[Image] Unrewarded 2/13th Valour

14th February, 1941. The Middle East.

NX14879 Cpl. J.T. Willis enjoys a quiet beer.

NX14879 Cpl. James Thomas Willis of the 2/13th Infantry Battalion enjoys a quiet beer somewhere in the Middle East prior to engaging in the action during the Benghazi Handicap that ultimately took his life.

A farm hand from Moree, north western NSW, Cpl. Thomas was in charge of a Bren Gun section that was posted near the road at the bottom of the pass at Er Reijima when they were surprised by the rapid advance of the German Panzer Tanks. Finding themselves suddenly under intense fire Cpl. Willis grabbed a Bren Gun and yelled at his men to withdraw whilst laying down a barrage of machine gun fire on the advancing Germans from a formation of rocks. This drew the fire of the tanks killing Cpl. Willis but his sacrifice did allow some of his men to escape, though unfortunately not all.

Cpl. Willis' unfaltering leadership and decisive action under fire undoubtedly saved the lives of some of his men that day but he has never been acknowledged by the Army with the posthumous awarding of any medal for valour under enemy fire.

I personally believe that Cpl. Willis met the criteria for the award of the Military Medal.

"On the 4th April, 1941 when under intense fire from German tanks and infantry he single handedly and without due regard for his personal safety did take charge of a Bren Light Machine Gun and whilst ordering his men to withdraw to safety lay down a barrage of covering fire to safeguard the retreat of his men and to draw the fire of the enemy onto himself, an action that he most certainly knew would likely result in his death."

"Whist Cpl. Willis' section did suffer casualties in the engagement his utmost attention to duty and to the safety of his men ensured that there were survivors. This would undoubtedly not have been the case if Cpl. Willis had not sacrificed his own life by drawing the enemy fire onto himself and thus away from his men."

Sounds like a citation for a Military Medal to me. You be the judge. Feel free to post your comments. I am eager to hear what you may think.

Cpl. James Thomas Willis is memorialised on the Roll of Honour here;

http://www.awm.gov.au/roh/person.asp?p=147-25742

image p05238.001 Australian War Memorial.

[Image] An Incredible Escape

22nd April, 1941. Tobruk, Libya.

The Benghazi Handicap's Wooden Spooners.

Meet two of the 9th Division's luckiest men. QX1698 Sapper Stanley Curtis and QX2454 Sapper Edward Hetherington-Harford of the 2/7th Field Company, Royal Australian Engineers enjoy a well received cigarette after their late arrival in Tobruk on foot after a 16 day trek.

Left behind in Benghazi to plant demolitions on Italian supply dumps so that the advancing Afrika Korps could not take advantage of them the two Sappers planted explosives to cover the 9th Divisions retreat, known as "the Benghazi Handicap". When surprised by the rapid approach of the advancing Afrika Korp the two men hid and were overtaken by Rommel's Panzer Divisions.

Finding themselves behind enemy lines and surrounded by thousands of Axis troops the men hid by day and travelled by night where possible overland on foot. After a journey of 16 days, and 300 miles (483 kilometres), the men managed to sneak past German positions surrounding Tobruk and return to their units. Immediately hospitalised for treatment of their injuries it is not known if the men played any further part in the Western Desert Campaign. If so I believe they well deserved any rest coming to them after that.

image 041710 Australian War Memorial.