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Old 30-08-14, 09:25
Mrs Vampire Mrs Vampire is offline
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Tony

The photo is from NSW railways collection, tanks passing through Homebush ( the station is near me and those buildings and the pedestrian bridge still exist) the train is heading south.

Photo was taken 7/2/1944. By that time My stuart and the rest of the 13th tanks were in Bandiana or heading there for storage.

Homebush is near chullora and the tank workshops associated with the manufacture of the sentinels.

The Grants have the late camo scheme my guess is they are on the way to bandiana sans guns for long term storage. There are no unit signs so it could be either the 2/4 or the 13th tanks.
There is a photo earlier in this thread of a grant at bandiana taken about the 5th 1944 with the same scheme as those in your picture

If it is the 2/4 they would be tanks being returned to store as that regiment was reequipped with Matildas and joined the 4th armoured brigade and went on to serve in the Islands.

Photo evidence has the 4 armored Brig still equipped with grants and matildas in 1945 when they were disbanded at southport. So perhaps those on the train are the 13th

The 13th was disbanded completely on 19 Oct 1943 and its vehicles returned to stores.

The photo taken nearly a year after the 2/4 made the epic trip from Wee Waa to Murgon and then as a part of the 3rd down to Bribie island has them in Light stone and Khaki as my tank was painted at the time. In the seven months between the exercise around Bribie island and the time this photo was taken it appears the tanks were repainted.

1 grants in storage 5/44 2 and 3 Grants and matilda of the 2/4 being loaded at Southport for Bandiana after the disbandment of the 2/4 3Jan 1946
Attached Thumbnails
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Last edited by Mrs Vampire; 30-08-14 at 10:22.
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