The nephew of Tasmanian WWII hero Teddy Sheean says the family is devastated that he has been knocked back for a posthumous Victoria Cross.

The Defence Honours Awards and Appeals Tribunal has rejected an application to award the medal, Australia's highest military honour.

The 18-year-old seaman strapped himself to his anti-aircraft gun as HMAS Armidale sank in the Timor Sea in 1942.

He trained the gun on Japanese planes to prevent his mates in the water being strafed.

He downed two Japanese planes, before sinking with the ship.

His nephew Garry Ivory, of Latrobe in the state's north-west, has spent 22 years fighting for the posthumous VC and says the decision comes as a big shock.

He says the family feels gutted that his uncle's bravery will not be officially recognised.

"There's not one VC that's been to any Navy personnel and that in itself is a big injustice, I think, and this decision that the tribunal has made, to me, is the most disappointing and unjust thing that I've ever heard," he said.

"I was very disappointed, I was gutted...we had everything all covered, it was just something that knocked me.

"The Sheean family are very, very devastated, all of them.

"Even if they didn't award the VC, I was expecting at least we'd get some sort of an upgrade, but we just didn't get anything at all out of them."



After a two-year inquiry, the tribunal also decided against retrospectively awarding the Victoria Cross to 12 other sailors and soldiers.

Three of those were from HMAS Yarra and were being considered for actions in Singapore Harbour and the Timor Sea.

The tribunal said there was a lack of evidence in the three specific cases, but has given a unit citation to the entire crew of HMAS Yarra.

The ship was sunk by the Japanese 71 years ago this month.

Leading Cook Francis Bassett Emms died during the bombing of Darwin. ( The Examiner )

Francis Emms, a 32-year-old Tasmanian, was on a warship in Darwin Harbour when it came under attack by Japanese aircraft in February 1942.

Darwin Military Museum director Tom Lewis says he is disappointed Mr Emms was not recognised for his sacrifice.

"Emms actually was wounded at his machine gun but he fought on until he actually collapsed," he said.

"Not enough has been done for these chaps and we should do something about it."