24th Australian Anti Tank Company

Brief History

The 24th Anti-Tank Company was raised in August 1940 at Melville, Western Australia as part of the 24th Infantry Brigade of the 8th Australian Infantry Division. In October they moved to Northam where they trained with the 2/28th Infantry Battalion before they were transferred to the 9th Australian Infantry Division. In January 1941 the unit sailed for the Middle East, and on arrival moved to Khassa in Palestine in February to continue their training. In March they moved to Tobruk before being detached to move to Er Regina in April to support the 2/13th Infantry Battalion before joining the general withdrawal to Tobruk to take up a position in the defensive perimeter during the siege.

In September 1941 they were relieved from Tobruk, concentrating at Kilo 89 in Palestine before moving to Beit Jirja in October. In October the four remaining anti-tank companies were re-allocated on a divisional basis with the 24th Anti-Tank Company absorbed into the 2/3rd Australian Anti-Tank Regiment during October at Hill 93. Their next base was Basarma in Syria where they worked on defensive positions before being rushed back to Egypt withthe breakthrouhg by the German Africa Corps. They firat took place in firming up the defence line before participating in the ear;y stages of the battle at El Alamein in October and November of 1942. The return of the remainder of Australian troops from the Middle East to Australia took place in january 1943, with arrival in Sydney the following month.

Battle Honours

• Tobruk

Unit Personnel

• Douglas Edward Cleave Steer 17 Feb 1941 - WIA 2 May 1941 & 18 Jul - 15 Oct 1941

Notes

Content has come from The Unit Guide - Volume 2 - The Australian Army 1939-1945, page 2.371 - Graham R McKenzie-Smith - Big Sky Publishing - 2018