Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

When he enlisted in the Australian Military Forces on 3 July 1940 Leonard Colin Cameron was employed as a draughtsman by Adelaide architect F. Kenneth Milne. After his initial training he was posted to 2/3 Machine Gun Battalion which would ultimately embark for Egypt in April 1941. In February 1941, however, Leonard Cameron was posted to the list of potential officers and began training for a commission. He was appointed Acting Lieutenant on 20 Jan 1942 and initially posted to the 3rd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment. After further training for service in the infantry he was posted to the 1st Australian Commando Training Battalion at Canungra in Queensland and on 4 July 1943 formally commissioned as a Lieutenant with the 2/4 Independent (Commando) Company then located at Wongabel on the Atherton Tableland in North Queensland preparing for service in New Guinea.

On 3 August Leonard’s unit was relocated to Deadman’s Gully near Clifton Beach north of Cairns. At 0430 hrs on 9 August the unit was woken and made ready to move at 0600 hours with their last-minute stores moved at 0700 hours. Transport arrived at 1200 hours and the unit moved to Trinity Beach where, after a short delay, all were moved by landing craft to the USS HENRY T ALLEN, all being on board by 1700 hours. At 0400 hours the next morning the ship weighed anchor and proceeded north with a destroyer escort.

At 1630 hours on 11 August the ship arrived at Milne Bay and disembarking and unloading of stores commenced with the unit moved to a temporary bivouac on Awaduma Creek approximately 2 miles inland. On 12 August the company moved on to a new camp site near Gaba Gabuna Bay and its stores were brought up from the beach. The unit stayed at Milne Bay for the next two weeks preparing for their role in the action to come. An amphibious landing by the Australian 9th Division at Lae under the noses of the Japanese air base there. The first amphibious landing by Australians since Gallipoli. The division would be transported from Milne Bay to Lae using American oceangoing landing ships to go ashore near Lae outside the range of the Japanese artillery.

Extract from the 2/4 Independent (Commando) Company’s unit diary.

01-Sep-43  Last minute talks to troops on hygiene, security etc. For embarkation purposes the Company has divided into 5 groups each under an officer. Each group embarks in a different barge - 141, 142, 143, 145, 146. All tents have been struck and the men are sleeping in native huts.

02-Sep-43 1000. Company embarked on LSTs - Barges moved off at 1300 hrs.

03-Sep-43 BUNA reached - Hove to for night.

04-Sep-43 0800. Moved on from BUNA. - Bombed and strafed at sea at 1400 hours. Casualties result of a torpedo - 28 KIA - 6 missing. 7 wounded.

Among those killed in the torpedo attack was Lieutenant Leonard Cameron. He was buried on 6 September 1943 at the Australian Cemetery at Morobe but later relocated to the Bomana Cemetery at Port Morseby.