In the pre-dawn darkness of the 25th of April 1915, the first soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula. On that day over 16,000 ANZACs surged ashore. By the end of that day more than 2,000 of them were dead or injured. Today, we honour the sacrifice of the ANZACs and those who fought alongside them at sea and in the air – not only at Gallipoli but throughout the Great War. We remember the many thousands of Australian men and women who followed their example in other conflicts: World War Two, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, on Peace Keeping Missions and other operations.
These Australians offered themselves in the service of our nation. They endured and suffered. Many died: in battle, of wounds, of disease, in captivity. Those who returned were not the same. Australians from the country and the city – their stories are as varied as the places they served: jungles and deserts (some served on horseback), the sky and the sea. These stories are ours now and I would like to share one of them today, the story of Ordinary Seaman Edward ‘Teddy’ Sheean. On the 1st of December 2020, Teddy was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, 78 years to the day of his death, and he is the first member of the Royal Australian Navy to be awarded Australia’s highest honour for valour. On the 1st of December 1942, Teddy was serving in the warship HMAS Armidale, operating off Timor to our north. The small ship beat off successive attacks from enemy aircraft that afternoon and then, shortly before 1500, she came under heavy attack by nine bombers, three fighters and a float plane. Armidale manoeuvred frantically and fired at the enemy. She was struck multiple times by torpedoes.
The Ship was badly damaged. She listed heavily to port and the order was given to abandon ship. Survivors leapt into the sea and they were machine-gunned in the water by attacking aircraft.
Teddy helped to free a life raft. Already wounded in his chest and back, he returned to his gun and strapped himself in. He shot down one aircraft and kept others away from his mates in the water. He was still firing his gun as Armidale sank, dragging him down. He was eighteen years old.
Of the 149 men who had been onboard, only 49 survived both the sinking and the following days in life rafts. Many of the 49 later credited their lives to Teddy. Teddy’s service, and that of the many thousands of others across Navy, Army and Airforce, continues to echo as we serve our Nation in both war and in peace today.
The past two years have seen some of the largest scale Defence support operations here at home; helping those affected by bushfires, storms and floods, and contributing significantly in every State and Territory to the fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Abroad, the Defence Force deployed people to help our neighbors in Fiji over Christmas following Cyclone Yasa, and in support missions to Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste. Further afield, the ADF continues to deploy and represent our country throughout Asia and the Middle East.
Today we are thankful that Australians delivered a society where we can speak freely, share opinions, discuss issues openly – a society that respects gender and race, belief and difference. As we honour those who have offered themselves in the service of our nation, let us also hope for peace in the world. We remember the 102, 866 people of the armed forces named on the Australian War Memorial’s Roll of Honour, they lost their lives in the service of our country. Their sacrifice is captured in the verse of John Maxwell Edmonds: When you go home, tell them of us and say For your tomorrow, we gave our today. Lest we forget.
