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2nd / 40th Infantry Battalion - FallenPrint Page 
The park seat commemorates the members of the 2nd / 40th Battalion who did not return from World War Two and who died in service or were killed in action in Timor, the Burma-Thai Railway, Nagasaki and the sinking of the ship "Tamahoko Maru".
The 2nd / 40th Infantry Battalion was the only battalion in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) recruited almost entirely from Tasmania. After months of training at Brighton Army Camp, it joined a detachment called Sparrow Force, sent on an impossible mission to defend the island of Timor from imminent Japanese invasion.
In February 1942 they were confronted by a force of 23,000 Japanese troops. After four days of heavy fighting, cut off, low on supplies and completely outnumbered, most of Sparrow Force had to surrender.
Consequently, the bulk of the Battalion became prisoners of war. The prisoners spent the first seven months of their captivity interned in a camp at Usapa Besar. From Java the prisoners were dispersed throughout Japan’s conquered territory. They were liberated in late-August and early September 1945.
Location
| Address: | Paterson Street, Kings Park, Launceston, 7250 |
|---|---|
| State: | TAS |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -41.440143 Long: 147.129954 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Seat |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | Conflict |
| Sub-Theme: | WW2 |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 03-September-1939 |
| Actual Event End Date: | 15-August-1945 |
Dedication
Dedicated to the 2nd / 40th members who did not return from WWII. Timor, Burma-Thai Railway, Nagasaki and those 81 lives lost on the sinking of the "Tamahoko Maru" June 25th 1944
Lest We Forget
