2/24th Australian Infantry Battalion Commemoration

Transcript

00:00 The 2/24th Infantry Battalion was formed in Wangaratta, northeast of Melbourne, in July 1940.

00:10 Mostly made up of Victorian volunteers, they became known as Wangaratta's Own,

00:16 because of the time they spent in the town before their deployment to the Middle East in November 1940.

00:25 The battalion served in the Siege of Tobruk in 1941, Tell El-Issa and El Alamein in 1942,

00:35 New Guinea in 1943 and Tarakan, Borneo in 1945.

00:43 It is the second battle of El Alamein that the 2/24th Battalion Association chooses as the anniversary

00:53 to remember all those who served in the battalion.

00:57 78 years ago, in October 1942, the 2/24th was involved in brutal fighting in Egypt

01:07 as they battled against the German advance towards the crucial Suez Canal.

01:12 They were disseminated, withdrawn from battle early on 1 November, with only 55 men on the transports.

01:22 The 2/24th suffered more battle casualties than any other battalion in the Second World War.

01:30 335 killed in action, 30 died of illness or accident and nearly 900 were wounded.

01:40 During their eight months at Tobruk alone, where they earned the name "Rats of Tobruk",

01:46 they lost 30 men killed in action, 320 as prisoners of war and 60 were injured.

01:54 In the words of the 2/24th Battalion Association,

01:58 "On this day we honour the men of the 2/24th, Wangaratta's own.

02:05 The memories of the remaining diggers are of their mates,

02:09 who are buried in the sands of Tobruk, Alamein and the jungles of New Guinea and Borneo."

02:18 The 2/24th Association works to keep alive the memories of those special men

02:25 who fought through the Middle East and the Pacific.

02:30 We will remember them.

02:33 [Silence]