HMAS Armidale (l)
Dale Marsh’s painting depicts Edward “Teddy” Sheean, strapped to an anti-aircraft gun on HMAS Armidale. He is shown from back half prone on deck at the stern of ship dressed only in shorts and boots, a wound on his right thigh, firing an Oerlikon anti-aircraft gun at Japanese bombers; a number of seamen are in the water having abandoned ship. Ordinary Seaman Edward Sheean went down with the HMAS ‘Armidale’ firing his gun to the last.
Note that one of the Collins Class submarines now in service is named HMAS Sheean.
- About Dale Marsh
Dale Marsh is an Australian Post-war & Contemporary Landscape and Genre Painter. Dale began his art career at the age of 9 on a scholarship to the Queensland Art Gallery receiving instruction from Vida Lahey. He then studied drawing and painting at the Brisbane Technical College and later, art at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. His first exhibition was in Melbourne in 1972.
He mainly paints in oils and he aims to portray the character and environment of Australia and its people. He has had over 50 one-man exhibitions in Australia, Japan and the UK, published two books and is featured in many of Australia’s major art collections.
As a young man in the 1950s and 60’s, Dale Marsh spent time with Ian Fairweather in his Bribie Island hut and later painted his famous portrait just days before he died.
Dale Marsh’s painting of Edward Sheean has also become famous because on 10 August 2020, the Prime Minister of Australia accepted the findings of a panel and recommended the Queen posthumously award Sheean the Victoria Cross for Australia. The Queen approved the award on 12 August. An investiture ceremony was held on 1 December 2020 at Government House in Canberra. Governor-General General David Hurley presented the award to Sheean's nephew, Garry Ivory. Sheean's medal was the first VC awarded to a Royal Australian Navy crew member.
- About HMAS Armidale (l)Sailors at work
Since entering World War 1 in 1914 with 16 ships, two submarines and 3800 RAN personnel (including 850 from the Royal Navy) the number of serving personnel in the Royal Australian Navy has fluctuated depending on the strategic and shifting financial environment. Over more than a century, the RAN’s and people have seen action in every ocean of the world.
Of the tens of thousands who have served, 2658 members have made the ultimate sacrifice defending Australia’s interests in warlike and peacetime operations across the globe.
Fortunately, for the vast majority who served in periods of peace or survived periods of hostilities the experience was positive.
In addition to their service in a particular category which involved specific duties, they also participated in communal duties such as coaling ship. Thus, the artworks included in this section relate to a mix of specialist and communal activities.
More reading
- Additional resources for Dale Marsh
- Additional resources for HMAS Armidale (l)Sailors at work