He had a long war
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| 1939/45 Star; Pacific Star; 1939/45 War Medal; 1939/45 ASM |
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| Hughie Arthur John Hunter QX18621 |
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| Hugh Arthur John Hunter & Monica White Married 11 September 1942 Charters Towers, Queensland |
His years of war (some of his own words)
He enlisted in Mackay on 1 April 1941 and was very quickly sent to the Exhibition Grounds in Brisbane where he was "issued up" and sworn in. Some months of training happened at "Frasers Paddock" (Chermside), Brisbane and at Ingleburn, Sydney he had a further 4-6 weeks training. After this time he was given pre embarkation leave of nine days. On the 1st November 1941 they were transported to Sydney harbour to meet the vessel that took him and his comrades to England, the Queen Mary. This was the start of his long war.
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| Queen Mary at Sydney Harbour 1941 |
According to him, there were about 1000 civilian passengers on board along with about 900 army personnel. The troops were housed on the lower decks of the ship.
Once the Queen Mary arrived in England, the troops camped in "Piccadilly Park" possibly known to us as Hyde Park. There were constant air raids.
He purchased a sweet silver necklace in Cairo for our mother, Monica which had a little charm on it that, when spun said "I Love You". My sister still has this necklace.
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| Hughie Arthur John Hunter QX18621 |
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| Tent and Bedding supplied during World War 2 |
From the United Kingdom, and as part of the 9th division, he arrived in the Middle East on 22 November 1941, this was the Division that had fought in the siege of Tobruk which began in April 1941, the troops not being relieved until December 1941. The troops that took part in the siege at Tobruk, Lybia are known as the Rats of Tobruk. Dad was part of the 1st Anti Tank Regiment. See War Diaries AWM52 4/4/1 - (AWM52 4/4/1/9 & AWM52 4/4/1/10) See here
He went on to Palestine and was formed up into the 2/1st Field Bakery from the 6th and 7th divisions. See War Diaries AWM52 10/27/3 & AWM52 10/27/4 (being digitized).
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| Egypt and Palestine during World War 2 |
He saw further action in Palestine, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Alexandria, Cairo, Jerusalem, on the Turkish border and Syria.
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| Street scene in the Middle East during World War 2 |
He purchased a sweet silver necklace in Cairo for our mother, Monica which had a little charm on it that, when spun said "I Love You". My sister still has this necklace.
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| The necklace charm bought in Cairo for Monica his wife When you spin the charm it reads "I Love You" |
In August 1942, the 9th division was withdrawn back to Australia in response to the threat of war in the Pacific from Japan.
On the way back they stopped at Bombay, (now Mumbai) and Colombo (Ceylon, now Sri Lanka) on the ship Mauritania then sailed on to Esperance Bay in Western Australia.
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| Hugh Arthur John Hunter (2nd left) in Bombay (now Mumbai) |
While in Australia he was sent to Charters Towers for more training. This is where he married Monica White on 11 September 1942.
The 9th division was sent to Papua New Guinea where they fought at Owen Stanley Range and Kokoda Track and was also at Milne Bay. At this stage he was part of the 2/2nd Australian Field Baking Platoon. AWM52 10/27/21 (being digitized).
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| 2/2nd Australian Field Bakery Platoon Hugh Arthur John Hunter, right side |
Even though he was attached to a Field Bakery Unit, he was used as Infantry. With the 9th division he was sent to Lae and Morotai (joining up with the 18th Brigade, 6th division) where they were joined by the American forces.
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| 2/3rd Australian Bakery Platoon at Tarakan, Borneo Hugh Arthur John Hunter back row at left side |
From Morotai he was sent to Tarakan, a small island 4 kilometers off the coast of Borneo, which was heavily defended. The troops sailed to Tarakan on the HMS Glengyle. War Diaries: AWM52 10/27/22 (being digitized).
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| HMS Glengyle was a 9,919 GRT cargo ship that served in the Second World War as an infantry landing ship (large) of the Royal Navy. She carried Commonwealth and other Allied troops in amphibious operations. HMS Glengyle was able to make good speed on long ocean voyages to operational areas and then, by means of the many landing craft carried aboard, land assault infantry, vehicles, and stores on contested shores. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Glengyle |
He was almost killed when the troops landed under fire.
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Australian Infantry Men passing a Matilda Tank in the interior of Tarakan, Borneo
The timeline of his war
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Extracts quoted from Graham McKenzie-Smith - The Unit Guide
Bread Supply Units - Overview
Fresh bread was a staple of the Australian ration scale and an army field bakery was included in the AIF Order of Battle as a corps unit, with multiple sections, that could service up to 100,000 men.
1 Field Bakery (AIF); 2/2nd Aust Field Bakery; HQ 2/2nd Aust Field Baking Company
The AIF in the Middle East were able to tap into the British supply system and although 1 Fld Bkry (AIF) was on their Order of Battle, the unit was not initially formed, except for one section deployed to Malaya in early 1941 with 8 Inf. Div. When 1 Aust Corps was recalled in early 1942 its destination was unknown, but likely to be away from other supply sources so 1 Fd Bkry was formed at Barbara (Palestine) in January 1942. They were renamed as 2/2nd Fd Bkry to avoid confusion with the AMF unit raised in Queensland. They moved to Charters Towers in July to take over a bakery and sent a detachment to Portland Roads to service the developing airbase. In August a section was sent to Milne Bay, New Guinea and a detachment to Jacky Jacky airfield on Cape York. 2/2nd Fd Bkry steadily increased in size and another section was sent to Milne Bay and one to Port Moresby, New Guinea in September, 1942.
War Diaries: AWM52 10/27/4 and 10/27/21
2/3rd Fd Bkng Platoon moved to the staging area at Morotai (NEI) in March 1945 and landed at Tarakan in June where they baked for the units of 26 Inf Bde GP until the end of the war.
War Diaries: AWM52 10/27/22
At the end of the war he disembarked in Brisbane from Borneo on 30th October 1945 being demobbed from the Army on 6th November, 1945.
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| Plaque at The Queensland Garden of Remembrance at Pinnaroo Lawn Cemetery, Brisbane, Wall 6, Row M Hugh Arthur John Hunter |
HE HAD A LONG WAR BUT HE DIDN'T LIVE A LONG LIFE
LEST WE FORGET
Fabulous Gail, such wonderful photos and memories!
ReplyDeleteA great write-up Gail!
ReplyDeleteWonderful information, you are so lucky to have so many photos.
ReplyDelete