History
Through eight months of 1941 the garrison of Tobruk, some 14,000 Australians among them, held the fortress against everything the Afrika Korps could bring, and turned the German propagandist Lord Haw-Haw's sneer about rats living in holes into the proudest nickname in Australian military history. The first Tobruk medals were made inside the perimeter: Corporal Leslie Dufton of the 2/13th Field Company Engineers, with Corporal Roy Costello and Sapper Frederick Bignill, worked over three evenings to strike medals from the aluminium of a wrecked German aircraft and copper from shell driving bands. With their commanders' blessing the design went to a jeweller in Palestine, Michsaf, and at least 500 were die struck for the 9th Division's engineers before the dies were destroyed, the medal having been deemed illegal as an unauthorised award. The Australian War Memorial displays one in its Tobruk gallery.
The tradition did not die with the dies. In the decades after the war the Rats of Tobruk Association issued its own commemorative, the Tobruk Siege Medal, shaped as the letter T for the fortress and inscribed for the siege of 1941, available to veterans of the garrison and, today, to their descendants through the Descendants of the Rats of Tobruk Australia Association. It remains an unofficial medal, worn on the right breast by custom, and a campaign continues among the descendants for official recognition of the siege.
Design & ribbon
The medal
The commemorative takes the form of the letter T, for Tobruk, inscribed for the siege of 1941. As an association issue its finish has varied across strikings; the photographs above show the pattern supplied with this listing. Its wartime ancestor was a circular medal bearing a rat at its centre with RATS OF TOBRUK 1941 around the rim.
The ribbon
The association's T medal: pattern as supplied with this listing.
The ribbon follows the pattern of the issue supplied, shown above. As with all unofficial medals, no gazetted ribbon binds the design, and examples in family groups may vary between strikings.
Eligibility
As an unofficial commemorative, the medal is obtained through the association rather than awarded by the Crown.
- It commemorates service in the siege of Tobruk between April and December 1941, and is available to the veterans of the garrison and their descendants through the Descendants of the Rats of Tobruk Australia Association;
- It is not part of the Australian honours system, confers no precedence and carries no post-nominal;
- By custom it is worn on the right breast on commemorative occasions, never among official awards. The official recognition of the siege lies in the 1939 to 1945 campaign awards.
Order of wear
Unofficial and commemorative medals are not part of the Australian honours system and are never worn among official awards on the left breast. By custom they may be worn on the right breast on commemorative occasions, subject to the conventions of the event and the wearer's organisation.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Tobruk Siege Medal an official medal?
No. It is the Rats of Tobruk Association's own commemorative, outside the Australian honours system. The official recognition of the siege lies in the 1939 to 1945 campaign awards.
Who were the Rats of Tobruk?
The garrison that held the Libyan fortress of Tobruk against the Afrika Korps from April to December 1941, around 14,000 Australians among them. The German propagandist Lord Haw-Haw mocked them as rats in holes, and they kept the name for life.
What were the original Tobruk medals?
Medals designed and struck inside the fortress by Corporal Leslie Dufton and two comrades of the 2/13th Field Company Engineers, from the aluminium of a wrecked German aircraft and copper shell driving bands, later die struck in Palestine for the 9th Division's engineers. The Australian War Memorial holds examples.
Why were the original dies destroyed?
The medal was deemed illegal as an unauthorised award, and press reports of the 1950s recorded that the die was destroyed. The association's later T medal continues the tradition openly as an unofficial commemorative.
Who can obtain the T medal today?
Veterans of the siege and their descendants, through the Descendants of the Rats of Tobruk Australia Association, which also campaigns for official recognition of the siege.
How should it be worn?
On the right breast on commemorative occasions, never among official awards, and mounted as a separate right side group with any other commemoratives.