Stanley Upton Hammond

Stanley Upton Hammond

Personal Information
Date of Birth	16 Oct 1919
Place of Birth	Armadale, Western Australia
Death	28 Sep 1968, aged 48
Place of Death	North Perth, Western Australia
Age at Enlistment	21 years, 6 months
Description	5'8" (1.73m) tall ; ; brown eyes ; dark brown hair
Occupation	Farm hand
Religion	Church of England
Address	35 South street, South Fremantle, Western Australia
Next of Kin	Mother , Mrs Pheobe Hammond
Military Information
Reg Number	WX12379
Date of Enlistment	2 May 1941
Rank	Private
Unit/Formation	2nd/32nd Australian Infantry Battalion

Pre War

Was a member of the Militia Reg No W14362.

War Service

On 2 May 1941 Stan enlisted at the Claremont camp, and on 12 May 1941 he marched out to the 1st Training Battalion at the Northam camp. Basic training completed he was allocated to the 2nd reinforcements for the 2/32nd Battalion on 10 Jun 1941, and from 28 Jun until 4 Jul 1941 he was granted pre-embarkation leave. On 9 Sep 1941 he proceeded overseas on HMT Queen Mary part of Convoy 12A and on 15 Sep they arrived at Trincomalee, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) where they stayed overnight before departing for Suez the next morning where Stan disembarked on 23 Sep 1941.

On arrival he was sent to the 25the Australian Infantry training Battalion, and on 15 Nov 1941 he transferred to the 24th Training Battalion, and then on 30 Dec 1941 to the 2/32nd Battalion which was in Khassa, Palestine rebuilding and training. In July 1942 with the Germans and Italians threatening Alexandria, the battalion was rushed to join the allied forces in western Egypt. The 2/32nd Battalion participated in the attack on Ruin Ridge on 17 Jul 1942, and faced strong German counter attacks, such that they lost nearly 50% killed or wounded, and nearly 200 became POWs. Stan seems to have survived this, and would have enjoyed the battalion being moved back to rebuild, during which time he participated from 18 Sep until 9 Oct 1942 in a 9th Division Machine Gun School. The 2/32nd Battalion was to play a part in the secondary attacks in the Battle of Alamein on 31 Oct 1942 in the "Saucer" where the heaviest fighting occurred.

With the withdrawal of all Australian troops demanded by Prime Minister Curtin, the 2/32nd embarked on 7 AUg 1943 on

Medical classification changed to B2 on 26 Sep 1944 Discharged 12 Apr 1945