6th Australian Field Ambulance

[[File:]]

Brief History

When mobilised in December 1941 the 6th Australian Field Ambulance was at Balcombe in Victoria attached to the 6th Infantry Brigade Group. A large draft of men left the unit to help form the 17th Field Ambulance and their vacancies were filled with new recruits. In February 1942 they moved to Gherang, with a detachment at Colac. With the return of troops from the Middle East, the 6th Brigade moved to Western Australia, and the Field Ambulance to Moonyoonooka, before following the Brigade as it trained and moved around the area between Perth and Geraldton. When the 6th Brigade left Western Australia in December 1942, the 6th Australian Field Ambulance remained, moving to Darlington, with 'B' Company at Rockingham to service artillery units.

In March 1943 they moved to Queensland to rejoin the 6th Brigade, and in May they were in Kuranda. In July 1943 they moved to Port Moresby before joining the 11th Brigade in the Buna area. With detachments at Buna and Morobe, the main unit settled at Dobodura. In April 1944 they moved to Lae, and then Bulolo in May to service the rest camps established by the 11th Infantry Division. In August they moved back to Lae. With the withdrawal of US troops they moved to Jacquinot Bay on New Britain between November and December to support units pushing the Japanese back to Rabaul. In June 1945 the 6th Australian Field Ambulance left for Strathpine in Queensland where they were disbanded in July 1945.

Unit Personnel

• Keith Raymond Mills 20 Mar - 28 May 1945
• Charles Armstrong Hanbury 17 Mar - 28 May 1945

Patients

Western Australia

• Mervyn Maitland 9 - 11 Jun 1942

Jacquinot Bay New Britain

• Jack Raymond Fuller 7 - 9 Jan 1945
• Leon Ernest Aubrey 20 Mar - ?? Aug 1945

Notes

Content has come from The Unit Guide - Volume 4 - The Australian Army 1939-1945, page 4.064 - Graham R McKenzie-Smith - Big Sky Publishing - 2018