CALDWELL, Lloyd Charles
| Service Number: | NX29872 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 10 June 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/13th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | BEXLEY, NSW, 6 October 1918 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Egypt, 6 March 1941, aged 22 years |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Private, NX29872 | |
|---|---|---|
| 10 Jun 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, NX29872, 2nd/13th Infantry Battalion |
The First to Fall
In March of 1941, the 2/13th Battalion had just arrived in Libya from their training camp in Gaza. They were making their way quickly across the top of Africa with the rest of the Australian 9th Division, to consolidate the territory their comrades had just claimed from the enemy. Abandoned Italian trucks were scattered all along the thousand-mile route, along with innumerable discarded fuel tins glinting in the desert sand. Lloyd Charles Caldwell was a driver in the transport section, and he drove every inch of the way.
The bulk of the battalion had journeyed by train to Mersa Matruh, where they spent a few stormy nights in a bombed-out Egyptian barracks; shaving in puddles and collecting rainwater in fuel tins. Here they waited for the transport trucks to meet them and carry them the rest of the way. Once reunited, the battalion bivouacked in the desert near Tobruk before continuing towards Benghazi.
It was near Derna, on the 6th of March, that the 13th, 15th and 17th battalions all saw their first engagement of the war: Five German aircraft flew down to 100 feet and attacked the convoy. The drivers quickly pulled over and sought cover, just as they'd been trained to do.
Caldwell's passenger was Lt Adams (NX12376), the new transport officer. Adams had just taken over from the former transport officer who was recovering in hospital from psoriasis. According to the 2/17th battalion's war diarist, the planes flew so low that they were able to single out individual men. The account in the 2/13th war diary describes the men's actions, "Lt Adams was signalling personnel from vehicles and left himself insufficient time to reach what little cover was available. Caldwell ran into a burst". Both were killed in the attack.
Five more men were injured in the attack, and a number of vehicles were destroyed. Caldwell and Adams were the 2/13th battalion's first casualties of the war. Both men were buried at Derna Cemetery on the same day they lost their lives.
Interview: Allan Richards, AWM S03844
Interview: Rupert James Somerville, UNSW, Australians at War Film Archive, Tape 4, 18 min.
War diary: 2/13th Battalion, AWM RCDIG1025057, pg29
War diary: 2/17th Battalion, AWM RCDIG1024743, pg4
Submitted 13 June 2023 by Tim Parkes
Click images to start slideshow.