Gull Force 80th Commemoration Service held at Ambon War Cemetery, Indonesia

An 80th Anniversary Commemorative Service took place at CWGC Ambon War Cemetery, Indonesia for Gull Force on 10 September 2025.

The commemoration service was organised by Gull Force 2/21st Battalion and was a respectful and heartfelt tribute attended by family members and featured a wreath laying and performances by local choirs.

On 17 December 1941, 1,131 soldiers of the Australian Army's 2/21st Battalion 'Gull Force' arrived on Ambon to defend the harbour and Laha Airfield reinforcing the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army garrison.

On 6 January 1942, they came under sustained bombing by Japanese aircraft and the island was invaded on 30 January, with Laha coming under attack on 31 January and by midday on 3 February the defending forces surrendered, totally overwhelmed by the Imperial Japanese forces. 

The surviving members of Gull Force became prisoners of war, however 229 at Laha were massacred soon after the surrender. The remaining members were either kept in camps on Ambon (528), or transported to Hainan (267) for the duration of the war. 

From the original 1131 men, 779 had died by the end of the war with 181 repatriated from Hainan, 119 from Ambon and 52 had escaped from Ambon.

The CWGC Ambon War Cemetery commemorates over 2,000 casualties, over half are Australians. Within the Cemetery is the Ambon Memorial commemorating over 450 Australian soldiers and airmen who died in the region of Celebes and the Molucca Islands with no known grave.

The CWGC team at Ambon supporting the Service.