Western Command Recruit Reception & General Details Depot
From Our Contribution
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Contents
Brief History
In March 1940 W Comd Gen Details Camp was raised at Melville to look after stragglers and those left behind by the convoys passing through Fremantle for the Middle East. In April it moved to Northam and then in June to the Fremantle Artillery Barracks. In September they moved to Claremont and their role was widened to handle all troops passing through Perth.
In January 1941 a Discharge & Reception Depot was formed within the unit to process soldiers returning from the Middle East for discharge. In November they also took on those attending the Western Command Cooking School and apprentices undergoing trade training. In May 1942 the unit was renamed WA L of C Area GDD and they shared a HQ with the neighbouring WA L of C Area RRD until August 1943. In November 1942 a separate WA L of C LTD was formed to handle troops passing through Perth on leave. The number of troops in Western Australia had reduced substantially by May 1944 and the GDD amalgamated with the RDD to form Western Australian L of C Area RR & GDD at Claremont.
In October 1944 the unit became Western Command Recruit Reception & General Details Depot before moving to Karrakatta in December where it remained until the war's conclusion. In September 1945 it formed Western Command Discharge Depot to facilitate demobilisation.
Unit Personnel
- John (Jack) Balshaw 21 Jul 1941 - 18 Sep 1947
- John Henry Clark
- Joseph Craven 23 Apr 1942 - 6 Feb 1946
General Details Depot
- Frederick John Anson Sep - Oct 1941
- Albert Cecil Clarence Curtis 23 Dec 1942 - 6 Jan 1943
- George Charles Owens 19 Feb - 11 Jul 1943
- Albert Cecil Clarence Curtis 9 Aug - 14 Dec 1943
- William Ritchie Napier 30 Dec 1943 - 3 Jan 1944
- Allan James Watters 6 Sep - 29 Oct 1945
Returnees Depot
- Walter Cyril Tomlinson 10 Dec 1941 - 20 Apr 1942
Western Command Discharge Depot
- Thomas Egan 31 Mar - 12 Apr 1943
- Francis Malarkey 30 Oct - 19 Dec 1943
- Leslie George Harden 28 Jan - 1 Feb 1944
- George Charles Owens ?? - 10 Mar 1944
- John James Ainsworth 20 Nov 1944
- Stanley Upton Hammond 18 Mar - 12 Apr 1945
- Ronald Gwynne 14 Aug - 12 Oct 1945
- Leon Ernest Aubrey 13 Sep - 8 Nov 1945
- Harold George Bell 16 - 29 Oct 1945
- Thomas Geoffrey Eliot 21 Oct - 10 Dec 1945
- Robert Henry Fletcher 26 Oct - 2 Nov 1945
- Eric William Taylor 3 Nov 1945 - 29 Jan 1946
- Angus Sherwood James 16 Dec 1945 - 18 Jan 1946
- Samuel Battle Hammond 9 Apr - 26 May 1946
Notes
Content has come from The Unit Guide - Volume 6 - The Australian Army 1939-1945, page 6.414 - Graham R McKenzie-Smith - Big Sky Publishing - 2018