WW2 AUSTRALIAN ARMY MEDALS PRIVATE STEVENSON 2ND 6TH BATTALION AFRICA & PACIFIC

Description

Offered is a Australian Pacific Star & Australian Service Medal 1939-45 to Private Stevenson 2/6^th Battalion A.I.F. Possibly wounded.

Pacific Star & Australian Service Medal 1939-45, both impressed named VX13525 A.J.STEVENSON. Comes with copy Department of Veterans Affairs printout. Service records not digitised as of yet.

Andrew James Stevenson was born in Glasgow Scotland 14/10/1911. He enlisted in the Australian Army to the 2/6^th Battalion on the 29/4/1940. He discharged 17/2/1944, possibly due to wounds or sickness. He died on the 2/6/1981 in Perth Western Australia and is buried at Karrakatta Cemetery.

The 2/6^th Battalion departed Australia in early 1940, and were deployed to the Middle East where in January 1941, it took part in the first action of the war by Australian ground forces, the Battle of Bardia, which was followed by further actions around Tobruk. Later, the 2/6th were dispatched to take part in the Battle of Greece, although their involvement in the campaign was short before they were evacuated. Some members of the battalion also subsequently fought on Crete with a composite 17th Brigade battalion, and afterwards the battalion had to be re-formed in Palestine before being sent to Syria in 1941–42, where they formed part of the Allied occupation force that was established there in the aftermath of the Syria–Lebanon campaign.

In mid-1942, the battalion was withdrawn from the Middle East to help face the threat posed by the Japanese in the Pacific. A period of garrison duty was undertaken in Ceylon between March and July 1942, before they arrived back in Australia in August 1942. Following this, the 2/6th deployed to New Guinea in January 1943, fighting around Wau and then advancing towards Salamaua during the Salamaua–Lae campaign. They were withdrawn to the Atherton Tablelands for rest in September 1943 and subsequently did not see action again until later in the war.