1939-45 Star : Lieutenant I D Rhodes, Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve

1939-45 Star. Impressed reverse with recipient's details.

Ordinary Seaman PMV18 Ian Desmond Laurie-Rhodes was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal for action in HMS Kashmir during the Battle of Crete on 23 May 1941. It is the only such medal ever awarded to an Australian sailor.

Laurie-Rhodes was born in Waipana, New Zealand in August 1912 and soon after moved with his family to Australia. He enlisted in the Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RANVR) in September 1940, under the name of Rhodes, probably to disguise the fact that he had already tried to enlist in all three services but had been rejected medically unfit due to a stomach ulcer.

Sent to Britain under the Admiralty Yachtsman’s Scheme, Rhodes was posted to the British destroyer HMS Kashmir and was with the ship in May 1941 when it took part in the naval blockade of Crete to prevent the Germans from landing troops on the island. On 23 May, Kashmir, together with HMS Kelly and HMS Kipling, were sailing to Egypt for refuelling when they came under heavy attack by German fighters and bombers. Kashmir suffered a direct hit and was cut in half. While preparing to join the other survivors in the sea, Rhodes saw a German bomber approach and begin to strafe the rear of the ship and struggling sailors in the water. He left the port Oerlikon gun (on which he was the gunlayer) which was sinking as the stern of the ship tilted, climbed to the nearby starboard Oerlikon, and fired on the bomber causing it to crash. For his courageous and selfless actions during the attack, Rhodes was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal. The survivors Kashmir were picked up by HMS Kipling and taken to Egypt.

In September, Rhodes was promoted to able seaman. He was commissioned in January 1942 and promoted lieutenant in August. In April 1942 he joined the cruiser HMS Sheffield, serving in the Atlantic and as an escort for the Arctic convoys to Russia. In March 1943 he transferred to the Australian cruiser HMAS Shropshire, remaining with the ship until July 1944. Rhodes then posted to the royal navy's HMS Mount Stewart, their special operations training base in Devon. He later served on shore at Colombo, Ceylon, and was serving ashore at Port Moresby when the war ended.

Following the termination of his appointment with the RANVR in April 1946 Rhodes turned to farming in the Labertouche region of Victoria and later became a company director. Ian Laurie-Rhodes died on 3 January 1967.