10th Australian Garrison Battalion

Unit Colour Patch

Brief History

Garrison Battalions were part of the Australian Army Reserve with the role of manning fixed defence and vulnerable points. The personnel were Class B men, those between 48 and 55 who had seen war service before September 1939, therefore mostly WW1 veterans.

10th Garrison Battalion was formed in 1940 and charged with protecting the coastal artillery on Rottnest Island until 19 Apr 1944 when they were relieved by the 5th Garrison Battalion, moving back to the mainland to take over protection for the Port of Fremantle. Later in 1944 the 10th Garrison battalion took over responsibility, albeit at a reduced level of manning, for mainland and Rottnest Island as the threat of war reduced with allied success in the islands.

16 Servicemen lost their lives while serving with this unit - 3 drowned, 4 in accidents and the rest of illness.

Battalion Personnel

• Harry Redcliffe Broadhurst 10 Oct 1939 - 11 Feb 1940
• John William Stables 10 Oct 1939 - 23 Mar 1941
• Arthur William Crook 23 Oct 1939 - 27 Jan 1941
• John Lewis Foster 24 Nov 1939 - 1 Jun 1940
• Albert Cecil Clarence Curtis 21 Aug 1940 - 8 Oct 1944
• Robert Henry Powell 23 Sep 1940 - 25 Feb 1942
• Bertie Alfred Holmes 27 Sep 1940 - 8 Jan 1941
• Walter David Francis Kerridge 30 Jan - 31 Jul 1941 - to RAAF
• Albert Charles Uren 23 Mar 1942 - ??
• George Gould Elworthy 30 Nov 1940 - 14 Nov 1945
• Peter Spence ?? - 8 Nov 1945
• Albert George Joseph Jackson ?? - 7 Dec 1945

Notes

Content has come from The Unit Guide - Volume 2 - The Australian Army 1939-1945 - pages 2.396 & 2.397 - Graham R McKenzie-Smith - Big Sky Publishing - 2018