Kim Bayly & Peter Donovan: Waltzing Matildas – Borneo WWII
Posted on: Mon 8 Nov 2021
In late 1940 the Australian War Cabinet approved the formation of an armoured division, and the 1st Armoured Division was raised the following year. The 2/9th Australian Armoured Regiment was raised in August 1941 as part of the division’s 2nd Armoured Brigade. In early 1944 the 2/9th replaced its General Grant tanks with the British-built Matilda tanks. In March 1945 the regiment finally received orders to prepare for overseas service. C Squadron sailed for Morotai, and the rest of the regiment followed in April. The regiment’s ultimate destination, however, was Borneo. RAAC Vietnam Veteran Kim Bayly interviews Historian Peter Donovan about his book Waltzing Matildas – The Men and Machines of the 2/9th Australian Armoured Group.
Photo: Matilda tanks of 2/9 Armoured Regiment being driven ashore through the surf from Landing Ship Medium 237, at the north end of Green Beach during the Oboe 6 Operation. Identified personnel are: (left to right, on tank) Trooper (Tpr) A Kenny; unidentified; Corporal (Cpl) J A Murphy; unidentified; Tpr S L Cockram; unidentified. Cpl Douglas Charles Hardy, official photographer, Military History Section Land Headquarters, is in foreground, in the water, carrying his camera.
