Sergeant Thomas Currie Derrick

Sergeant Thomas Currie Derrick

2/48th Battalion

20 March 1914 in Adelaide

24 November 1943

Sattelberg, New Guinea (now Papua New Guinea)

During an attack Derrick’s company was ordered to outflank a strong enemy position sited on a precipitous cliff face and then to attack a feature 150 metres from Sattelberg. The only possible approach to the town lay through an open kunai patch situated directly beneath the top of the cliffs and for the next two hours many attempts were made by the Australians to clamber up the slopes to their objective. Each attempt was, however, thwarted by the intense machine-gun fire and grenade bombardment from the Japanese above.

Just before last light the company was ordered to retire, but Derrick requested more time in which to make an assault on the objective. Permission was granted. Derrick moved ahead of his forward section and personally grenaded a post which had halted the company’s advance. He ordered his second section around on the right flank and it came under heavy fire from six enemy posts. He again went forward well ahead of the leading men of the section and threw grenade after grenade at the weapon pits above him. The demoralised enemy fled their positions, leaving weapons and grenades, and Derrick’s company was able to gain its first foothold on the precipitous ground.

Derrick then returned to the first section and, together with the third section of his platoon, advanced to deal with the three posts which remained in the vicinity. Four times he dashed forward and threw grenades at a range of six to eight metres. Finally the positions were silenced. In all, he had contributed to the silencing of ten enemy posts.

24 May 1944 in action at Tarakan Island

Tarakan War Cemetery, Borneo

Australian War Memorial