HALLS, Claude Grenfield
| Service Numbers: | SX30709, S111486 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 1 May 1943, Dubbo, NSW |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/48th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Kooringa, South Australia, 17 October 1924 |
| Home Town: | Port Adelaide, Port Adelaide Enfield, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Died of wounds, Tarakan, Borneo, 15 May 1945, aged 20 years |
| Cemetery: |
Labuan War Cemetery 24. A. 14. |
| Memorials: | Adelaide WW2 Wall of Remembrance, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 2 Service
| 1 May 1943: | Enlisted Dubbo, NSW | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 May 1943: | Involvement Private, S111486 | |
| 1 May 1943: | Involvement Private, SX30709 | |
| 1 May 1943: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, SX30709, 2nd/48th Infantry Battalion | |
| 28 Mar 1945: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, SX30709, 2nd/48th Infantry Battalion, Embarked in Cairns, Queensland for Morotai, Indonesia | |
| 1 May 1945: | Involvement Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, SX30709, 2nd/48th Infantry Battalion, Borneo - Operation Oboe July - August 1945, Battle of Tarakan was the first stage in the Borneo campaign of 1945. It began with an amphibious landing by Allied forces on 1 May, code-named Operation Oboe One. | |
| Date unknown: | Involvement |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Joseph Halls
2/48th Battalion - The 2/48 Infantry Battalion was Australia's highest decorated unit of the
Second World War, awarded four Victoria Crosses and over 80 other decorations. The Battalion was raised in 1940 at Wayville Showgrounds in Adelaide.
Claude Grenfield HALLS (Pictured) enlisted 1' May
1943
The 2/48 Battalion reformed in Oueensland in June 1944 at Ravenshoe on the Atherton Tablelands, for what proved to be on extensive training period.
in April 1945 the 9th Division was transported to Morotai, Morotai was used as a staging in area before the 7th and 9th Divisions made their amphibious landings on Borneo as part of the OBOE operations.
The 26th Brigade landed on Tarakan on 1st May: The two lead battalions were the 2/48th and the 2/23rd, with the 2/24th in reserve. After a massive pre-invasion air and naval bombardment there was little opposition on the beaches: However: sharp Japanese fire come from Lingkas Hill. The two battalions pushed inland towards the Tarakan Township, overcoming Japanese resistance as they went and by that night had established a beachhead 2.5 km wide and 2km deep.
Almost all objectives had been taken but tougher fighting was still to come. From the 6th of May to the 16th of June the mountain ridges behind the town were
the scene of bitter fighting. In this area of tangled hills and jungle-covered ridges, the Japanese used mines, booby traps, and suicide raids to delay the Australian advance.
The 2/48th was involved in the bitter fighting to capture
Sykes and Freda features. It was during this fight on the 15th of May 1945 that Claude Grenfield HALLS
lost his life.
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