Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

QX16841 Captain Bree Cedric Pelham Douglas
Adjutant 2/15 Infantry Battalion AIF

Captain Bree Douglas is my father-in-law.

Born on 14 September 1916 at Brisbane Qld.
Enlisted on 24 March 1941 at Toowoomba, Qld.
Discharged 1 February 1946 Brisbane Qld.
Died suddenly 3 January 1975.

Bree came from a grazing background. Since the mid-1880s his ancestors had worked properties around Longreach, Hughenden, Julia Creek and Richmond. He was educated at The Southport School where he excelled in sport, especially cricket. He was a tall fast bowler and we still have some of his blazer pockets including Queensland State Primary Schools in 1930-31, The Southport School 1st XI 1933 and Mitchell Premiers 1937-38-39 (when he was in western Qld in the National Bank).

It was while he was with the bank at Mitchell in 1940 that he began to entertain the idea of enlisting. Many of his friends had already done so and he was becoming increasingly uncomfortable that he had not. After finally breaking the news to his parents with the help of his sister Bebe he signed up for the AIF on 24 March 1941.

He attended the Officer Training Unit during the year and was attached to 11 Training Battalion at Redbank in December 1941 awaiting his commission when Pearl Harbour was bombed. His unit was immediately posted to Fort Bribie, Bribie Island as part of the defence of the port of Brisbane. He wrote a letter to his parents on 27 December describing the camp and how they spent Christmas; we still have that letter and many others he wrote during his years of service.

On 22 January 1942 Bree received his commission, was appointed Lieutenant and posted to 15th Reinforcements to 2/12 Battalion which was about to return from the Middle East. Six months later on 15 July 1942, instead of joining the 2/12 he was posted to Torres Strait Force on Horn Island in the Thursday Island Sector with 14 Garrison Battalion. Five months later he transferred to 62 Infantry Battalion, a disbanded World War I battalion re-raised in 1942 as a unit of the Militia. 62 Bn was tasked with undertaking garrison duty in Dutch New Guinea (now Indonesia), where they were to defend Merauke from possible Japanese attack. On 30 Jan 1943 Bree and the Battalion boarded the "Islander" and two days later he and his men arrived at Merauke to begin his first posting outside Australia.

In 1944, the 62 Bn was given orders to return to Australia to be disbanded and its personnel distributed to units of the 9th Division as reinforcements. On 27 February 1944 Bree and his men left Merauke on the "Gorgon" disembarking in Brisbane on 5 March for some home leave. Three months later on 2 June 1944 they marched into 2/15 Bn lines as reinforcements to begin 10 months of jungle training on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland.

Finally on 28 April 1945 the 2/15 boarded the "Charles Lumis" in Cairns bound for Morotai, a rugged, forested island lying in the Maluku Islands (now Indonesia) between West Papua and the Philippines. Twelve days later on 9 May 1945 he landed at Morotai which by then had been cleared of Japanese resistance. The island played an important role in the Australian invasion of Borneo and the American operation to reclaim Leyte. Three weeks later they left Morotai for British North Borneo.

A detachment of the 2/15th landed on Muara Island on 10 June 1945, disembarking from US-operated LVTs and securing the island without opposition, while later, other elements from the 2/15th were put ashore on the peninsula around Brunei Town. While the main Australian force advanced towards Kuching and the oil fields around Seria, two companies of the 2/15th served as a "floating reserve" for the 2/13th Battalion's landing around Lutong, while the main body of the 2/15th subsequently moved inland towards Limbang and began patrolling along the Limbang and Pandaruan Rivers that forked inland from the bay, using landing craft for mobility, and securing several small villages around the edge of the bay. Limbang was taken on 18 June and two days later the two detached companies rejoined the battalion.

Subsequently, several engagements were fought with the Japanese during patrols in June and July but these were mainly small-scale; two members of the battalion were killed in an ambush around Brunei in late June but the heaviest fighting occurred in early July when a patrol killed over 20 Japanese in a short but sharp encounter.

The surrender was announced by Imperial Japan on 15 Aug 1945 and formally signed on September 2 on board USS Missouri, bringing the hostilities of World War II to a close.

On the same day 2 September 1945 Bree was detached to attend 9 Div Junior Staff School, returning to his Unit on 19th. On 14 October 1945 he was appointed Adjutant of the 2/15 to replace his namesake Lt Hugh Douglas (no relation) who transferred out to Japan with the Occupation Force.

Orders were finally given for their return to Australia and on 10 December 1945 he boarded the "Pauchard Victory" at Labaun bound for Brisbane. They arrived on 19 December and, to sweeten the homecoming for him, on the following day he was appointed to the rank of Temporary Captain while holding the position of Adjutant. In this role he managed the winding up of the 2/15 Bn and on 21 January 1946 he made the final entry in the Battalion War Diary:

“All formalities being completed and the cardre being marched out the 2/15 Infantry Battalion is now disbanded.”

- and signed with a flourish.

He was discharged 12 days later and returned to his wife and two young children, picking up his career with the National Bank. His work took him and his growing family to many parts of the State and finally back to Brisbane. In November 1974 he drove to Rockhampton for his annual leave but became ill shortly after arriving. He was placed into hospital care spending Christmas in the Greenslopes Repatriation Hospital. However his condition worsened and he died on 3 January 1975 at the age of 58.

Thank you for your service Bree. Lest we forget.

(Written by Bruce Burkhardt for his family, April 2020)