RAAF "Slick" - UHIH IROQUOIS Helicopter passes over Australian APC's being refuelled during Operation Matilda.raaf iroquois helicopter, armoured personnel carrier, operation matilda, photograph

A black and white photograph of a column of Centurian Tanks of 1st Armoured Regt comes to a halt 20/01/1969 during Operation Matildaphotograph, 1st armoured regiment, operation matilda, gibbons collection catalogue, centurion tank

A black and white Photograph of a Centurian tank bridge layer stops outside a Vietnamese regional outpost in Long Thanh during Operation Matildaphotograph, 1st armoured regiment, gibbons collection catalogue, centurion tank, centruian bridgelayer, operation matilda

A black and white photograph of a helicopter of 161 (Indep) Recce Flt uses a Centurian Tank Bridge Layer as a landing zone during Operation Matildaphotograph, centurion tank, operation matilda, gibbons collection catalogue, 161 recce flight, centruian bridgelayer

A black and white photograph of APCs and Centurian Tanks from 1st Armoured Regt Harbouring Up in their night location during Operation Matilda in 3 Corps area of South Vietnam photograph, centurion tank, armoured personnel carrier, 1st armoured regiment, operation matilda, gibbons collection catalogue, 3 corps, south vietnam

A black and white photograph of a column of Centurian Tanks of 1st Armoured Regt in open country during Operation Matilda, a fully armoured operation conducted by 1st ATF east of Saigonphotograph, 1st armoured regiment, saigon, operation matilda, gibbons collection catalogue, 1st atf base, centurion tank

A coloured photograph of two armoured personnel carriers (APC's) pass a Centurian Tank Bridgelayer during Operation Matilda. A fully armoured operation conducted by the 1st Australian Task Force in three provinces East of Saigon. (Photograph 25/01/1970)photograph, centurion tank bridge layer, apc, operation matilda, 1st australian task force, gibbons collection catalogue, saigon

A black and white photograph of a Huey "Slick" helicopter from 9 Squadron,n RAAF delivers its re-supply to a Centurian Tank of 1st Armoured Regiment during Operation Matilda, The fully armoured operation conducted through three provinces in South Vietnam by 1st ATF east of Saigonphotograph, 9 sqn, raaf, huey helicopter, 1st armoured regiment, centurion tank, operation matilda, gibbons collection catalogue, 1 atf

German Luftwaffe (Land Forces) minefield warning flag from WWII.originally intended to be gas markers, rather than mines, but as it turned out, the use changed .they were mounted on a red metal pole & there were 12 to a set in a leather pack. This Flag was presented to the Treasurer of Waverley RSL. It is a souvenir from Bardia in Libya The Battle of Bardia was fought over three days between 3 and 5 January 1941, as part of Operation Compass, the first military operation of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. It was the first battle of the war in which an Australian Army formation took part, the first to be commanded by an Australian general and the first to be planned by an Australian staff. Major General Iven Mackay's 6th Division assaulted the strongly held Italian fortress of Bardia, Libya, assisted by air support and naval gunfire, and under the cover of an artillery barrage. The 16th Infantry Brigade attacked at dawn from the west, where the defences were known to be weak. Sappers blew gaps in the barbed wire with Bangalore torpedoes and filled in and broke down the sides of the anti-tank ditch with picks and shovels. This allowed the infantry and 23 Matilda II tanks of the 7th Royal Tank Regiment to enter the fortress and capture all their objectives, along with 8,000 prisoners. In the second phase of the operation, the 17th Infantry Brigade exploited the breach made in the perimeter, and pressed south as far as a secondary line of defences known as the Switch Line. On the second day, the 16th Infantry Brigade captured the township of Bardia, cutting the fortress in two. Thousands of prisoners were taken, and the Italian garrison now held out only in the northern and southernmost parts of the fortress. On the third day, the 19th Infantry Brigade advanced south from Bardia, supported by artillery and the Matilda tanks, now reduced in number to just six. Its advance allowed the 17th Infantry Brigade to make progress as well, and the two brigades reduced the southern sector of the fortress. Meanwhile, the Italian garrisons in the north surrendered to the 16th Infantry Brigade and the Support Group of the British 7th Armoured Division outside the fortress. In all, some 36,000 Italian prisoners were taken. The victory at Bardia enabled the Allied forces to continue the advance into Libya and ultimately capture almost all of Cyrenaica. In turn this would lead to German intervention in the fighting in North Africa, changing the nature of the war in that theatre. Bardia boosted the competence and reputation of the Australian Army. Perhaps most important of all, it raised confidence in the possibility of an ultimate Allied victory around the world, which would lead to the Lend-Lease Act being passed in the United States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_BardiaCloth Flag bearing a skull and cross Bones on a metal spike mounted on a square varnished wooden basebardia, land mine, marker flag, minefield, mustard gas

Unlike most Australian armoured formations that served only in Australia, the 4th had been organised for “tropical” service and its regiments were equipped with Matilda tanks. Matilda tanks were ideal for supporting the infantry’s operations in the Pacific. In June the brigade moved to Southport, on the Gold Coast, but two months later was transferred to Madang, New Guinea, where it replaced the 1st Tank Battalion. (https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/U54340, accessed 07 September 2018)Gold shaped badge with pin with the Colour Patch of the Second 4th Australian Armoured Regiment.armoured, tank, war, chatham-holmes collection, samuel spittle, world war two, sweetheart brooch, 2/4 armoured regiment, armoured regiment, jewellery