The 2/24th Battalion Headquarters group was formed in Victoria in July 1940 and set off from Caulfield for their camp at Bonegilla. They stopped off at Wangaratta where they were welcomed with open arms by the local community as they rapidly built up their numbers. The Battalion marched out of Wangaratta on 27th Sep 1940 under their adopted “Wangaratta’s Own” Pennant. The Battalion was eventually attached to the 9th Australian Division, one of the most famous army fighting formations in World War 2. They served in Tobruk (1941) Tel el Eisa (1942) El Alemain (1942) and New Guinea (1943). The 9th Division was named by German propaganda as the “The Rats of Tobruk”. The 2/24th Battalion suffered more casualties than any other 2nd AIF Battalion – 360 killed and 900 wounded. The Battalion was instrumental in capturing Company 621, a German Wireless Intercept Unit, near Tel el Eisa on 10 July 1942 - an event that helped change the course of the conflict in Africa.
A Memorial Service is conducted annually at the Wangaratta Cemetery on the second Saturday of November.