Australian Reinforcement Training Battalion (Jungle Warfare)

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Brief History

Training Centre (Jungle Warfare) was established at Canungra in November 1942 to pass on lessons learnt during the Kokoda Campaign. The initial training unit was the Advanced Reinforcement Training Unit (Jungle Warfare) which trained reinforcements prior to their heading to the New Guinea theatre. In May 1943 the centre expanded when the original unit became known as 1st Reinforcement Training Battalion (Jungle Warfare) and the 2nd Reinforcement Training Battalion (Jungle Warfare) was formed in June. The 3rd Reinforcement Training Battalion (Jungle Warfare) was formed in November 1942, and the 4th Reinforcement Training Battalion (Jungle Warfare) in September 1943.

All troops proceeding overseas from late 1942 needed to pass through the centre before their training was complete. This was also true for the Malayan, North Borneo and Vietnam Campaigns.

Unit Personnel

• Joseph George Nicholls 27 Jul - 21 Aug 1944 Cook
• Mervyn Charles Henry Sharp 2 Feb - 3 Apr 1945
• Allan Butcher 2 - 24 Jun 1946

Trainees

1st Battalion

• Jack David Bunney 14 Apr - 2 Oct 1944
• Antonio Del Borrello 29 Sep - 12 Nov 1944
• Marvin Redvers Cuthbert Barge 3 Nov - 10 Dec 1944

2nd Battalion

• John Francis (Jack) Cucel 29 Jul 1943 - 29 Sep 1943
• Roy Kershaw 28 Jul - 24 Sep 1944 (had a break in training for medical reasons)
• Mervyn Francis 10 Jul - 21 Aug 1945
• Leslie Charles Peters 21 Jul - ?? Aug 1945
• Albert Chamberlain 27 Mar - 18 Nov 1945 (had a break in training for medical reasons)

3rd Battalion

• Curnow Andrew Knuckey 10 - 24 Aug 1944
• Noel Aubrey Brown 2 Mar - 21 May 1945
• Wilfred Brettell Duke 15 Mar - 15 May 1945
• Frederick Thomas Carlisle 22 Feb - 11 Mar 1946

4th Battalion

• Edward James (Jim) Lawrence 24 Jul - 10 Sep 1944
• John Francis (Jack) Cucel 29 Sep - 15 Feb 1944
• Arthur Samuel William Alldridge 19 Jan - 6 Mar 1945

Battalion not identified

• Mervyn Roy Drummond 15 Jul - 23 Nov 1942 (Staff ??)
• Allan Hugh Aitken Sep - Oct 1943
• Harold Baldwin 30 Oct - 28 Nov 1943
• Mervyn Eric Doherty Feb - Apr 1944
• Fred Alexander McKelvie 15 - 19 Mar 1944
• Ernest Emanuel Mills 12 Jun - 29 Sep 1944
• Donald Norrish MacDonald 27 Jul - 10 Aug 1942
• Percy Whittaker 26 Aug - 3 Dec 1944
• Frederick Haughton Dawson 8 Dec 1944 - 3 Apr 1945
• Maxwell John Buckingham 21 Dec 1944 - 6 Aug 1945 (had a break in training for medical reasons)
• Stanley Charles Gregory 12 Jan - 12 Mar 1945
• Alfred John Davies 12 Apr - 15 Aug 1945
• Stan John Barrett 12 Apr 1945 - 8 Jun 1945
• William Stewart Geary 18 May - 7 Sep 1945
• James Wilkinson 22 Jun - 12 Nov 1945
• Victor Emanuel Valli 27 Jul - 2 Nov 1945

Notes

Content has come from The Unit Guide - Volume 6 - The Australian Army 1939-1945, page 6.252 - Graham R McKenzie-Smith - Big Sky Publishing - 2018