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Gull ForcePrint Page 
A plaque commemorates the "Gull Force" of the 2nd / 21st Battalion and attached units that served on the island of Ambon in World War Two.
Location
| Address: | 300 Waterdale Road, Repatriation Hospital, Heidelberg, 3081 |
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| State: | VIC |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -37.755725 Long: 145.047069 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Plaque |
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| Monument Theme: | Conflict |
| Sub-Theme: | WW2 |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 03-September-1939 |
| Actual Event End Date: | 15-August-1945 |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Tuesday 11th November, 2003 |
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In Memory Of And Tribute To The Officers And Men Of
"GULL FORCE"
Comprising Of 2/21 Battalion And Attached Units.
On the night of 30-31 January 1942 this small force of 1131 Australian soldiers were stationed at Ambon, an island which formed part of the Netherlands East Indies (now Indonesia). An invasion of approximately 20,000 Japanese overwhelmed Gull Force and the majority of the Australian soldiers were taken prisoner. In October 1942 just under a third of the force was transferred by the Japanese to Hainan.
The execution of 229 at Laha, starvation, over work, disease and the absence of medical supplies led to horrific loss. At the cessation of hostilities only 352 of the original 1131 had made it back to Australia.
779 members of Gull Force made the supreme sacrifice
and now lie in foreign fields.
Lest We Forget
11 November 2003
