Category: 2nd 31st Infantry Battalion, Australian Army, World War II

Categories: Australian Army, World War II

The 2/31st Australian Infantry Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army that served during the Second World War. It was raised in June 1940 and was assigned to the 25th Brigade, 7th Division. It initially served in the United Kingdom where it undertook defensive duties before being moved to the Middle East in 1941. After taking part in the fighting in Syria and Lebanon, the battalion undertook garrison duties around Tripoli before being transferred back to Australia in 1942. In late 1942 the battalion was sent to New Guinea to fight against the Japanese along the Kokoda Track. They subsequently fought a number of battles throughout 1942, 1943 and early 1944. Their last campaign came in mid-1945 when they landed on Borneo. After the war the battalion was disbanded in March 1946. Members of the battalion were awarded: one Victoria Cross (VC); three Companions of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO); four Military Crosses (MC); one Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM); twenty Military Medals (MM); and 25 Mentions in Despatches. The battalion had six commanding officers: Horace William Strutt, Selwyn Porter, Colin Dunbar, James 'Jim' Miller, Joseph Henry Byrne, and Ewan Murray Robson.

• Australian War Memorial: 2/31st Australian Infantry Battalion.
• Laffin, J. Forever Forward: The history of the 2/31st Australian Infantry Battalion, 2nd AIF 1940-45, (Sydney: 2/31st Australian Infantry Battalion Association (New South Wales Branch), 1994).
• Wikipedia: 2/31st Australian Infantry Battalion.

A

Cleveland Alcorn 18 Aug 1921 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia - 02 Dec 1994

Robin Askin 04 Apr 1907 Glebe, New South Wales, Australia - 09 Sep 1981

B

Neville Babarovich 06 Feb 1922 Cleveland, Queensland, Australia - 21 May 1987

Norman Babarovich 08 Jan 1917 Cleveland, Queensland, Australia

Frank Batterham 13 Jan 1922 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia - 01 Jul 1992

Arthur Brand 23 Apr 1905 Mackay, Queensland, Australia - 26 Dec 1985

C

Roy Carlson 23 Nov 1917 Cairns, Queensland, Australia - 07 Jul 1967

Cyril Coats abt 13 Nov 1905 Upper Sturt, South Australia, Australia - 15 Nov 1958

Robert Cruickshank 16 Jun 1913 Hobart, Tasmania, Australia - 11 Jun 1941

D

Colin Dunbar 15 Jun 1902 Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia

E

Leslie Eisemann 01 Mar 1920 Townsville, Queensland, Australia - 26 Sep 1959

F

Stanley Forster 29 Mar 1919 Wedderburn, Victoria, Australia - 12 Mar 2008

Frederick Freeman 04 Oct 1909 Rawdon Island, New South Wales, Australia - 08 Oct 1985

G

Leslie Gale 26 Dec 1916 Hotham West, Victoria, Australia - 22 Nov 1942

Alwyn Garrett 12 Feb 1900 Northam, Western Australia (Australia) - 04 Nov 1977

James Gordon 07 Mar 1909 Rockingham, Western Australia, Australia - 19 Jul 1986

J

Robert Jeffrey 30 May 1915 Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia - 16 Nov 1987

K

Reginald Kimlin 24 Aug 1915 Wynnum, Queensland, Australia - 04 Sep 2004

M

James Miller 17 Apr 1904 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia - 14 Dec 1942

M cont.

Thomas Monger 16 Jun 1918 Beverley, Western Australia, Australia - 20 Apr 2000

Jack Morgan 10 Mar 1912 Brackley, Northamptonshire, England, United Kingdom - 19 Dec 1988

P

Reginald Pollard 20 Jan 1903 Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia - 09 Mar 1978

Selwyn Porter 23 Feb 1905 Tintaldra, Victoria, Australia - 09 Oct 1963

James Power 18 May 1915 Waterloo, New South Wales, Australia - 15 Sep 1943

S

George Scott abt 09 Aug 1921 Lossiemouth, Morayshire, Scotland, United Kingdom - 22 Jan 1986

T

Gordon Trezise 25 Sep 1918 Denial Bay, South Australia, Australia - 03 Jul 1945

U

Norman Utz 02 Apr 1918 McTarampa, Queensland, Australia - 09 Nov 1968

W

George Weier 10 Jan 1919 Gatton, Queensland, Australia - 03 Jul 1945

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