3rd Australian Light Field Ambulance

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Brief History

The pre war 3rd Cavalry Field Ambulance' was mobilised at Weribee in Victoria as the 3rd Light Field Ambulance during December 1941, servicing the division tasked with defending Melbourne from the west. It had detachments at Grovedale and Geelong. In February 1942 they were at Rowville with detachments at Geelong, Dandenong and Lysterfield. In May the cavalry force was re-organised resulting in the 3rd Aust Light Field Ambulance being centralised at Rowville, before another re-organisation saw them allocated to the 1st Armoured Division which moved to Western Australia in October 1942.

They first established themselves at Mullewa, before moving in March 1943 to Mingenew with a detachment at Yandanooka. With a reduced threat to WA, 1st Armoured Division was abolished in September 1943 and the field ambulance was tansferred to the 2nd Australian Infantry Division. In January 1944 the unit was renamed 103rd Australian Light Field Ambulance and relocated to Chidlows with a detachment at Dandaragan. The detachment rejoined the parent unit at Chidlows as troop numbers in WA decreased. In August 1944 the 103rd Australian Light Field Ambulance left for NSW where it was disbanded.

Patients

• [[Maxwell John Watson] 29 May - 1 Jun 1943

Notes

Content has come from The Unit Guide - Volume 4 - The Australian Army 1939-1945, pages 4.076 & 4.077 - Graham R McKenzie-Smith - Big Sky Publishing - 2018