Please help identify Australian WW2 "Special Forces" unit

[majm]

See also

https://www.naa.gov.au/explore-collection/defence-and-war-service-records/army-world-war-ii-1939-45

JM

[majm]

 

The AA Form A200 this info based on a living returned serviceman from WWII born 1918.  He enlisted late 1939 in NSW, and served in the Middle East and New Guinea.    Notice the form number is top right hand corner.  The other two images found in earlier posts are both later versions of that form, thus dating the earliest those chaps enlisted... 

Notice too that this Attestation form is also headed 'For Special Forces Raised for Service in Australia or Abroad'.  ... and it too has a faint pinkness to it.    Notice the indelible pencil mark is fading from a deep purple away to a redness in the markings within the stamp on the left hand side...

JM  (please ignore the wrong year in the file name)

[majm]

Sometimes it is very important to be pedantic, and this is one occasion that that is so.

The chap on that original AA form in Reply #10, also mentioned that back a decade ago when he first sought the NAA copy of his service file to help a grandchild's school project, that he paid for the NAA to digitise the document and also to provide him with a presentation hard copy.   He has checked that presentation hard copy. 

It is printed on exceptionally high quality bond WHITE paper, no 'pinkness' ...  BUT .... he cannot remember if, back in 1939, he signed on pink paper or not, but thinks pink paper would not have been usual.      

He (aged 102) will go online and read my post before lunchtime today, and if I need to change it, he will phone me and dictate the changes to me.  It is 10.15 a.m. at the moment.        

JM

[Dinkydidy]

I have only seen the digitised service record, and only the first page is coloured as shown. All printing and handwriting shows quite clearly on this and other pages. The reverse of the pink form is blank except for the small front and profile mugshots and a checking stamp.

The man enlisted in NSW in early 1941 and served in the Middle East and New Guinea. I can't see anything unusual in his reported posting and casualty records, and he was discharged in late 1945.

I am amazed at your veteran ex-serviceman's recall, and appreciate his help.

The form in the example you posted yesterday is very similar, with the main differences being that mine has no question 13 about education, and is completed fully by hand, not typed.

I have played around with increasing and decreasing the colour saturation of documents a little myself, so I know that even a pink document could be adjusted to produce a black and white copy.

[Billyblue]

The NX number indicates that he lived / enlisted in New South Wales and served overseas.

Dawn M

[Dinkydidy]

Thanks Dawn.

[Dinkydidy]

The reply from the AWM regarding the colour:

"Q1. Colour of attestation form

Regrettably, I'n unable to provide a definitive answer. This is not a question I've received before. I've asked one of my Reference Officer colleagues, who is very experienced, and one of our Second World War historians, and neither of them have seen this information anywhere or been asked this question previously. We all agree that we've see the forms to which you refer, many times in our work, but we've never thought about whether the colours of the paper have different significance or uses.

The discussions with my colleagues resulted in two thoughts. One is that there was scarcity of paper during the war, and it could just have been that the attestation forms were printed on the paper that was available at the time. Or it may have been a reason such as whether those who were enlisted with the Citizens Military Force (CMF) were printed on a different colour of paper than those who joined the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). To find the truth in this, one would need to look through a lot of Second World War records to determine the colour of the paper, and whether the person enlisted in the CMF or AIF. This research is beyond the resources of the reference service we offer."

Regarding the initials of the unit, Matthew at Reply #2 was pretty much on the mark.

E.C.A.A.S.C.T.D. = Eastern Command Australian Army Service Corps Training Depot.

Thanks again to all who contributed their time and knowledge.

Didy

[majm]

It is very good of you to share that information,  many thanks.

JM

[majm]

Hi there,

My ancient living rellies have been brain storming, led by one who is a retired Archivist, started out at the Archives Office when it was part of NSW Library on Macquarie St, and went with it to Kingswood and then was seconded to Canberra to the NAA.   

Using the naa.gov.au record search option, and just using the keyword option,  enter your chap's NX number.  (only the number, not his name/s, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ELSE).  Notice that there's TWO options - a pdf set and a digitised set.  The brilliant pink of the pdf set is NOT near as brilliant pink on the digitised set, but that initial form is definitely on pink paper.

So, go back to the keyword search option,  and change the NX numbers you are searching for...  use the same first FOUR digits after the NX, but vary the final digit, some higher and some lower...

Some of these have been digitised, but even reading the index info, for the ones not yet digitised, there's every reason to believe that Paddington NSW recruitment was using PINK attestation forms in early 1942....   Paddington is where Victoria Barracks has been located ever since the mid 1840s.. 

There's those PINK forms.         .... one chap was E.C. 1st Reserve M.T .... 

JM