Historical information

Image depicts a group of 11 men who served with the 2/24 Battalion during World War 2 attending annual reunion in Wangaratta in November 2003. They include:-
Back Row:
VX34601 Murray BURLES DOB 12/9/1919 POB Hobart; Bill WILLIAMS
VX43349 Leslie HANSEN DOB 26/1/1920 POB Coburg POW 5/1941; VX31699 Alan NICHOLSON DOB 27/10/1918 POB Korumburra POW 1/5/1941;
VX15247 Alan MacFARLANE DOB 13/9/1918 POB England;
Front Row:
VX44006 Robert CLARKE DOB 15/1/1920 POB Glenhuntly;
VX48597 Dr Guy ROBERTSON DOB 4/7/1918 POB St Arnaud, RMO
VX34767 Thomas ANDERSON DOB 31/5/1914 POB Hamilton POW 5/1941
VX29686 Gordon POIDEVIN DOB 30/3/1917 POB Corowa POW 3/5/1941;
VX45356 Douglas GRAY DOB 16/8/1918 POB Bendigo (Bugler)

Significance

The 2/24th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army, which served during World War II .A unit of all-volunteers, it was formed in July 1940 from primarily Victorian volunteers and was known as "Wangaratta's Own" because of the time the battalion spent in the town during its formative period prior to deployment overseas. It served in North Africa in 1941–1942 as part of the 26th Brigade, which was assigned to the 7th Division, before being reassigned to the 9th Division. In early 1943, the battalion returned to Australia and later took part in campaigns against the Japanese in New Guinea in 1943–1944 and Borneo in 1945, before being disbanded in 1946. The 2/24th suffered the highest number of casualties of any 2nd AIF infantry battalion. The Unit was granted the Freedom of the City by the Rural City of Wangaratta in 1990 and one of the first, if not the first, to receive this type of honour.

Physical description

Colour photograph of 11 men standing and seated in two rows