaide, South Australia.

    Personal Inscription: HIS DUTY FEARLESSLY AND NOBLY DONE EVER REMEMBERED

    Additional Citation note: The following details are given in the London Gazette of 23rd March, 1944:-On 24th November, 1943, Sergeant Thomas Currie Derrick, D.C.M., was in command of a platoon of a Company of Australian Infantry ordered to attack a feature from the township of Sattelburg. For over two hours many unsuccessful attempts were made, under heavy fire from enemy strong points at the top of a precipitous cliff which the Company had to scale to reach the objective. The task appeared impossible, and shortly before last light the Company was ordered to retire. Sergeant Derrick requested, and was granted, permission to make one last attempt. Moving ahead of his forward section he personally destroyed with hand grenades an enemy post which had been holding up this section. His second section were heavily attacked by machine guns and grenades from six enemy posts. Without regard for his personal safety he went ahead of the leading men and with grenades so completely demoralised the enemy that they fled leaving weapons and grenades. The Company was thus enabled to gain its first foothold on the precipitous ground. Then on four separate occasions Sergeant Derrick dashed forward and threw grenades at a range of 5 to 7 metres until the remaining three posts were silenced. In all he reduced ten enemy posts, and from the vital ground he captured the Battalion moved on and took Sattelburg. Undoubtedly the capture of Sattelburg was due to Sergeant Derrick's fine leadership and refusal to admit defeat in a seemingly impossible situation. His outstanding gallantry, thoroughness and devotion to duty were an inspiration not only to his platoon and company, but to the whole Battalion.

12. ↑ Macklin, Robert; Bravest: How some of Australia's war heroes won their medals, (Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin, 2008) ISBN 978-1-74114-882-4
13. ↑ Horner, David; The Second World War: The Pacific, (Botley: Osprey Publishing, 2002) ISBN 978-1-84176-229-6
14. ↑ ABC News 5 Jun 2008 Name backdown for new Port bridge; accessed 1 Jun 2019 abc.net.au