8th Australian Field Company

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Brief History

The 8th Australian Field Company was mobilised at Bathurst in New South Wales in December 1941 before it moved to Wallgrove where it was attached to the 8th Infantry Brigade Group. In March 1942 they moved to St Ives before going to Greta in June. The 8th Australian Field Company was amongst those troops sent to Western Australia in July 1942, beginning in Melville and then moving to Gingin in August, then to Utakarra Racecourse near Geraldton in November followed by Moora in March 1943, Northam in July and Strawberry Siding in August.

In September 1943 the unit moved to Sydney where they enjoyed a period of leave before moving north to Kairi in north Queensland in December 1943. In January 1944 they left with the Brigade Group for Finschhafen in New Guinea, and advanced along the Rai Coast to Saidor before moving to Madang in May. In October 1944 a platoon was detached to Hollandia in Dutch New Guinea, and by November all but one platoon was in Hollandia.

In February 1945 they relocated to Lae where they were used on construction projects, with one platoon remining in Madang to support hte 8th Brigade Group while the rest moved in July 1945 to Wewak.

Unit Personnel

• William Leslie Roberts 6 May 1943 - 2 Jan 1944
• Stanley George Jarick 20 Aug - 17 Nov 1943

Notes

Content has come from The Unit Guide - Volume 3 - The Australian Army 1939-1945, page 3.448 - Graham R McKenzie-Smith - Big Sky Publishing - 2018