Defence chief’s letter to PM warns against Teddy Sheean VC push

Australia’s top military leader has personally intervened to “strongly advise” against granting a Victoria Cross to Tasmanian war hero Teddy Sheean. Find out why >>

AUSTRALIA’S standing with Queen Elizabeth could be damaged if the government pushes ahead to award a Tasmanian war hero the Victoria Cross, the nation’s most senior military leader has warned.

EDITORIAL: PM SHOULD BE PROUD TO FIGHT FOR SHEEAN

In an exceptional move, Chief of the Defence Force Angus Campbell has written to both Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Minister of Defence Personnel Darren Chester to “strongly advise” them not to seek the honour for Teddy Sheean.

General Campbell acknowledged the young sailor’s bravery but warned the request to grant him a VC could open the floodgates to a “swath of additional claims for retrospective military honours” from “all past conflicts”.

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He also warned it could damage Australia’s standing among other Commonwealth countries and “potentially with the Queen herself.” 

Chief of Defence Force General Angus Campbell AO, DSC, has acknowledged Teddy Sheean’s bravery, but has warned the PM off pursuing the commendation. Picture: ADF

The Defence chief’s warning to the Prime Minister comes amid a growing push in government ranks to recognise Sheean’s bravery with the highest honour for valour for strapping himself to a cannon on a sinking ship in World War II to shoot down an enemy plane.

Tasmania’s federal Liberal MPs have written to Mr Morrison to advise him of their “unanimous” support for the independent tribunal’s recommendation to award Sheean a VC.

In the letter, both frontbenchers and backbenchers voiced their disappointment at the government’s decision not to push ahead with the tribunal’s recommendation.

Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Darren Chester has been “strongly advised” not to reconsider awarding Teddy Sheean. Picture: AAP IMAGE/MICK TSIKAS

But in a frank letter to Mr Chester, seen by the Mercury, General Campbell cautions the minister to give “careful consideration” to going ahead with the request, which he says would put the Queen in a position where she would have to make an “unprecedented” call.

The General writes the request would ultimately have to go before the monarch, who was “personally interested” in the VC as the top award for valour in the Commonwealth.

It also had “direct ties to an award instigated by her Great Great Grandmother”. 

“Defence Honours and Awards staff have advised me that a decision in favour of Ordinary Seaman Sheean would be unprecedented for both Australia and the broader Commonwealth,” General Campbell writes. 

Queen Elizabeth II has a personal interest in awarding medals such as the VC, as it is a top award for valour in the Commonwealth. Picture: BBC STUDIOS EVENTS/AFP

“As such, I ask that you give careful consideration as to the reasonableness of a Minister of the Crown placing Her Majesty in such a position.

“Doing so may well damage Australia’s standing among other Commonwealth countries, and potentially with the Queen herself.” 

The general also notes Sheean’s case was “comprehensively reviewed” by the 2013 Valour Inquiry, which did not recommended the government request a VC.

Studio portrait of the Sheean brothers H1646 Stoker Class II Thomas “Mick” Sheean (left) and H1617 Ordinary Seaman Edward “Teddy” Sheean.

He said as no new evidence in Sheean’s case had emerged since the 2013 inquiry, the tribunal’s latest recommendation “can only be based on a different interpretation of the evidence”.

“I do not see the circumstances surrounding the appeal for Ordinary Seaman Sheean as being sufficient to overturn the original decision,” he said.

General Campbell wrote an initial letter to Mr Chester on October 4, 2019 after the minister requested his comments on the tribunal’s recommendation.

He wrote a second letter to the Prime Minister this week, after the growing push within Coalition ranks to award Sheean a VC emerged, saying he felt “compelled” to offer his view as the Chief of the Defence Force.

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Mr Morrison has previously stood by the government’s decision not to proceed with the recommendation, saying it was “not taken lightly” and was made with advice from military chiefs “past and present”.

“No doubt there are many cases deserving of recognition from times long since past or even more recently, but these are matters, in the absence of compelling new evidence, that should be left to the decision makers of the time, and not second guessed by the decision of politicians many years later in a different context,” he said.

Buckingham Palace previously rejected a request in 2006 from New Zealand’s former Defence Minister to retrospectively award one of its citizens the VC, after the Queen followed King George’s 1949 decision not to consider any further awards from WWII.

The Mercury contacted the Defence Department about General Campbell’s letter.

A spokeswoman said: “The Chief of the Defence Force has no further comment on this matter.”