Diaries of Thomas Currie Derrick, 1942 - Part 13

Conflict:
Second World War, 1939–45
Subject:
  • Documents and letters
Status:
Open for review
Accession number:
AWM2022.6.144
Difficulty:

Page 1 / 10

SEKR
2796½ pe to on the 32st. of June 1120 dh ETHOnE C DeeRi predict this Har to fined, I have no A Eoy 2/45 BN A.T.F. very sound reason, on or any firm foundations on which to base my 88L. 6s6c prediction, only by looking at situa= tions, and from a small amount t information, (which could ponsilly s 1 me event or ny neceppt hre alled propegands) ilat appears in ore of she isooe noa sepparte wt the clocal pafers, and radis reports THE Firoea Fest 1vI3 Parme at perhaps my aild quersity J n1 popse toe chie I will carn n letful tenten Ppopa pp 194 a
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4eR My SecTion Tovey F.C.PeRTIet p A8 C.A.P Octhere to 2 67 At McLsreN to An N EW S9ACENT E an Co7 TRisH p.154 EDWGRD RAMSDEN to 48O H.R. HOlkNs t T EDWARS t ARA NH EAIRLC t CiaN N.CA. PollisCHOANe to Guief W. WHITEIe tonnd 14/ Hocco 11 / 42 Tsse (Wr weorey Boday is the chird annuummary of my wedding day, being the second alrodd de first was celebrated on the Exstern Ponmeter at Tolnik Our present location is 2290194 Peradar Con 22 mileseast of Tild, and is a tash of asssting chee syaion Gamror in cloir gob Yesterday saw the departures of 6 of the or Officers to repistralia My Bull Capts Clutterlack, Leach, and Tucher The general and popular opinion of the lags is a quick followinged by cheruble g Di Ture Nr TASaSDeyS Our postion takin over by it bay 40 we are leaving son a fornights mobile
thea lang memgs are insurulation, a god neas training in the moning. the for such talk in the country un the di 30 miles east of 4045 Most of the boy put the atof in wvennection in which drue are travelling ist ing, He bead being only toodo away entirely unnutable for the contended angade menrrs Tose 20 cree but at 0300 d on t We cvintually ripped and bunaced more at 0230, travelling Geiffy struck for the ano about brmiles nort of per atorn and should be confirt On the more again at 206l able_ The initial stages wer pcollect, the convoy is an extremely long one, nir passed dhrough Hons (mny first Apearines position is bl from the head of the ert= n the said town at 9fter passe whih i far se were breated to a pufse of larger and letter then I imagined an alarming and interest nature travelled all night until 10500 next did not take the road pfll lead to morning our Brigade braining area) ffit Craulltyre 17th 52r202y Found out the late or ed in th direction of 3910f orow this more has the loy whinking our life io the Galdie aca), here we and some startling and very fongirel had breakfast and most of the boys
4 took adrantige of a suim] ord aguipure p sinee enea Onie again rt at 8300l (at 0630 lrs and soon parses through reBeass which is on the glopse off an enmand on the more ly, ow30, lie afe on ly large feature ncieyta of t Tea o Gablee is some hubreds of fer Through Palestine which us know so below sea level. The triffed (ontinues well, and many interesting seeres ore to be a good one, and all phicles were realled I mich as remembert sunning very well. Doroudes meduaynight we wenthh ack willie to tel Between Tel Arr and Haife and res chs naturally as a difficult thne fe day fo bring to mind owing to detofy mained thre the rest of Newr from the Desert is the lesffact that it happened opnumerous Inty) being Ewitten to melesf Merse forcupions. This alrngont to Dmend os Matrick, it now looks ao ugl, we now lot Loveracys quotationt clal no one are bound for an engage will is A.W2 untilecaught and invted MMr Rommel- The lrys (Itereve to dis, fortunetely oefor e hand eroved to be 1 of belier correct. On ende on prant Gard, Ridge t fremain on high spirits an ospital in the direction of Boor Shedla cly would weliome af wtore we netuld many raud brenifes gerry
and gun positions from u fast War, through country which is the genuired Some few miles on from (Br Theeba Desert: The lrp was extra good bravell= we pulled up for the night and uoning altlough inclined to be crentend= very luety to procure a hold showesing and uneventful,- finally arrived He county in our eccisty is gine at livouae area 12 miles from 15249 at 1430- Weather hot but not a seere fine desir land leat. As further news of Llyar Asceved a susprise when I fift Hamy Martenson who is now a leeutenant, he battle and all are beenly cusiting lis been at Tucz and tellf of a numbthe next communigul of ship including the Mas ths has the move still has us all beaten & sent our hopes aoaring abl teyt and bildered, altlough home is slightly shalps confirm one of our fsshes of heremore poular in thought than the le you desert, all are defenitily comyne ears bound. 1 in that it will be on of th tur TURE LELMERER a popular incident of the day is Once again toth earlier at 0250, but owing to sn menor hild de ten of gant beer; obtainable at ae dedn't move until onuofff are now the loy benteen on credit. Distance travelling along a good Tatmae road travelled today 171 mils, making a cotal of 603 miles from Pripoli
Bae D Beg (be ch dmores in the mall ouers of ch ats of but all never clonking ctite he will be one of the missing. I morn, crossed Juez Canal af 0500 prs the men gohe about it, some wise cract by means of a relicle pontfon utot fail to menion that such as ist look ato that im were informed late last rught nof aur pet. Blacy, what sae, bloodge meas, ams t hsesdit gt offff coming last one of action in the And whelat cliftening ann sateheng Wertetn Desert orow) one gets a quier feeling ahen, as a nution legdes sknow Afabei such a statement is made known to pan place my i greatest confiderce tin him, I just cant explaint cle kind my section, and hare tno doultroas to of feeling, depnadely not fore of fearple way cliyoarill all Eack. o de nor oractly would yoy ffe fit excitshnow aboute Clem Billory and: Alol ment Pohally a grim dught determen Hilaren tus, whom I can aluays ation that each and every ond is fallorly on on any difficulty, thy, are capable of dealing with the grave and my only remaining noregenuls, ss of serious situation, we all know tht the others saw a little action in a number of as will slt not come the Darert the remainder have not ten in
lack to sefer places. And to we continue our gonex to wards tle Battle area. faff travelling centuall arrived at elmanjea osoolis Weanesday 1st July (early but slaved a nearing bairs All lands immediately sezed che which we passed chrough pl 1115 hr opportunity of getting some shut eye faring a battle of wits with the Oer anver No Cummings 11 by 8 Woy news condors, and som to say fu ra suond are the eest not been off t w (and most rillianous of all Wogs, and for 24 br and is doing a aflended piece of wor are shilled particants in the art of Mand again 1400 brs, to defensre petty cleaveng and suindli positions sd west of Alex and com it short fell at Mona sofr Kilo merced digging on, with going on past bairs then on again s our lettle destination. A H plage tre chroughout the night telling became very slaw, shif rad be Thursday 2rd July ing rammed with motor wrles of al Eveyy one out at 0000 lrs, little pro descriptions, the majority of affer triffe grest was made during the right belonging to the various] er units oing to the roity nature of the which were moring thir grars pernl ground, and poor quality cools,

PR 82/190 

(2)

AUSTRALIAN 

WAR MEMORIAL

 

 

 

(3B)
24 JUNE 42 - 21 JULY 42 
Front of copy book - see original document.

T.C. Derrick

AIF A Coy 2/48 BN

 

 

S.X. 7964.
CPL. Thomas C. Derrick
A. Coy 2/48 BN A.I.F.
8 PL. 6 SEC.
IN THE EVENT OF MY MEETINGWITH 

ONE OF THE USUAL WAR ACCIDENTS WOULD 

THE FINDER POST THIS TO

 

MRS T C DERRICK
26 MANSFIELD ST
NORTH ADELAIDE
SOUTH AUSTRALIA


It is on the 24th of June 1943 that I
predict this War to finish. I have no

very sound reason, reason or any firm
foundations on which to base my
prediction, only by looking at situations,
and from a small amount of
information, (which could possibly be
willed propaganda) that appears in
the local papers, and radio reports so
I arrive at perhaps my wild guessing
these I will term my hopeful deduction.

 

8 PLATOON A. COY 2/48 BN

Lieut G.T. GILL SX K.I.A.23/3/42 El Aleiza     B. Class  B/24/1943 Lab 5/8/42
SJT W. KIBBY SX (VC)

K.I.A. 31/10/42

Trans B.Coy

 PTE M W J SALTER SX8054

[[?]] 14/8/42

Wounded 31/10/42

  
PTE J. HOEY SX 12741 Evac Sick 8/8/42 " F J PEARCE SX11268

K.I.A 

26/10/42

 

  
" G R. SWEETMAN  SX 13670  "    "     "  " M W BALL WX9914    
" W C DUNN MM SX10952 Trans To 2/28 BN " T R HEATH SX 13506 trans to carrier Pl  
" W D BLACK WX 10562 W.I.H. 14/7/42 " H WINN SX 13573 K.I.A 26/10/42  
" F M LOWE SX13701 Back 20/7/42 CPL T C DERRICK SX 6829 W.I.A. 31/10/42  
" D. STAFFE WX 10824 Trans to 2/28 BN L/CPL C.R.P. BILLING SX 6829 Trans to Don Coy 1/8/42
WIA 31/10/42
Evac sick 11/8/42		  
CPL N L BADMAN SX 7093 Trans to  D.COY PTE R T MCLAREN SX 6865  Fred to MMC Pl
WIA 31/10/42		  
PTE A.C. CLARK WX 7853 Trans to 2/28 Bn " A RAMSDEN WX 9965

Trans to 2/28 Bn

TPOW 31/10/42

  
 " W.J. FENNELL SX 6832 19 31/10/42 " HR HOPKINS WX 9885  Trans to 2/28 Bn  
 "  L C CHAPMAN SX 6896 1 9 31/10/42  " W.E.B. POLKINGHORNE SX12917 Trans to Carrier PL  
 "  G W HAYWOOD  SX 8587 went leave 15.9.  " W. WHITFIELD SX13239  Trans to MMG Pl  
  "  R BESKEEN SX 10939    " W. FAIRLIE SX12984 

Trans to Carrier Pl

Trans to A/TK 29/3/42

  
 "  W C WALL SX 13031    " V.J EDWARDS SX13016 WIA 31/10/42
Trans to A/JK 29/3/42		  
 " W P MARTIN SX 13743    " J McNEIL SX  Trans to Morts 18/9/42  
  " E W STARKEY SX 11155   " A W SOMMERS  SX     
  " G GARDNER SX 7150    " J S SULLIVAN SX 13262  WIA 26/10/42  
 ' L C CUTCHIE SX 6893

Evac sick 4.3.41

MIA 26/10/42

  " J RALLA SX 

WIA 3/9/42

Evac sick 10.9.42

W.I.A 31/10/42
 

  
 

MY SECTION TODAY 24/6/42
CPL T.C. DERRICK to. Pl SJT
L/CPL C.R.P. BILLING To DON Coy DISCHARGED
PTE RT McLAREN To MMG PL        "
  "    EW SARGENT To DON Coy 
  "    TV TRISH

  "    W. EDWARDS                        DISCHARGED
 "     A. RAMSDEN  To 2/28 Bn  K I A 31/12/42

 "    H.R. HOPKINS To 2/28 Bn  PO W 31/10/41
 "     VJ EDWARDS To AR Pl   Discharged 22. 4. 1944

 "     WH FAIRLIE To CARRIER P2 
 "     W.E.A. POLKINGHORNE To CARRIER
 "     W. WHITFIELD To MMC. 42


JUNE 24th WEDNESDAY

Today is the third anniversary of my
wedding day, being the second abroad,

the first was celebrated on the Eastern 
Perimeter of Tobruk.

Our present location is  IRANIAN PETROLEUM
COMPANY 2½ miles east of TRIPOLI, and 
a task of assisting the SYRIAN Garrison
in their job.
Yesterday saw the departure of 4 of the
BN Officers to Australia,- Maj. Bull,
Capts Clutterbuck, Leach, and Tucker. 
The general and popular opinion of the

boys is a quick following by the whole
9th Div.
JUNE 25th THURSDAY
Our position taken over by A Coy 2/32 BN,

we are leaving on a fortnights mobile 

 

training in the morning, the area being

30 miles east of HOMS.

Most of the Coy put the arvo in swimming
the beach being only 1000 yds away
JUNE 26th FRIDAY
Out at 0300 and on the
move at 0430, travelling being 3 trucks

per Platoon and should be very comfortable.
- The initial stages were excellent,
passed through HOMS (my first appearance 
in the said town) at 0925,- shortly after
we were treated to a surprise of 

an alarming and interesting nature,
did not take the road which lead to 
our Brigade training area, but travelled
in the direction of BALBECK
Now this move has the  boys thinking

and some startling and very original 

rumors are  in circulation, a good reason
for such talk is the country in the direction

in which we are travelling is
entirely unsuitable for the intended
Brigade manouvres. 
We eventually stopped and  bivouaced
for the arvo about 6 miles north of
BALBECK. On the move again at 2015 hrs.
the convoy is an extremely long one, our
position is 68th from the head of the column.
Soon passed BALBECK which is far
larger and better than I imagined,
travelled all night until 0500 next
morning.
JUNE 27th SATURDAY
Found out the lake on
our left is the Galilee sea, here we
had breakfast and most of the boys

 

4
took advantage of a swim, moved again
at 0630hrs and soon passed through
TIBERIUS which is on the slope of an enormously 
large feature, evidently the
Sea of Galilee is some hundreds of feet
below sea level. The tripfied continues
to be a good one, and all vehicles
running very well,. Bivouaced midway
between Tel Aviv and Haifa and remained 

there the rest of the day.
News from the Desert is not the best
Fritz being within 15 miles of Mersa 
Matruh, it now looks as though we
are bound for an engagement with
Mr Rommel. -- The boys continue to
remain in high spirits and I believe
they would welcome a go in with 
jerry.
JUNE 28th SUNDAY
Once again out at 0300 hrs
and on the move by 0430, we are on 
the tail of the convoy this time.
Through Palestine which we know so 
well, and many interesting scenes
were recalled, -  such as "remember the
night we went ack willie to Tel Aviv",
- this naturally was a difficult thing
to bring to mind, owing to the happy
fact that it happened on numerous 
occasions. This brings to mind Maj.
now Col LOUGHREYS quotation that no one
is A.W.L. until caught and convicted,

this, fortunately for ^me has proved to be
correct. On and on past Gaza Ridge to 
Hospital in the direction of Beir Sheeba
where we noticed many used trenches

 

and gun positions from the last War.
Some few miles on from Bier Sheeba 
we pulled up for the night ,and were
very lucky to procure a cold shower.
The country in our vicinity is genuine
desert land.

Received a surprise when I met Harry

Martinson who is now a Lieutenant, he
has been at Suez and tells of a number
of ships including the Mary , this has
sent our hopes soaring sky high and
helps confirm one of our thoughts of homeward

bound.
June 29th Monday

Once again out earlier

at 0230, but owing to some minor hitch
we didn't move until 0445, - are now

travelling along a good Tarmac road

through country which is the genuine
Desert. - The trip was extra good travelling
although inclined to be uninteresting
and uneventful, - finally arrived
at bivouac area 2 miles from ISMALIA
at 1430. - Weather hot but not a severe
heat. No further news of Libyan
battle and all are keenly awaiting
the next communique.

The move still has us all beaten &

bewildered, although home is slightly
more popular in thought than the Libyan
desert, all are definitely convinced
that it will be one of the two.
A popular incident of the day is
the tin of yank beer, obtainable at
the Coy Canteen on credit. Distance
travelled today 171 miles, making a 

total of 603 miles from Tripoli
 

 

June 30th Tuesday
On the move in the small hours of the

morn, crossed Suez Canal at 0500 hrs
by means of a vehicle pontoon.

Must not fail to mention that we
were informed late last night of our
coming task, -- one of action in the
Western Desert.
Now one gets a queer feeling when
such a statement is made known to

him, I just can't explain the kind
of feeling, definately not one of fear,
nor exactly would you call it excitement.

Possibly a grim quiet determination

that each and every one is fully
capable of dealing with the grave and
serious situation, we all know that 

a number of us will not come
out of ^it but all never thinking that

he will be one of the missing.
The men joke about it, some wise crack
such as "Christ look at that, isnt

that Bluey, what a bloody mess, [[?]]

the ' .......ox ... didn't get off the cuffo. 
And whilst listening and watching, 
I, as section leader know that I

can place my greatest confidence in
my section and have no doubt as to
the way they will all act. - I do
know about Clem Billing and Rob

Mclaren two whom I can always
rely on in any difficulty, they are

only remaining originals, 3 of 
the others saw a little action in
the Desert the remainder have not

been in

 

And so we continue our journey towards
the Battle area. Fast travelling

early but slowed up nearing Cairo
which we passed through at 1115 hrs,
having a battle of wits with the

Wog news vendors, and sorry to say
we ran second, they are the slickest
and most villianous of all Wogs, and
are skilled participants in the art of

petty thieving and swindling.
A short spell at Mena some 12 Kilos
past Cairo then on again to our
battle destination. - At this stage travelling
became very slow, the road being
jammed with motor vehicles of all
descriptions, the majority of down traffic
belonging to the various Air Units
which were moving their ground personel
back to safer places.
Eventually arrived at Amanjea 0500 hrs

Wednesday 1st July

All hands immediately seized the
opportunity of getting some shut eye.
Our driver Norm Cummings 11 Coy 9th
Div A.S.C. has not been off the wheel
for 24 hrs and is doing a splendid
pirce piece of work.
Moved again 1400 hrs, to defensive
positions Sth WEST of Alex and commenced
digging in, work going on
throughout the night.
Thursday 2nd July
Every one out at 0600 hrs, little 
progress was made during the night
owing to the rocky nature of the

ground, and poor quality tools, - 
 

 
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