Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

"Ted was the sort of boy who would do anything for his mates"

"..of Lower Barrington, Tasmania,.. serving on HMAS Derwent... H1617 Ordinary Seaman Edward (Teddy) Sheean, RAN. Teddy Sheean was killed on 1 December 1942 during an attack by Japanese aircraft which sank HMAS Armidale. After the order to 'abandon ship' OS Teddy Sheean, although twice wounded, stayed at his post at the aft Oerlikon gun bringing down an enemy bomber. He was still firing when the ship sank. For his part in this action he was posthumously awarded a 'mention in despatches'." - SOURCE (www.awm.gov.au)

"Edward "Teddy" Sheean was an ordinary seaman serving on HMAS Armidale whose death during a Japanese aerial attack on his ship has become a well-known episode in Australian Second World War lore.

Sheean was born at Lower Barrington, Tasmania, on 28 December 1923. He received his education in a Catholic school at Latrobe in Tasmania and, having completed his schooling, worked on farms in the area where he grew up. He enlisted in the Royal Australian Naval Reserve in April 1941 and began his initial training in Tasmania. In February 1942 he was sent to the Flinders Naval Depot at Westernport in Victoria to continue his training, and the following May he was posted to Sydney.

At the end of that month, the vessel on which he was billeted, the former ferry Kuttabul, was sunk during the Japanese midget submarine attack on Sydney Harbour. Fortunately for Sheean he was in Tasmania on home leave that night. He returned to Sydney 11 days later to begin his service as an Oerlikon anti-aircraft gunner on the newly commissioned corvette, HMAS Armidale. Armidale spent her early months on relatively uneventful convoy escort duties along Australia's east and northern coasts..." - READ MORE LINK (www.awm.gov.au)

10 August 2020

Australian war hero Teddy Sheean will be awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross following a review by an expert panel.

Sheean died in 1942 when the HMAS Armidale was sunk by Japanese bombers in the Timor Sea.

The 18-year-old strapped himself to an anti-aircraft gun as the vessel went down and is credited with saving the lives of 49 crew.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison established an independent panel earlier this year after Sheean was denied the military honour.

The panel found Sheean deserved the recognition.

Mr Morrison has contacted the Queen to recommend Sheean be given the Victoria Cross and is confident she will agree.