2/188th Australian Supply Depot Platoon

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Brief History

This unit emerged from a re-organisation of AASC units in New Guinea in May 1943 when 2/3 Base Supply Depot at Milne Bay was split to form units including the 2/188th Supply Depot Platoon at Bulldog. Supply Depots were used to store battlefield supplies temporarily near the front lines. They were responsible for everything other than ammuniton. From Bulldog it supplied units working on the Wau/Bulldog road until December 1943 when it moved to Port Moresby. In January 1944 they moved back to Strathpine in Queensland before joining the 2/5th Supply Depot Company at Wondecla which was servicing units of the 6th Infantry Division. In late 1944 Australian troops replace US troops in New Guinea and its islands, withthe 6th Division moving to Aitape. tasked with advancing to Wewak.

the HQ element of 2/5th Aust Supply Depot Company together with the 2/188th Australian Supply Depot Platoon arrived in Aitape in December 1944 and moved to Tadji where they worked with Division HQ elements. In April 1945 they moved to But, and then to Cape Wom in May after Wewak was captured. As the fight moved inland into the mountains they relocated to Shiburangu in August. One member of the unit was Mentioned in Despatches, and one member lost his life while engaged in Air operations on 17 Feb 1945.

Unit personnel

• John William Shackleton 19 Jul - 30 Nov 1945

Notes

Content has come from The Unit Guide - Volume 5 - The Australian Army 1939-1945, page 5.188 - Graham R McKenzie-Smith - Big Sky Publishing - 2018