About This Unit
64th Infantry Battalion (BCOF - Ambon)
One of four Battalions raised on Morotai Island in August 1945 comprising volunteers for occupation duties, the 64th Battalion was destined to serve on Ambon Island for a relatively brief period of time while the other three (65, 66 and 67th Battalions) went to Japan as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces. They later went on to become became the foundation elements of Australia's post-war Army as the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the Royal Australian Regiment.
The 64th Battlion's life was foreshortened by comparison. An advance party of 100 troops aboard HMAS Glenelg preceded the rest landing at Ambon on 22 September, with the remainder arriving on 27 Sep 1945. Their role after accepting the Japanese surrender was to assist war graves units, repatriate the 800 or so survivng Australian ex POWs on the island to return home, and to gather any information relevant to war crimes tribunals.
With the return of the Dutch in December 1945, the unit returned to Morotai where it was disbanded in March 1946.
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