2/12th Australian Infantry Battalion Plaque

About

Marble plaque dedicated to the members of the 2/12th Australian Infantry Battalion who served and gave their lives in defence of the nation. The plaque displays a 'Rising Sun' and unit colour patch, with Battle Honours of North Africa and Papua New Guinea emblazoned across the top. Additional Information The 2/12th Battalion officially came into being with the appointment of its first commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel John Field, on 13 October 1939. Two months would pass, however, before the 2/12th paraded as a whole. Two fifths of the battalion was recruited from Tasmania and initially trained at the newly-built camp at Brighton, while the remainder were recruited from North Queensland and began their training attached to the 2/9th Battalion at Redbank. The 2/12th participated in the defence of Tobruk until it was withdrawn on the night of 26 and 27 August. After Tobruk, the 2/12th initially trained in Palestine before joining the forces garrisoning Syria in late September. It returned to Palestine in early January and sailed for Australia from Suez on 12 February. The 2/12th's next battleground was Milne Bay in Papua, where it arrived on 17 August 1942 and mounted a successful counter-attack against Japanese invasion forces between 31 August and 4 September. It occupied Goodenough Island between 22 October and 28 December and then returned to Papua for its most bitter and costly battles of the war - Buna and Sanananda. The battalion went on to serve at Balikpapan, and was disbandedthereon 1 January 1946. Battle Honours: North Africa , Defence of Tobruk , The Salient 1941 , South-West Pacific 1942-1945 , Buna-Gona , Sanananda Road , Cape Endaiadere-Sinemi Creek , Sanananda-Cape Killerton , Milne Bay (Source: Australian War Memorial www.awm.gov.au)