The E-Sylum:  Volume 10, Number 16, April 22, 2007, Article 18

RATS OF TOBRUK MEDAL INFORMATION SOUGHT

The Sydney Morning Herald this week published a story about a reporter's
visit to the Libyan city of Tobruk, which was a focal point for Australian
servicemen in World War II.  The article mentions a medal created by the
soldiers.

"A pilgrimage to the bustling Libyan city turns up poignant reminders
of Australian soldiers in the siege of Tobruk, Anthony Ham writes.

"Few names resonate through Australian history like Tobruk. It is a
place that has become central to our understanding of who we are as
Australians. Like Gallipoli, it is a battlefield where the legend of
the Anzacs was forged. And like the Somme it is a place where thousands
of Australians lie buried."

"... with the soldiers hunkered down in trenches and in caves such as
these, a Radio Berlin announcer dismissed the Australians as the "rats
of Tobruk", drawing a parallel with rodents burrowing underground.
Designed to bolster German propaganda and destroy Australian morale,
the name was instead quickly adopted by the Australians as a badge of
honour. One of the most famous photos of the siege shows a Bren gun
carrier adorned with the words "Rats to you". The Australians also
amused themselves by designing an unofficial medal from the metal
of a downed German plane with a rat as its centrepiece."

To read the complete article, see: Full Story

[Has anyone seen or heard of the unofficial medal the article
speaks of? Not the modern commemoratives as seen in the following links,
but an original, made-by-a-soldier-from-a-captured-plane medal?
-Editor]

diggerhistory.info (tobruk)
answers.com/topic/rats-of-tobruk

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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