No. 1 Command Depot

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Brief History

The command and convalescent depots were the final stages in the return of a wounded soldier either to front-line duty or being invalided back to Australia. They processed large numbers of men, and 134,104 soldiers passed through the four Australian command depots in the UK over a 16-month period from July 1917 and November 1918. Of that number, 46,871 were invalided back to Australia.

Command Depots received men from the Australian auxiliary hospitals, as the last step in moving the soldiers from being convalescents to be 'effective'. Once soldiers were 'hardened', they went to the Australian Overseas Training Brigade and were eventually returned to the front in France.

No 1, No 3 and No 4 Australian Command Depots dealt with the soldiers deemed able to return to duty. No. 1 Australian Command Depot was raised at Perham Downs in mid 1916 before relocating to Sutton Veny from December 1916 until the majority of Australian troops had retrned home in late 1919.

Passing through

• † Gilbert Henry Balinswella 6 - 30 Jul 1917