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The Salvation Army BandsmenPrint Page 
The plaque commemorates the Salvation Army bandsmen who formed the band of the 2nd / 22nd Battalion which was sent to New Britain during World War Two.
The band was unique, as 23 members were originally Salvation Army bandsmen. They enlisted as a band under their Bandmaster, Arthur Gullidge, and were assigned to 2nd / 22nd Battalion. The battalion was sent to garrison Rabaul as the infantry unit in Lark Force, arriving in New Britain in March and April 1941. The battalion suffered 571 men killed either during the New Britain campaign or later as prisoners of war following the Japanese invasion of January 1942. Some were executed by the Japanese at Tol.
Many were held at Rabaul, New Britain until 22 June 1942 when an estimated 845 POWs and 209 civilians embarked aboard the Japanese transport ship MV Montevideo Maru. The POWs were members of 2nd / 22nd Battalion, No. 1 Independent Company, and other units of Lark Force. Civilians included officials of the New Guinea Administration and missionaries. The ship sailed unescorted for Hainan Island. On 1 July 1942 all the prisoners died when the Montevideo Maru was torpedoed by a US Navy submarine, USS Sturgeon, off the coast of Luzon Island in the Philippines. Only one member of 2nd / 22nd Band, VX29061 Private Frederick William Kollmorgen, survived the 1942 New Britain campaign.
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: | Monument |
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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: | Monday 11th November, 2002 |
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In memory of the bandsmen of the Salvation Army who formed the Regimental Band of the 2 / 22 Infantry Battalion A.I.F.
The men of the 2 / 22nd Battalion were sent to defend New Britain against Japanese attack and were part of "Lark Force".
In 1942, twenty two members of the Band paid the supreme sacrifice.
Only one survived.
"Lest We Forget"
Unveiled on 11 November 2002
