Historical information

The 2/8th Armoured Regiment was raised in June 1941 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel W G Hopkins with officers and men selected from the wider AIF in Victoria. The regiment trained in newly arrived M3 General Grant tanks at Puckapunyal before moving north to Singleton, then the Wee Waa plains. The regiment sailed for New Guinea in April 1943 and carried out mobile defence to airfields at Port Moresby, Milne Bay, Dobadura and Popondetta. The regiment returned to Australia in February 1944 and disbanded as an armoured regiment and retrained as Nos 41, 42 and 43 Landing Craft Companies. They returned to the South West pacific serving at Bougainville, Balikpapan, Lae and Wewak.

Significance

Historically significant image of officers of armoured regiment drawn from Victoria in early years of WWII, but suffers from poor quality reproduction.

Physical description

Framed photocopied photograph, possibly taken from a newspaper, of 26 Officers of 2/8th Armoured Regiment AIF. Names are listed above and below the image.

Inscriptions & markings

Above photo:"List of names: Lieutenants: - Bazeley,MM, Merrett, Gait, White, Menzies, Leslie, Miller, Jackson" and below photo:- "Captain Ahou, Lieutenants Charley, Tait, Captains McCallum, Newnam, Trickey, MaCourt MM, Moreton, Callaway, Wilson, Patterson Lieutenants Watson, Taylor, Maxwell [A Squadron], Major Archer [B Squadron], Lieutenant Colonel Miller MC [Commanding Officer], Major Broadbent [C Squadron] Major Ryan [Headquarter squadron], A, B, CO, C , HQ"