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| Women and children at the wharf in Port Melbourne farewell the advance party of the 6th Division. Second from right is Mrs Doreen Martin from Mildura who was fare-welling her husband, VX4768 Signalman Bernard Vincent Martin. Photographer Ted Cranstone. 15 December 1939. AWM image |
These troops were the advance party of the Australian 6th Division - 47 officers and 58 other ranks, along with a party of New Zealand forces -25 officers and 88 other ranks. The latter had boarded in Sydney.
Leading the Australian contingent was Colonel George Vasey, later promoted Major General, and General Blamey. Both Blamey and Vasey would serve in the Greek campaign with the rest of the 6th Division, Vasey leading the Allied forces against the invading Germans at the Battle of Vevi in Greece in 1941. Vevi would be the first encounter between Australian and German troops since 1918.
As these first Australian troops departed from Port Melbourne they would be walking in the footsteps of their forebears, the diggers who left Port Melbourne for Lemnos and Gallipoli, for Egypt and Western France.
These troops would be the first of the over 993,000 Australians who served in the armed forces during the war. Some 27,073 would be killed in action or died on active service, 23,477 wounded and 30,560 taken prisoner, with 8,296 dying in captivity.
Lest we forget.
Jim Claven
Secretary
Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee
Below are some images from the Australian troops departure in 1939 - leaving their camp at the Melbourne Showgrounds to Port Melbourne (reproduced courtesy of the Australian War Memorial).
Today's Media Release from Australian Veterans Affairs Minister:
75 YEARS SINCE AUSTRALIAN TROOPS LEFT FOR THE SECOND WORLD WAR
The
Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Senator the Hon. Michael Ronaldson,
paid tribute to the first Australian troops to leave our shores for
service in the Second World War 75 years ago today.
On 15 December 1939, just over 100 Australians boarded the liner
Strathallan bound for Palestine. Sailing with them was a small
contingent of New Zealanders. Together they formed an advance guard,
sent to prepare for the arrival of the main body of Australian and New
Zealand troops
the following month.
From
their training grounds in Palestine, the Australians went on to the
campaigns against the armies of Germany, Italy and Vichy France in North
Africa, the Mediterranean, the Middle East,
and Greece and Crete. Later the survivors returned to the southern
hemisphere to face the Japanese in South East Asia and the Pacific.
These
first men to leave Australia were at the vanguard of Australia’s
overseas effort during the Second World War. They and those who followed
left knowing they had the support of the entire
country. With them went Australia’s best wishes and the nation’s
prayers for their safe return.
Among
the first personnel to leave Australia were some who would never
return. In that war some 40,000 Australians lost their lives on active
service. Many more suffered wounds and thousands
endured years of captivity in Europe and later in Asia.
The Anzac Centenary
period is a time for all Australians to commemorate a Century of
Service, and to honour the service and sacrifice of all those who have
worn our nation’s uniform, including
the more than 102,000 who lost their lives in Australia’s service.
We
remember the efforts of all those who served during the Second World
War, from those who first left these shores on December 15 1939, to
those who defended the home front and others who
served later in the war. As a nation we honour them all.
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