The Australian Naval Institute has awarded the inaugural Commodore Sam Bateman Book Prize. The 2021 recipient of the Prize is Teddy Sheean VC – A Selfless Act of Valour written by Dr Tom Lewis and published by Big Sky Publishing.
The winner was announced on 8 December in an on-line ceremony by Captain Simon Bateman, son of the late Commodore Sam Bateman AM RAN.
The ANI book review is here.
BUY TEDDY SHEEAN VC ON BOOKTOPIA
The Commodore Sam Bateman Book Prize seeks to recognise excellence in books that make a major contribution to the study and understanding of naval and maritime affairs.
The Prize is named after Commodore Sam Bateman AM RAN (1938-2020), a former ANI Councillor and notable strategic thinker in recognition of his efforts to raise greater awareness of naval and/or maritime matters and progressing the understanding and value of navies in society. The Prize is proudly sponsored by the Naval Shipbuilding College.
In judging the competition, the judging panel acknowledged the strong field but noted that Teddy Sheean VC – A Selfless Act of Valour captured both the extraordinary heroism of Teddy Sheean along with contextual background of the RAN in World War II. The book also expertly lays out for the general reader the remarkable circumstances, both of the loss of the corvette HMAS Armidale and the years of effort to have Teddy Sheean’s courage suitably recognised with the award of a Victoria Cross for Australia. The judging panel was unanimous in selecting it as the winner.
In accepting the Prize, Dr Lewis noted that he both worked for Commodore Bateman back in his own Navy days, and also had him as a co-supervisor of his PhD thesis. “I learned a lot from Commodore Bateman,’ he said. “As well as being a great advisor and source of knowledge, he was a very pleasant man with whom to spend time talking. I am most honoured to be the recipient of this prize.” Big Sky Publishing added their congratulations to their author, Australian Naval Institute for its recognition of maritime interests and the Bateman family for their support to the annual prize.
The Judging Panel also awarded Honourable Mentions to three books:
Ikara: Australia’s Cold War Wonder Weapon, written by Angus Britts published by the Naval Historical Society of Australia,
A Scottish Blockade Runner in the American Civil War, written by John F Messner, published by Whittles Publishing
A Ceaseless Watch; Australia’s Third-Party Naval Defense, 1919-1942, written by Angus Britts, published by US Naval Institute Press.
Dr Lewis will give the Commodore Sam Bateman Book Prize lecture in Canberra in early 2022.
