5th Australian Garrison Battalion

Unit Colour Patch

Brief History

Raised in October 1939 at Swanbourne in Western Australia, and consisting primarily of men who had served during WW 1, the 5th Garrison Battalion was responsible for coastal defence. The 5th Garrison Battalion was responsible for the Fremantle/Perth area, land based batteries at Swanbourne and Arthurs Head, Fremantle. The battalion had its headquarters in Swanbourne. From 19 April until November the 5th Garrison battalion had also assumed responsibility for the coastal guns on Rottnest Island, but the unit was disbanded in late 1944 as the threat to WA was reduced as a result of military success to the north.

Eight servicemen died while a member of this unit, one accidentally, and seven from illness.

Battalion personnel

• Walter David Francis Kerridge 22 Nov 1939 - 29 Jan 1941
• Bertie Alfred Holmes 22 Aug - 26 Sep 1940
• Kenneth William Gilmour 26 Oct 1940 - ??
• Claude Robert Marsh 30 Nov 1940 - 2 Jan 1942
• Arthur Clarke ww2 30 Nov 1940 - 26 May 1942
• Lancelot (Lance) William Cornell 4 Jan 1941 - 28 Apr 1944
• Arthur William Crook 28 Jan 1941 - 21 May 1944
• John Gordon 4 Apr 1941 - 6 Dec 1942
• Thomas Egan 11 Nov 1941 - 3 Jul 1942
• Archie Howard Brockway 3 Mar 1942 - 26 Nov 1943
• Stanley Gordon Demasson 22 Mar 1942 - ??
• Frederick Joseph Humphrey 26 Mar 1942 - 27 Jan 1944
• Francis Thomas Briggs 26 Apr 1942 - 3 Sep 1943
• David Deverell 26 Apr 1942 - 1 Sep 1942
• Edgar Walter Gale 26 Apr 1942 - 25 Feb 1943
• Frederick Mark Thatcher 26 Apr 1942 - ??
• Stan John Barrett 13 Jun 1942 - 29 Oct 1942

Notes

Content has come from The Unit Guide - Volume 2 - The Australian Army 1939-1945 - page 2.391 Graham R McKenzie-Smith - Big Sky Publishing - 2018