2/4th Australian Pioneer Battalion

1 Jun 1945 Morotai. Vehicles of the 2/4th Pioneer Battalion waiting to be loaded aboard Landing Ship, Tanks (LSTs) before the landing on Labuan island, North Borneo. AWM Photo 108410

10 Jun 1945 Labuan, North Borneo. Members of the 2/4th Pioneer Battalion moving ashore from the Landing Ship, Tank (LST 591) during the Oboe 6 Operation Landing on the Island. AWM Photo 108918

Brief History

The 2/4th Pioneer Battalion was raised at Greta army camp in February 1941. After initial training, it arrived in Darwin in September 1941 to replace the 2/3rd Pioneer Battalion which had been sent to the Middle East instead of the 2/4th. In the Northern Territory they established headquarters at Noonamah, with companies working on defensive positions between Adelaide River and Darwin.

On 14 February 1942 the battalion left Darwin and sailed with the "Sparrow Force" to Timor. Japanese air attacks on the convoy forced them to return following the Fall of Singapore. The ship arrived in Darwin Harbour on 18 Feb 1942 and was sunk by the Japanese during the attack on the harbour the next day. The battalion's equipment went down with it.

The 2/4th spent the next 13 months defending various locations in the Darwin area, until they were finally relieved in March 1943. After some leave the pioneers regrouped for jungle training on the Atherton Tablelands. However, the war was nearly over when the battalion was charged with supporting the 9th Australian Infantry Division's landing in Borneo.

The OBOE operations aimed to reoccupy areas of the Netherlands East Indies with the 9th and 7th Divisions making amphibious landings on Borneo in 1945. The 9th Division landed on Tarakan in May, and Labuan Island and Brunei Bay in June. The 7th Division landed at Balikpapan at the start of July. On 10 Jun 1945 the 2/4th landed and operated on Labuan as part of the 1st Beach Group. Men from the battalion were involved in some of the fighting but incurred only five casualties in the Borneo operation (see below).

Japan surrendered in August and official surrender ceremonies were held the following month. The 9th Division was responsible for carrying out surrender arrangements in British Borneo, Sarawak, Brunei, Labuan, and the Natuna Islands. The 2/4th Pioneer Battalion formed a major part of the "Kuching Force", responsible for the area around Kuching.

With the war over the ranks of the 2/4th gradually thinned, as men were discharged or transferred. The battalion returned to Australia in December and was disbanded in early 1946. Twenty members of this unit lost their life during the war years: 10 to illness, five to accidents, two were Killed in Action, one Died of Wounds received in action, and two died in an aircraft accident.

Battalion Personnel

• Leslie St Clair Ward 14 Jun 1940 - ?? Feb 1942
• William James O'Meagher 26 Nov 1945 - 16 Dec 1945

Battle Honours

Borneo

Individual Honours

• 2 x Mentioned in Despatches