2/4th Machine Gun Battalion Unit Plaque
- Appointment
- Unit Plaques
- Unit
- 2/4 Machine Gun Battalion
- Plaque number
- MW1A
- Co-located plaques
- MW1 - 2/3rd Machine Gun Battalion Unit Plaque
- Dedicated by
- 2/4 MG Bn Association on 17 April 1966
- More information
The 2/4th Machine Gun Battalion Association dedicated the honour plaque on 17 April 1966. The Association’s Honour Plaque is one of ten unit plaques placed in the Kings Park Honour Avenues on that date following invitations sent to a number of unit associations, some of whom declined the offer. Prior to this, the only unit plaque in the Avenues was the Returned Sailors’ and Soldiers’ Imperial League of Australian (now the Returned and Services League) Subiaco Sub-Branch plaque dedicated in 1920.
The Battalion's Commanding Officer was Lieutenant Colonel Michael Joseph Anketell MID. The Roll of Honour for the Battalion can be found on the Australian War Memorial Website. There are a further eight soldiers who were attached to the Battalion and do not show against the Roll.
The list of individual Honour Plaques for members of the Battalion can be found by searching the Search Tools / Filter by Unit sort function and selecting 2/4 Machine Gun Battalion from the pull-down menu on the plaques database search page.
The Battalion was raised in Western Australia and fought against Japanese Forces in Malaya and Singapore in early 1942. Of the Battalion’s strength of 976 in 1942, 137 soldiers were killed in action and 263 died as prisoners of war. The definitive history of the Battalion, Ghosts in Khaki, was written by former Battalion member and prisoner of war, Leslie Cody WX9555 (1918-2002, born Boulder, Western Australia) and published in 1997. A brief history of the Battalion can be found on the Australian War Memorial Website.
The soldiers of 2/4th Machine Gun Battalion are remembered with honour.