World War II, 1939-1999

Component identifier:

Series 7

Content Summary:

Fleming enlisted in the 2nd Australian Imperial Force on 3 November 1939 and was appointed to a commission on 28 December 1939. He served with the 2/8th Infantry Battalion in the Middle East, Greece and North Africa between April 1940 and March 1942. He was promoted to the rank of Captain in September 1941 and was one of the founding members of 1 Australian Air Support Control. He took part in Operation Crusader in North Africa and was briefly captured by German forces, which resulted in a meeting with Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. After returning to Australia, Fleming served in New Guinea with the Air Liaison Group, becoming commanding officer of the group in June 1943. From March 1944 to March 1945 he served in the Dutch East Indies and the Philippines. He left the Army, with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, on 14 January 1946. He was twice mentioned in despatches and in March 1946 was awarded the OBE in the Military Division.

Apart from service records and a diary kept in the Western Desert in 1941, there are no papers dating from the War years. However, in his retirement Fleming took a strong interest in the history of World War II, he carried out some research at the Australian War Memorial and elsewhere, and he provided assistance to military historians such as David Horner and Nicola Baker. He was a member of the Australian Air Liaison Officers Association and corresponded with several of his former comrades and their families. The correspondents include H. Philip Braddock, George Francis, Roland Griffiths-Marsh, Keith Coliwell, Trevor Lawton, John Moreman, David Horner and Lady Derham.

Immediate source of acquisition:

The papers were donated to the Library in 2001 by Alannah Buchanan, the daughter of Allan Fleming

Names:

Allan Percy Fleming

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