SIXTEEN wartime friends and comrades were presented with a commemorative plaque last week.

The presidents of the Berwick and Dandenong RSL sub-branches presented the plaque at the annual reunion of the 52nd Battalion (Gippsland Regiment) at the Dandenong Club.

The 52nd was one of two pre-regular army militia units and has strong territorial connections with the Berwick township in particular.

When Japan entered World War II, the units were fully mobilised for the defence of Australia and were moved from Victoria to Brisbane to protect the country from imminent threat.

Local identities who served in the 52nd include George Breen, Bert and Ronnie Clark, Frank Canobio, Clarrie Cullen, Horrie Heathcote, John Loyd, Jack and Les Nelson, Jack Nobelius, Jimmy Tonks, Lloyd Virgo, Ron and Norm Yates.

The complete history of the battalion can be seen in Ron Blair’s book The Gippsland Regiment, available at the Mechanics Institute Library in Berwick.