The decision to form the 8th Division was made on May 22, 1940. This event would lead to the formation of the 2/18th Battalion. With a national strength of approximately 20,000 the 8th Division would be destroyed as a fighting force by the end of February 1942, having suffered defeats at Singapore, Rabaul, Ambon, and Timor.
One in three would die in captivity.
The image above shows 8th Australian Division ex-prisoners of war of the Japanese waiting at the Bangkok airport for their flight to Singapore on September 18, 1945.
218battalion.org.au 