[David_Hayward (RIP)]

Following on from my previous posting, it appears that there was a detachment of New Zealand troops in the UK :

"The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa left Canada on 30 June 1940 and arrived in Iceland on 7 July 1940, where it remained until 27 April 1941.] The brigade moved to Aldershot on arrival. It moved to Surrey on 7 September 1940 and came under command of VII Corps to replace the recently departed New Zealand contingent". Where did they go...to the Mid-East?

I have also seen a photo of Australian troops training in England in 1940. Did these get sent to the Mid-East?

The reason for the interest is because we know that some early BRITISH order #11/#12 Cabs were supplied to Australian forces either via the UK or direct to Alexandria, as well as UK and possibly Indian forces but because they were nominally British they carried Brirish WD Census Numbers. It makes sense that those Antipodean troops that landed in the UK in 1940 in response to Churchill's suggestion of using them in the defence of France [May 1940] were sent on to the Mid-East in late 1940 and were issued with early order British CMPs that would have arrived in Egypt in January 1941.

FOUND AN ANSWER!

".7th Australian Infantry Division was the next formation to be formed in the 2nd AIF. It initially had 20th and 21st Australian Infantry Brigades formed respectively in May and July 1940. Both brigades were sent to the Middle East in October 1940. 19th Brigade was designated to join this division on the division's arrival in the Middle East but left it in November 1940 for 6th Australian Infantry Division. 18th Brigade, as noted above, would later join the division on its arrival in the Middle East from England. But this division also underwent other changes. 20th Brigade was transferred in January 1941 to the newly created 9th Australian Infantry Division, which was formed in the Middle East on 18 December 1940. To take its place, 25th Australian Infantry Brigade was moved from the United Kingdom in March 1941 to complete 7th Division. The 25th Brigade was created in England in June 1940 from extra troops attached to 18th Brigade.". Whether the AIF took with them vehicles from the UK seems doubtful given dates unless they were shipped out with the 25th Brigade. More likely the CMPs were shipped out to Egypt and then issued out there.