137th Australian General Transport Company

1944 Bellevue Portrait of the 137th Australian General Transport Company (Names below) AWM photo P02773.002

Brief History

In May 1941 the 9th Reserve Motor Transport Company was redesignated as the 109th Reserve Motor Transport Company although it doesn't appear to have been formed until April 1942 at Karrakatta, before moving to Northam and then Melville. At Melville their identity changed yet again, this time to 109th Australian General Transport Company. They had four platoons that undertook general transport duties throughout Western Australia and in March 1943 they move to Werribee on the Great Eastern Highway north of Wundowie. In May a detachment of 83 men was sent to Exmouth to carry material for the RAAF Learmonth airbase. With troop numbers declining, in September they were brought up to full strength with the disbanding of the 128 and 139th General Transport Companies.

The unit returned to Melville in October 1943 and moved to Bellevue from January to June 1944. By now there were very few troops left in Western Australia, so the unit transferred to Narellan in New South Wales during January 1945 where they were disbanded in March 1945. Two men died while posted to this unit, one due to an accident, and one from injuries.

Unit Personnel

• Allan Hugh Aitken 5 Sep 1942 - 11 Feb 1943
• Victor Emanuel Valli 31 May - 30 Oct 1944
• Reginald James Bollard 6 Jun - 17 Sep 1944
• Derrick Leonard Saw 16 Oct - 16 Nov 1943
• Stanley Garrett 20 Sep 1940 - 30 Oct 1944
• Cyril John Dunnell 10 Mar - 15 May 1943 - detached from 125th AGT Company
• Mervyn Maitland 11 Oct 1943 - 1 Feb 1945
• Victor Emanuel Valli 10 Jan - 14 Apr 1944
• Stanley Garrett 8 Jun - 18 Sep 1944

Notes

Content has come from The Unit Guide - Volume 5 - The Australian Army 1939-1945, page 5.184 - Graham R McKenzie-Smith - Big Sky Publishing - 2018

Identified front row: Colpitts, Morrison, Robertson, Nanon, Woolridge, Allan, Ratcliffe, Grant, Rowell, Ash, Gould, McDonald, Beck, Moody, Lawry, Truscott, Martin, Herbert, Rae, Johnson, Williams, O'Sullivan, Beazley.

Second row: Prothero, Hanna, McLeish, Gillespie, Male, Middleton, Nicholls, Arnold, Edgar, Riley, Peacock, Perrin, Groves, McLean, Sorenson, Scott, Macaskill, Dann, Ducat, Ferstat, Bate, Ford, Keating, DeMorton, Rudwick, Page, Richardson, Brown, McCullagh, Jones, Michell, Bushby, Kyle, Jackson, unidentified, Gange, unidentified, Kelly, Davies, Tyler.

Third row: Mitchell, Cruikshank, Moss, Turner, Farrall, Wrightson, Seale, Mills, Frightson, Carmichael, Hyde, Lyon, Hogan, Spencer, Warn, Smith, Archison, Stafford, Sharp, Lockheart, Berryman, Smith, Hopkins, Jackson, Bush, Burgess, Reddin, Allaway, unidentified, Leslie, Gardiner, Johnson, Tutt, Newhill, Alford, McKenna, Nix, Martin, McNamara, Anderson, Sherland, Schwarze, Cockburn, Peggs.

Fourth row: Wilkinson, Smith, Wesley, Casserly, Rich, Fitzsimmons, Scott, unidentified, Hatt, Carbon, Russell, Hondrus, Melville, Vince, Wilson, Pearson, Joy, Thomas, Carvolth, Norman, Davy, Serra, Nicolai, Tillotson, Lamb, Bartlett, Roe, Beckman, Savage, Jones, Collins, Nelson, Sheppard, Quinn, Tutt, Kelly, Knox, Crouch, Worthington, McReady, Nagel, Budd, Jeffery.

Fifth row: Chappell, O'Reilly, Ogg, Brosman, Porter, Grose, Micke, O'Neill, Freckleton, Hooker, Morraghan, Bradbury, Byrris, Bonney, Clare, Turnbull, Ramago, Aitken, Hilder, Green, Tregillis, Hill, Kiddie, McInerney, Gilmore, Bibby, Nuttal, Bush, Condron, Sharp, Woolmington, unidentified, Peake, unidentified, Mullins, Alford, Kelly, Harris, Herridge.

Sixth row: Shaw, Ritchie, Tidy, Rundell, Coaster, Rodstod, Jones, Gibson, Bickford, Machinnon, Deckirt, Harman, Solly, Kirkwood, Taylor, Young, Clark, Curry, King, Howson, Dow, Neil, Hill, Sloane, Allan, Palmer, Guppy, Hutchinson, Whelan, Fordham, Beachley, Goodchild, Gundry, Smythe, unidentified, Webb, Willey, unidentified, Stewart, Carey, Goodman, Austin.

Back row: Goulden, Damman, Taylor, unidentified, DeMorton, Hauesler, Marchant, Golding, Hayward, McMahon, Gordon, Kelly, Chatfield, McLaughlin, Maitland, Coulson, Blake, Niven, Whittaker, Sharp, Bourne, Maitland, McMahon, Wilkinson, Meakins, Gilmore, Murray, Sharratt, Anderson, Prentice, Dankert, Leach, Daniels, Beachley, Boucaut, Beaton, Wright, Sheppard, York, Moncrieff, Lukey, Allison, Williams