Teddy Sheean Edward " Teddy " Sheean ( 28 December 1923 – 1 December 1942 ) was a sailor in the Royal Australian Navy during the Second World War . Born in Tasmania , Sheean was employed as a farm labourer when he enlisted in the Royal Australian Naval Reserve in April 1941 . Following training at HMAS " Derwent " and the Flinders Naval Depot , he was posted to Sydney , where he joined the newly commissioned corvette HMAS " Armidale " in June 1942 . Sheean served aboard " Armidale " as she initially took part in escort duties along the eastern Australian coast and in New Guinea waters , before he transferred with the ship to Darwin in October , where " Armidale " was tasked with assisting Australian operations in Timor . On 29 November 1942 , " Armidale " set out for an operation to Betano , Timor , along with HMAS " Castlemaine " . The two ships were attacked by Japanese aircraft along the way , and were subsequently late in arriving at their destination , missing a planned rendezvous with HMAS " Kuru " . While returning to Darwin , the pair encountered " Kuru " south of Betano and it was decided by " Castlemaine " s commanding officer — as the senior officer — that " Armidale " and " Kuru " should voyage to Betano . The two ships undertook different routes to Betano , during which both vessels came under aerial assault . During a subsequent confrontation with thirteen Japanese aircraft on 1 December , " Armidale " was struck by two torpedoes and a bomb , and began to sink ; the order to abandon ship was given . After helping to free a life - raft , Sheean was wounded by two bullets . He made his way to the aft Oerlikon 20 mm cannon and began to fire on the Japanese aircraft to protect those in the water . Sheean managed to shoot down one of the Japanese bombers , but was killed when " Armidale " sank . Many of the survivors credited their life to Sheean and he was posthumously Mentioned in Despatches . In 1999 , the submarine HMAS " Sheean " was named in his honour , and efforts have been made to have Sheean belatedly awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia . Early life . Sheean was born in Lower Barrington , Tasmania , on 28 December 1923 , the youngest of fourteen children to James Sheean , a labourer , and his wife Mary Jane ( née Broomhall ) . Soon after Edward ' s birth , the Sheean family moved to Latrobe , where he was educated at the local Catholic school . Following the completion of his schooling , Sheean gained casual employment working on several farms in the vicinity of Latrobe and Merseylea . Second World War . On 21 April 1941 , Sheean enlisted in the Royal Australian Naval Reserve . He had followed in the steps of five of his brothers who had already joined the armed forces — four in the Australian Army and one in the Royal Australian Navy — for service in the Second World War . Sheean was initially posted to the Hobart naval base HMAS " Derwent " for training , where he gained a period of seafaring experience aboard HMAS " Coombar " , an auxiliary minesweeper , from 17 – 31 December . On finishing his initial training course , Sheean was attached to the Flinders Naval Depot in Western Port , Victoria , for further instruction from 11 February 1942 . Completing his course at the Flinders Naval Depot , Sheean was posted to the Garden Island naval base HMAS " Penguin " in Sydney Harbour on 11 May . During his time with " Penguin " , he was billet ed on the requisitioned ferry HMAS " Kuttabul " . Granted a period of leave later that month , he returned home to Tasmania . While he was on leave , Japanese midget submarines attacked Sydney Harbour and sank " Kuttabul " on 31 May . Returning to Sydney eleven days after the raid , Sheean joined the newly commissioned HMAS " Armidale " as an Oerlikon anti - aircraft gun loader . Leaving Sydney Harbour in late August 1942 , Sheean served aboard " Armidale " as she carried out " relatively uneventful " escort duties along the North Queensland , Port Moresby and Milne Bay coasts over the subsequent two months . During October , " Armidale " was ordered to Darwin . Setting sail , she arrived on 7 November and was detailed to assist in the Australian operations in Timor . Sinking of " Armidale " . On 24 November 1942 , the evacuation of the 2 / 2nd Australian Independent Company from Timor along with 150 Portuguese people was approved by the Allied Land Forces Headquarters . In response to this , Commodore Cuthbert Pope , the Naval Officer - in - Charge Darwin , organised an operation utilizing HMA Ships " Kuru " , " Castlemaine " and " Armidale " . The operation was to involve the three ships undertaking two voyages each , the first to take place on the night of 30 November / 1 December and involve a trip to Betano , Timor , in which the ships were to land 50 fresh Dutch guerrillas in the area along with supplies , and simultaneously withdraw 190 Dutch soldiers as well as the 150 Portuguese refugees . The second excursion was to be carried out on the night of 4 / 5 December , and entail the extraction of the 2 / 2nd Independent Company . At 22 : 30 on 28 November 1942 , " Kuru " set sail for Betano . " Kuru " was scheduled to arrive at approximately 20 : 30 on 30 November , where she was to unload the supplies on board and embark the Portuguese refugees , which were to transfer to " Castlemaine " once she arrived along with " Armidale " two hours later . However , " Kuru " hit bad weather during her voyage and arrived at Betano three hours late . " Armidale " — with two Dutch Army officers , 61 Netherlands East Indies troops and three Australian Army soldiers aboard — and " Castlemaine " set sail from Darwin at 01 : 42 on 29 November . At approximately 09 : 15 on 30 November , while from their destination , the two ships were attacked by a single Japanese aircraft . Having missed with several bombs , the aircraft flew off in the direction of Timor an hour later . Fearing that their discovery by this aircraft would jeopardise the mission , " Castlemaine " s Commanding Officer , Lieutenant Commander Philip Sullivan , ordered evasive action and signalled Darwin for further orders . A signal returned decreeing that the operation must proceed and a party of fighter aircraft were to be dispatched as protective cover . Continuing in their voyage , " Armidale " and " Castlemaine " were attacked twice more by air , each time by a formation of bombers that bombed and machine - gunned the ships . Despite this , neither ship suffered damage or casualties and both arrived at Betano at 03 : 30 on 1 December , however there was no sign of " Kuru " . Having made sure that " Kuru " was not in the bay , the two corvettes decided to abandon the mission and sailed south in order to return to Darwin . " Kuru " s commanding officer , Lieutenant John Grant , had loaded 77 of the Portuguese refugees as well as one critically injured Australian soldier on board the ship and set sail at around 02 : 00 on 1 December from Betano , fearing he had missed the rendezvous with the other two ships . While approximately south of Betano , " Armidale " and " Castlemaine " sighted " Kuru " , and the three ships closed by dawn . Following the transfer of passengers from " Kuru " to " Castlemaine " , the former received orders that she was to return to Betano that evening " and do the job tonight " . At this time , a formation of Japanese aircraft was spotted and " Kuru " sailed for cover . Assessing the situation , Sullivan — as senior officer — decided that " Armidale " would accompany " Kuru " in order to unload the former ' s passengers at Betano while " Castlemaine " returned to Darwin . " Armidale " and " Kuru " assumed separate routes to Betano , and at approximately 13 : 00 " Armidale " was attacked by a party of five Japanese bombers ; the explosives , however , fell wide of their target . At 13 : 58 , " Armidale " reported that she was under attack from " nine bombers , four fighters " over the Arafura Sea . " Armidale " undertook evasive action , manoeuvring frantically to avoid the aerial attack . However , at 15 : 15 , the vessel was struck by two air - launched torpedo es , one hitting her port side and the other colliding with the engineering spaces , before a bomb exploded aft . " Armidale " listed sharply to port at this stage , and the order was given to abandon ship . As the crew leapt into the sea , they were strafed by the attacking aircraft . Sheean — after assisting to free a life - raft — was hit by two bullets from one of the aircraft , wounding him in the chest and back . Scrambling across the deck , he strapped himself into the aft Oerlikon 20 mm cannon and began shooting at the fighters in an effort to protect some of the sailors already in the sea . Subject to the fire from Sheean ' s Oerlikon , the Japanese aircraft were kept at bay and were unable to effectively strafe those in the water . With " Armidale " rapidly sinking , Sheean continued to fire and managed to shoot down one of the Japanese bombers . He damaged a further two aircraft before " Armidale " s stern was engulfed by the sea . Despite this , Sheean maintained his fire as the water rose above his feet , and remained firing as he " disappeared beneath the waves " . Sheean ' s crewmates later testified to witnessing tracers rising from beneath the water ' s surface as Sheean was dragged under . Legacy . Sheean was counted among 100 of the original 149 people on board HMAS " Armidale " at the time of the attack who were consequently killed during the ship ' s sinking and its aftermath . Of the survivors , many attributed their life to Sheean . For his " bravery and devotion when HMAS " Armidale " was lost " , Sheean ' s actions were recognised with a posthumous Mention in Despatches , awarded on the recommendation of " Armidale " s commanding officer , Lieutenant Commander David Richards , and announced in a supplement to the " London Gazette " on 29 June 1943 . However , many hold the opinion that Sheean ' s gallantry , devotion to duty and self - sacrifice were worthy of the Victoria Cross , with author Robert Macklin stating his " actions were in the highest tradition of the Australian military " and comparing them with those of Vietnam War Victoria Cross recipient Kevin Arthur Wheatley . On 1 May 1999 , the submarine was launched by Ivy Hayes — sister of Teddy Sheean — named in the ordinary seaman ' s honour . " Sheean " was subsequently commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy on 23 February 2001 , and was the first Royal Australian Navy vessel to be named in honour of a naval rating . Carrying the motto " Fight On " , the vessel was one of six s entered into service . Later that year , a Bill was introduced into the Australian Senate to have three awards of the Victoria Cross for Australia made , one being to Sheean . The Bill came as part of a campaign by the then leader of the Australian Labor Party and Federal Opposition , Kim Beazley , to secure more rights for war veterans . However , it was subsequently rejected by the Liberal Government . A painting depicting Sheean ' s final moments is held by the Australian War Memorial , while his home town of Latrobe commemorates his life via the " Sheean Walk " and " Teddy Sheean Memorial " which was opened in 1992 .