Jo Gullett - War Service

War Service

He enlisted in the Army upon the outbreak of war in 1939, initially as a Private. Much of his service was with the 2/6th Australian Infantry Battalion of the 6th Division of the Australian Imperial Force. As a Sergeant, he was seriously wounded in the Battle of Bardia on 3 January 1941. He is the central character in an Ivor Hele painting of the battle which has hung in the Australian War Memorial since the 1960s.

Upon recovery from his wounds, he returned to his Battalion as a Lieutenant for the disastrous Greek campaign, and then travelled with the Battalion to New Guinea. He was awarded the Military Cross in 1943, for his “disregard of danger and leadership” as a Captain and Company commander at Wau".

For a time thereafter he was attached to Australian Headquarters in London. As a supernumerary officer with the 8th Battalion Royal Scots, he became the first Australian born soldier to land on the beach during the Invasion of Normandy on D-Day. Due to the very high Officer casualty rate, he was soon appointed as a Company commander with the Royal Scots, and served in this role until he was further wounded in July 1944.

After recovery from his latest wounds, he returned to Australia and attempted to rejoin the 2/6th in New Guinea, but was thwarted by higher command, who ordered that he be restrained - by force if necessary - from embarking. Accordingly, he saw no further action and was demobilised from the Army with the rank of Major at the end of the war.

Over 30 years later he wrote a personal account of his war experiences entitled Not As a Duty Only. which has been on the reading lists of several Australian military higher training institutions for many years.