COLYER, Michael Harvey
| Service Number: | NX71027 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 25 February 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Captain |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/43rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | TUMUT, NSW, 5 October 1915 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Egypt, 4 November 1942, aged 27 years |
| Cemetery: |
El Alamein War Cemetery Marsa Matruh, Egypt |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 2 Service
| 25 Feb 1941: | Enlisted NX71027, 2nd/43rd Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 Nov 1942: | Involvement Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Captain, NX71027, 2nd/43rd Infantry Battalion, El Alamein |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Steve Larkins
Micahel Harvey COLYER (1915 -1942)
El Alamein, 1942.
On the night of 31st October 1942, the 2nd/43rd relieved the 2nd/48th Battalion under cover of darkness. The 2/48th had suffered heavy casualties and could muster no more than forty riflemen to cover its front, with many dead bodies still lying unburied around the positions. The defining feature was called Barrel Hill.
At sunrise the next day, the 2nd/43rd came under combined Tank, Artillery, Air and Infantry assault that lasted all day. After heavy enemy action in the preceding days, an Orders Group for the
Battalion Officers was arranged at “The Blockhouse”, a building near the railway on the 4th of November 1942. At 16:57 hours, a German shell landed on the assembled group, causing twelve casualties, killing five instantly including the Intelligence Officer, Medical Officer and Pioneer Officer, severely wounding seven including Bryan Hemmings, a Company Commander who died the next day.
Given eyewitness reports, it is assumed that the weapon was an 88mm anti aircraft gun being used in a ground role.
Extract from Bryan Hemmings family notes.
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