WW2 AUSTRALIAN SLOUCH HAT 2/48TH AUST INFANTRY BN
HISTORY
The 2/48th Australian Infantry Battalion was the most highly decorated Australian Army unit of the Second World War.
Overview & Raising
- Raised: August 9, 1940, at the Wayville Showgrounds in Adelaide, South Australia.
- Personnel: Primarily recruited from South Australia, consisting of roughly 800 to 900 men.
- Structure: Part of the 26th Brigade (alongside the 2/23rd and 2/24th Battalions), initially assigned to the 7th Division before transferring to the 9th Division.
- Motto: Nunquam Victus ("Never Conquered").
- Disbanded: October 1945.
- Major Campaigns & Service History
- North Africa (1941–1942):
- Sailed for the Middle East in November 1940.
- Played a prominent role in the Siege of Tobruk (the "Rats of Tobruk") in 1941, holding the defensive line against German and Italian forces.
- Fought in the First and Second Battles of El Alamein (including Tel el Eisa and the northern sector) in 1942, suffering and inflicting heavy losses.
- New Guinea (1943–1944):
- Returned to Australia and transitioned to jungle warfare.
- Participated in the Salamaua–Lae campaign, the advance on Finschhafen, and the difficult capture of Sattelberg in the Huon Peninsula.
- Borneo (1945):
- Took part in the amphibious landing on Tarakan in May 1945, conducting some of the final heavy actions of the war in the Pacific.
Victoria Cross and Honors
The 2/48th earned more than 90 individual decorations, including four Victoria Crosses—the highest tally of any single Australian unit in WWII:
- Private Arthur Stanley Gurney (El Alamein, October 1942 — posthumous)
- Private Percy Gratwick (Miteiriya Ridge / El Alamein, October 1942 — posthumous)
- Sergeant William (Bill) Kibby (Miteiriya Ridge / El Alamein, October/November 1942 — posthumous)
- Private (later Lieutenant) Tom Derrick (Sattelberg, New Guinea, November 1943)
ITEM DESCRIPTION
Original untouched WW2 Australian Slouch Hat from the famous 2/48th Aust Infantry Bn. No mothing but a couple of colour spots which are to be expected. Original pugaree with the 2/48 colour patch attached. Press stud to the raised flap still present with the WW2 Rising Sun badge attached. Liner is still present but not maker marked or dated. Original chin strap. This hat is in very good condition