Tom Eastick

Brigadier Sir

Tom Eastick

CMG, DSO, ED, JP
A black and white head and shoulders photograph of a middle-aged man in uniform
Eastick in Sarawak in late 1945
Birth nameThomas Charles Eastick
Nickname(s)February Tom
Born(1900-05-03)3 May 1900
Hyde Park, South Australia
Died16 December 1988(1988-12-16) (aged 88)
Somerton Park, South Australia
AllegianceAustralia
Service / branchAustralian Army
Years of service
  • 1918–1946
  • 1950–1953
RankBrigadier
Commands
Battles / wars
Awards
RelationsBruce Eastick (son)
Other workState President of the Returned Sailors', Soldiers' and Airmen's Imperial League of Australia (the Returned & Services League from 1965), 1950–1954 and 1961–1972

Sir Thomas Charles Eastick, CMG, DSO, ED, JP (3 May 1900 – 16 December 1988) was a senior Australian Army artillery officer during World War II and a post-war leader of the principal ex-service organisation in South Australia. He commanded the 2/7th Field Regiment during the First and Second Battles of El Alamein in the Western Desert campaign in North Africa in 1942, leading to his appointment as a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order. Upon return from the Middle East, he commanded the artillery of the 7th Division during the final stage of the Salamaua–Lae campaign and during the Markham, Ramu and Finisterre campaigns in New Guinea between August 1943 and April 1944. He commanded the artillery of the 9th Division in the Borneo campaign in 1945. Eastick was the military governor of the Raj of Sarawak after taking the Japanese surrender at Kuching, and the commander of the Headquarters Group of Central Command in South Australia from 1950 to 1953.

Eastick was the state president of the Returned Sailors', Soldiers' and Airmen's Imperial League of Australia (the Returned & Services League from 1965) between 1950 and 1954 and again from 1961 to 1972. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1953, and knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1970, for his volunteer work on behalf of ex-servicemen.