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War Memorial
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Transcript of a letter by Bert Evans, SX4626.
47 Gertrude Street
Glandore SA
8th February 1971

To Whom It May Concern
Mr C R Phillips (ex SX 8216 Cfn C R Phillips of 6 Aust Recovery Section 2nd/2nd Army Field Workshops AIF) with whom I served from June 1940 until September 1942, has asked me to record and verify some of the incidents in which he and other unit personnel were involved.
From the time of disembarkation in Egypt in October 1940 until return to Australia in August 1942, personnel were practically continuously engaged in vehicle recovery, repairs and maintenance both during and between military campaigns and with very little opportunity for rest or leave.
In the closing months of 1940 the Recovery Section moved into the Western desert and in January 1941 at Bardia personnel were involved in making serviceable for the first assault on Tobruk certain British and Italian Tanks which had been damaged in the Bardia attack. I have a clear recollection of the extremely long and sustained hours which Cyril Phillips (in his capacity as blacksmith) and others worked to achieve this result. Their efforts are recorded in the Military History and Information Section publication “Active Service” on Page 19 viz. “ An Australian Army Field Workshop played a large part in getting these tanks
in to condition. The men of this unit worked enthusiastically long hours to accomplish the feat”.
From then on in the first Western Desert Campaign – before Tobruk, in Tobruk at Derna, Sholta, Barce and Maddelena extremely long hours were spent in keeping the 6th Division AIF vehicles in action.
In March 1941 during the withdrawal of the 6th Australian Division for service in Greece, the unit was located at Mersah Matruh and carried out the task of repairing and servicing all Divisional vehicles.
The writer as R & I Clerk logged all repair details and can verify that Mr Phillips and his section “set up” 140 sets of vehicle springs and worked almost nonstop for the same amount of hours to achieve this.
Within a week of returning to Alexandria the unit was ordered to return to the Western Desert with the 9th Australian Division and re-entered Tobruk a few hours before the fortress was invested*.
For nearly four months Mr Phillips and other unit members worked from daylight until dark maintaining the garrison’s vehicles and living in dugouts etc under most primitive and arduous conditions. It was the job of the writer as Unit Orderly Room Sergeant to prove rations, supplies and mail from the relevant centres in the Town** and Pte Phillips often assisted in these duties. Enemy Air Raids at the time were most frequent.
After night embarkation from Tobruk*** in the RAN Destroyer Stewart, a rail journey to Alex in which the train was strafed by enemy fighter aircraft with some dead, the unit moved to Syria where vehicle repairs were carried out in the open by personnel and under icy conditions.
Two periods in the Transjordan near the Iraq border followed and personnel were engaged in keeping Indian vehicle convoys moving on their journey to Iraq to quell the insurrection there.
Subsequently the unit returned to Palestine and embarked for Ceylon with the 17th Aust Inf Bde.
After several months in that location with the threat of Japanese invasion imminent + with vehicle maintenance duties in the day time and picquet duties at night, unit personnel returned to Australia.
Whilst in the foregoing I have tended to generalise I can say in all sincerity that the activities of Pte Phillips typified those of personnel generally and in the main were far more exhausting and demanding than most.
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Note: * besieged. **Tobruk *** mid-July 1941 – Tobruk was still under siege.
References:
The book referred to in the letter is Active Service” (with Australia in the Middle East), published for the Military History and Information Section, AIF (Middle East) by the Australian War Memorial, Canberra, 1941.

Submitted by Joan Soroka, Seaton, SA, who has the carbon copy of this letter. May, 2023. (daughter of Bert Evans).