Teddy Sheean receive a posthumous Victoria Cross

When WWII RAN hero Teddy Sheen was once again denied a posthumous Victoria Cross for his outstanding bravery, it caused a lot of anger.

A campaign was launched on Change.org calling for action which has already garnered almost 25,000 signatures.

Today media outlets are reporting that he has finally been recommended to receive the VC.

On a slightly different note, as he had no descendants and his parents and probably any siblings are long deceased, it is probably not appropiate to present it to some distant family member, especially as Victoria Crosses have been selling for $1 million or more, but to gift it to the Australian War Memorial on condition they utilise it in an appropiate memorial to him.

5 Likes

… and about time.

He did get some recognition, a substantial amount in my opinion, being the only ordinary seaman to contribute his name to one of the Collins Class submarines, which has the motto “Fight On” and features an image reflecting his last fight … it is a sobering story, which was essentially the centrepiece of the story at both the keel laying and the launch of said boat.

5 Likes

It was our Prime Minister who failed Teddy so profoundly. the tribunal had UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDED he be posthumously awarded the medal.
The ABC reported it was SCOMO who personally decided to ignore that formal advice, but the resulting clamor was SO loud he then appointed ANOTHER panel (!) to review the review (dont ask) & when the recommendation was NO DIFFERENT in substance, only then did Mr Morrison belatedly recommend to the GG (&Her Majesty) the medal be awarded…only 8 decades too late.
Its shameful.
But at last he’s finally recognised as a hero!
The person who formally moved this sorry miscarriage of propriety forward - under duress - is unlikely to be so gratefully remembered I fear.

1 Like

I take it that’s your personal opinion. The system failed Able Seaman Teddy Sheehan is my personal view. The actions of so many others prior to the current PM are also deserving of criticism. There has been a long held belief/tradition in the Australian services that Naval members did not deserve recognition by award of a VC. The Army and RAAF and even Aussies serving with the British forces have received VC’s. The RN also has a significant number of recipients.

Australia has been different, until now. It’s easy to understand the extreme reluctance of any PM to redress this without being doubly sure. There are numerous predecessors to SCoMo who have been equally evasive or negligent. Regardless of what you think he is the only one to have said Yes!

4 Likes

Better late than never?

2 Likes

Definitely - a mistake, technicality or oversight (being very kind to suggest the latter) that has stood in the way of true and faithful recognition of acts worthy, which is corrected, is always a good thing.

There’s more to fix, one dating from just after 1900 … we live in hope :wink:

3 Likes