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.

[1] Having served four years in the compulsory senior cadets, in 1918 Eastick enlisted as a part-time soldier in the Australian Field Artillery of the Citizen Forces.

The couple had five sons: Bruce, who was later the state Leader of the Opposition from 1972 to 1975 and Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly from 1979 to 1982;[1] Keith, David, Geoff and Barry.

His proficiency as an artillery officer was demonstrated by his involvement in two innovations: in 1926, he was the first Australian artillery officer to use survey procedures to accurately determine gun data to engage targets without ranging,[1] and the following year a Royal Australian Air Force pilot adjusted the fire of Eastick's battery during field firing.

[1] In early 1940, shortly after the outbreak of World War II, Eastick put the 13th Field Brigade through a training program over a three-month period.

Initially deployed to a staging area at Ikingi Maryut,[1][8] in late May the regiment moved forward into defensive positions at Mersa Matruh.

At the beginning of September, the rest of the regiment – less another troop that remained at Mersa Matruh to calibrate its newly received guns[12] – moved forward to a position between the Axis-controlled Halfaya Pass and the Allied-held fortress of Sidi Barrani.

After a further successful operation coordinated with bombers against enemy camps, on 16 October the regiment drove eastwards, its fighting in the Middle East having come to an end.

[15] During his time as commanding officer, Eastick became known as "February Tom", due to his proclivity to sentence disciplinary cases to 28 days' punishment.

[7] Instead of rejoining the division immediately, the 2/7th was transferred to become the depot regiment at the Royal Artillery-run Middle East School of Artillery near Cairo in Egypt for three months.

[8] The 2/7th Field Regiment again supported the 20th Brigade during the Second Battle of El Alamein in October and November 1942, by firing 65,594 rounds across the 13 days of fighting.

Following this vital success, the 9th Division, including the 2/7th Field Regiment, returned to Australia to prepare for operations against the Japanese closer to home.

The 9th Division was at that time re-forming and training on the Atherton Tablelands in North Queensland after fighting in the Salamaua–Lae and Huon Peninsula campaigns in New Guinea.

[21] Due to rapid developments in the war and strategic uncertainty over the role of Australian forces in the Pacific, the 9th Division remained in Australia for over a year before seeing action once more.

Kuching Force totalled around 2,000 men from the 2/4th Pioneer Battalion, 2/12th Commando Squadron, engineers from the 2/7th Field Company, and assorted other units.

[24] On 6 September, Eastick flew to Kuching in a Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boat and gave instructions to Japanese officers regarding the surrender before departing.

[27] Eastick was military governor of Sarawak until December, when a British Indian Army garrison arrived to relieve Kuching Force.

Eastick had a leading role in the development of A Call to the People of Australia,[1] an exhortation to Australian citizens to "Fear God, Honour the King", which was launched on Remembrance Day 1951 and signed by church leaders and the chief justices of the states.

[31] In the same year, Eastick was profiled in the Adelaide newspaper The News, which detailed some of his wide-ranging volunteer work and concluded that "he seems to have deserved that CMG".

[32] Playford later tabled a report that detailed an investigation into suspected communists and commended the RSSAILA for bringing the issue to public notice.

His wife, now Ruby, Lady Eastick, died suddenly in 1980, and after a few years he moved to the Masonic Nursing Home in Somerton Park.

Despite the hardships of his early life and war service, he remained a kindly and charitable man who was tough and forceful when those attributes were required.