On 1 December 1942 the small RAN corvette HMAS Armidale (I) came under repeated intense aerial attacks from multiple Japanese fighters and torpedo bombers during a relief mission to Timor. At 3:00pm that afternoon her crew defiantly engaged nine bombers, three fighters and a float plane in a futile attempt to save the ship and all on board. The vessel was hit several times and was to sink rapidly. It was during this action that Ordinary Seaman Edward ‘Teddy’ Sheean was to distinguish himself and later be awarded the nation’s highest honour for valour - the Victoria Cross. This extract from the Royal Australian Navy production "The History of the Royal Australian Navy Volume Two, 1919-1945" recreates HMAS Armidale’s gallant last stand and her crew’s desperate story of survival following her sinking.

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