Gallery

• Anzac Day 1985 – L-R Tom Hampton, Bill Carlyon, Joe Beattie, Pop Heppingstone
• Greg Burdon, Claude Dow, Len Armstrong, Ron Badock  1985 Anzac Day Reunion
• This advanced dressing station provided care to Australian 8th Division forces during the Battle for Singapore. The hospital was located near the large airfield at Tengah, western Singapore
• Burma-Thailand Railway. c. 1943. “Amputation ward” in Bamboo Hut Hospital at a prisoner of war (POW) camp along the Burma-Thailand railway. The POWs have mostly had legs amputated because of uncontrollable tropical ulcers. (Donor A. Mackinnon)
• Woodside, SA. October 1941. Group portrait of members of 5 platoon, 2/4th Machine Gun Battalion beside a train carriage en route from Woodside camp to Alice Springs. From left to right: Lance Corporal (LCpl) C. J. McDonald (in window). Standing: WX8585 Private (Pte) Cyril Jack Vidler (died of illness 9 June 1947 in WA); Pte B. Fitzgerald; Lance Sergeant H. E. Saw; LCpl N. H. E. Thompson; Pte L. M. C. Murray; Pte L. Armstrong. Front row: Pte D. F. Sterrett; LCpl J. B. Gilmour. This unit spent a year in Australia in basic training, went overseas to Singapore, fought the Japanese for eight days, suffering many casualties and the remainder were taken Prisoner of War (POW), spending time in Changi, Thailand and Burma. Nearly forty percent of the unit’s personnel died as POW, in action or of wounds received. (Donor J. Lane)
• 17 February 1951 – printed West Australian Newspaper We believe this was the year of the first Anketell Cup at Perth Dinghy  Club. To date we have not been able to ascertain who in 2/4th drove this idea and are communicating with Perth Dinghy Club hoping their archives will help!
• North Wharf, Fremantle – American submarines Sept 1945 Fremantle was largest submarine base southern hemisphere 173 US, Dutch and British submarines docked during WW2 Photo courtesy of Fremantle Ports
• POWs recovered 1945 Maibara Camp, Osaka area. WX9011 Gerry Arthur, Mt Lawley 3rd Row, 2nd from Right WX9360 Edwin John Clarke, Walpole 2nd Row, 6th from Right
• ‘Highland Brigade’ anchors Fremantle 1945 with returning POWs via Singapore.
• Harold Hockey’s family at Albany, hear news of 2/4th in Thailand by short wave radio.  
• February 1947 – In Hero’s Memory Wife of Lt. Col. Mick Anketell, CO 2/4th Machine Gun Battalion lays wreath at State War Memorial on 5th Anniversary of Fall of Singapore.  
• Kanchanaburi Hospital Camp was established when railway line was completed.  Men were brought back from Burma and north Thailand camps on stretchers off river barges or by railway suffering from dysentry, malnutrition, beri beri, pellagra. All had malaria.  Man in foreground dabbing at tropical ulcer on his leg. Drawing by Gunner James Joseph French