1st Armoured Division Section, Armoured Corps Ordnance Workshop

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Brief History

The headquarters of the unit was raised at the Sydney Showgrounds in February 1942, with sections to be raised in Victoria and Western Australia to undertake heavy maintenance on armoured vehicles. All personnel cam together at Rosebury Racecourse in April. In August the workshops moved to Boggabri, and the following month to Baan Baa to support the Armoured units training in the Narrabri area. Following a re-organisation of Armoured units in October, the workshops moved to Gunnedah in November and then to Morowa in Western Australia in January 1943.

With the formation of a separate AEME Corps, the unit had been retitled 1st Armoured Troops Workshop AEME in December 1942. At this time they also formed sub sections known as 227 LAA Battery Workshop and 228 LAA Battery Workshop. In March 1943 the units undertook collective training at Mingenew before the division moved to the Moora area in August with the workshops located in the Berkshire Valley. With the disbanding of 1st Armoured Division in September 1943, and with little remaining threat to Western Australia the workshops moved to Werribee near Northam in June 1944. In October they moved again, this time to Nungarin to work on tanks that had been returned to the 7th Advanced Ordnance Depot. In December 1944 they made their last move to Chermside in Queensland where they were disbanded in early 1945

Unit Personnel

• Donald George Martin 21 Mar 1942 - 21 Jan 1945
• John William (Jack) Vance 9 Apr 1942 - 30 Jan 1943