Labuan Service with 1 Australian Beach Group

$22.00

Labuan: Service with 1 Australian Beach Group by George Charles McFarlane : new military book

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This war book is written by an Australian veteran of the Labuan battle. He was a member of the 1 Australian Beach Group. The 1 and 2 Australian Beach Groups were formed to quickly establish a beachhead to facilitate the advance of the main invading force.

The 1 and 2 Australian Beach Groups consisted of both naval and army personnel. It comprised a number of small units each with specialist skills. The largest unit was the 2/4 Pioneer Battalion which acted as an infantry Battalion during the landing and early phase the action and then played a leading role in developing the beachhead. The 2/15 Field Company Royal Australian Engineers were included so that they could establish a wharve. Another major component was the 2/166 Australian General Transport Company carrying out both infantry and transport duties. Other units that made up the Australian Beach Group were elements from the 2/2 Machine Gunners (see the book Muzzle Blast), signallers, medical personnel and a salvage company – a force of about 2500 men.

This small but high detailed book would be of interest to anyone researching the Landing on Labuan Island and/or veterans of the battle.
The book also includes the story about the Australian Bill Sticpewich who was one of only 6 survivors of the Sandakan POW Camp (see Dvd Doco about Sandakan). Sticpewich, apart from giving evidence at the war trails, also saved a Japanese soldier who had helped him survive in the Camp.