2/12th Australian General Hospital
From Our Contribution
 Balikpapan, Borneo 1945 Aerial view of 2/12th AGH. AWM P00630.040 | |
 July 1945 Nursing Sisters of the 2/12 AGH going ashore at Balikpapan AWM 018943 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | 2/12 Australian General Hospital |
| Where formed | Sydney Showground |
| Date formed | July 1941 |
| Locations | Sydney, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Warwick, Chermside, Morotai, Balikpapan |
General Information
Raised at the Sydney Showgrounds in July 1941, in October they were sent to Wellisara, near Colombo, Ceylon to handle patients in transit from the Middle East to Australia, and naval casualties. During the short ill fated Malay - Singapore campaign they also handled casualties from that fighting. They remained in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) to service the 16th and 17th Brigade Groups who, although in transit to Australia from the Middle East, were retained in Ceylon until British troops could arrive in sufficient number for its defence. In December 1942 they returned to Australia. After leave they assembled in Warwick, southern Queensland in February 1943.
In May 1944 the 2/12 Australian General Hospital was identified as one of the units to be involved in actions north of New Guinea, but in the meantime it treated patients from southern Queensland units. In early 1945 it was allocated to the 7th Australian Infantry Division, which was to capture the oil fields at Balikpapan in Dutch Borneo. On 16 Jun 1945 the 2/12th AGH boarded USAT Sea Barb for Morotai which was serving as the staging point for all Borneo operations, and in July they travelled aboard the AHS Manunda to Balikpapan where they remained for the rest of the war.
Individual Awards
- 5 x Mentioned in Despatches
Staff
Patients
Warwick, South East Queensland
- Leonard Wilfred Powell 1 - 28 Sep 1943
- Clarence Malarkey 4 Nov - 11 Dec 1943
- Robert Henry Fletcher 25 Oct - 30 Oct 1943 & 4 - 15 Nov 1943
- Agnostino Ugo Tognolini 2 Dec 1943 - 26 Jan 1944
- Edward Maurice Trew 30 Jul - 6 Aug 1944
- Stanley Charles Gregory 28 Sep - 9 Oct 1944
- William Mathew Tchan 29 Sep - 12 Oct 1944
Notes
Content has come from The Unit Guide - Volume 4 - The Australian Army 1939-1945, page 4.120 - Graham R McKenzie-Smith - Big Sky Publishing - 2018