Lieutenant Thomas Derrick V.C.Print Page

The Tom 'Diver' Derrick road bridge was named in honour of Victoria Cross recipient Lieutenant Thomas Currie Derrick (1914 - 1945).

On 17 November 1940 Derrick had embarked for the Middle East with the 2nd/48th Battalion, which was to be the most decorated unit in the A.I.F. In that distinguished company Derrick was outstanding and awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.

The 2nd/48th returned to Australia in February 1943 and trained in North Queensland and Papua before helping to capture Lae, New Guinea, in September. By 24 November the battalion was attacking the heights of Sattelberg, overlooking Finschhafen. Late that afternoon, while leading the advance platoon, Derrick confronted an almost vertical slope of thick jungle hiding Japanese machine-guns.

Derrick was told to withdraw, but he decided to go on. Covered by his mates, he scrambled hands and feet up the cliff, hurling grenades into enemy posts and clearing them out with his rifle. Even in peacetime the climb is barely possible, yet Derrick cleared ten machine-gun posts, stopping just short of the crest as dusk fell. It was one of the most astonishing feats of the war. He was awarded the Victoria Cross on 22 March 1944. He was killed in action in Borneo in May 1945.

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