caption serviceyears branch death_date death_place birth_place allegiance unit awards battles birth_date placeofburial nickname rank image article_title name
sergeant tom derrick in june 1944 1940 -- 1945 second australian imperial force 24 may 1945 tarakan island , borneo medindie , south australia australia 2/48th infantry battalion victoria cross distinguished conduct medal second world war 20 march 1914 labuan war cemetery `` diver '' lieutenant t c derrick 141308.jpg tom derrick
 thomas currie derrick
tom derrick

thomas currie `` diver '' derrick vc , dcm -lrb- 20 march 1914 -- 24 may 1945 -rrb- was an australian recipient of the victoria cross , the highest decoration for gallantry `` in the face of the enemy '' awarded to members of the british and commonwealth armed forces .
in november 1943 , during the second world war , derrick was awarded the victoria cross for his assault on a heavily defended japanese position at sattelberg , new guinea .
during the engagement , he scaled a cliff face while under heavy fire and silenced seven machine gun posts , before leading his platoon in a charge that destroyed a further three .
born in the adelaide suburb of medindie , south australia , derrick left school at the age of fourteen and found work in a bakery .
as the great depression grew worse he lost his job and moved to berri , working on a fruit farm before marrying in 1939 .
in july 1941 , derrick enlisted in the second australian imperial force , joining the 2/48th battalion .
he was posted to the middle east , where he took part in the siege of tobruk , was recommended for the military medal and promoted to corporal .
later , at el alamein , derrick was awarded the distinguished conduct medal for knocking out three german machine gun posts , destroying two tanks , and capturing one hundred prisoners .
derrick returned to australia with his battalion in february 1943 , before transferring to the south west pacific theatre where he fought in the battle to capture lae .
back in australia the following february he was posted to an officer cadet training unit , being commissioned lieutenant in november 1944 .
in april 1945 his battalion was sent to the pacific island of morotai , an assembly point for the allied invasion of the philippines .
engaged in action the following month on the heavily defended hill `` freda '' on tarakan island , derrick was hit by five bullets from a japanese machine gun .
he died from his wounds on 24 may 1945 .
