Teddy Sheean

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Ordinary Seaman Teddy Sheean was a sailor in the Royal Australian Navy during World War II. Teddy Sheean was posted on the Bathurst-class corvette HMAS Armidale in 1942 when it was given the low profile mission of landing commandos at Betano. HMAS Armidale encountered Japanese aircraft during the voyage to Betano and consequently was a day late for scheduled landing rendezvous. Rather than landing the commandos with the possibility of waiting Japanese defences, HMAS Armidale aborted the mission and returned to Darwin, where she was ordered to attempt the landing again, the risk of Japanese Air Attack was "To be accepted as ordinary routine secondary warfare".

On December 1, 1942 during the second attempt to reach Betano and land the commandos, HMAS Armidale came under Japanese Air Attack once again, by thirteen aircraft. This time she was sunk by air launched torpedoes, resulting in the death of 40 of her crew and 60 of the commandos aboard her, however, 36 members of the crew survived the attack. During the engagement Teddy Sheean manned an Oerlikon Anti-aircraft gun and was wounded by strafing Japanese planes, he went down with the ship, still strapped into the gun and still shooting at the attacking aircraft.

Due to the way Teddy Sheean died, fighting to the end against impossible odds, he was recognised as a hero, "An ordinary bloke who did an extraordinary thing", epitomising the phrase "Fight On", a common saying uttered by those trying to encourage their fellow sailors or by the tired sailors themselves. Though Teddy Sheean's actions were overlooked during the war, he was eventually recognised and the submarine HMAS Sheean was named after him, with the motto "Fight On".

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