2nd / 9th Infantry BattalionPrint Page

The ornate timber plaque, with the main relief of a 'Digger' supporting a rifle and the flag which commemorates those who served and died while serving with the 2nd / 9th Battalion during World War Two. 

The 2/9th Battalion, the first Queensland battalion of the Second AIF, assembled for the first time at Redbank Camp in Brisbane on 13 November 1939. It became part of the 18th Brigade of the 6th Australian Division. After training at Redbank, and at Rutherford and Ingleburn in New South Wales, the 2/9th embarked with the brigade for the Middle East on 5 May 1940.

The memorial plaque was unveiled on the 9th August 1953 by Brigadier J.E.G. Martin who was the battalion's first Commanding Officer. The battalion was famous for its war service in Tobruk, Milne Bay, Sananda, Shaggy Ridge and Borneo. The plaque was dedicated Padre McIlveen who was a Salvation Army worker during the Siege of Tobruk. Known as "the little Salvo bloke", Padre McIlveen was praised by the the evacuated soldiers as the bravest man in the besieged city. In dedicating the plaque, the padre said " I loved the men of the battalion. In the darkest moments of the siege I didn't want to be anywhere but by their side." Czech sculptor, Stan Chromy took five months to carve the memorial from red cedar.
The Courier-Mail, 10th August 1953.

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