page_title: The Rats of Tobruk
section_title: Modern commemoration
hierarchical_section_title: The Rats of Tobruk / Modern commemoration
caption_attribution_description: English: The Rats of Tobruk Memorial
context_page_description: The Rats of Tobruk were soldiers of the Australian-led Allied garrison that held the Libyan port of Tobruk against the Afrika Corps, during the Siege of Tobruk in World War II. The siege started on 11 April 1941 and was relieved on 10 December. The port continued to be held by the Allies until its surrender on 21 June 1942.
  Between April and August 1941, some 35,000 allies, including around 14,000 Australian soldiers, were besieged in Tobruk by a German–Italian army commanded by General Erwin Rommel. The garrison, commanded by Lieutenant General Leslie Morshead, included the 9th Australian Division, the 18th Brigade of the 7th Australian Division, four regiments of British artillery, and the 3rd Indian Motor Brigade. Between August and October, most of the original garrison was replaced by British, Czechoslovakian and Polish troops.
context_section_description: The Rats of Tobruk hold an identifiable place within the ranks of returned servicemen, particularly in Australia, where there is the Rats of Tobruk Memorial, Canberra.
  On 22 March 1944, the original members of the Rats of Tobruk formed the North Bondi Sub-Branch of the Returned and Services League of Australia and it is still known in modern times as Tobruk House or The Rathouse. In 2003, the New York Times ran an article on The Rathouse calling it "an ideal beachside hang out."
  Their overarching international association, The Rats of Tobruk Association, is partly responsible for the erection of numerous monuments in Australia and the UK and involvement with official memorial services. The association also organised with the Royal Mint of Australia the striking of a 50-year anniversary medallion in 1991.
  The association's insignia shows the elements of a large uppercase letter 'T', for Tobruk, a long-tailed desert rat, and a crown. The crown depicted is variously the Tudor Crown or St Edward's Crown (since 1953), representing allegiance to the Australian Sovereign, or a crown mimicking Tobruk's official pre-war city flag which was liberated from the city's hall during the siege.
  In April 2007, the Victorian contingent of the Rats of Tobruk Association concluded that it could no longer afford the upkeep of Tobruk House, the inner-city Melbourne meeting hall that had been purchased by the Association in the 1950s. Back then, the Victorian Association had 1,800 members. By 2007, there were just 80 left, all aged in their 80s and 90s, who decided to sell the hall. From the sale, they hoped to raise up to A$1.5 million to be used for research at Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, where a neuroscience ward, the Rats of Tobruk Ward, had already been named after them. Bill Gibbons, who made his wealth out of trucking, went well beyond the expected price to outbid a Sydney developer for A$1.73 million. As reported by The Age, "in an act that stunned the old diggers, Mr Gibbons... then told the veterans they could keep the hall as long as they wanted."
  The first memorial was built in the Tobruk War Cemetery, Tobruk, Libya, built circa January 1942, subsequently replaced, but later destroyed.
  In Australia, there are a number of memorials, some of which are built as replicas of the memorial in the Tobruk War Cemetery. The replicas include:
  Rats of Tobruk Memorial, Canberra, which incorporates the plaque of the memorial of the memorial in Tobruk War Cemetery, with an eternal flame element added later
  Brisbane Rats of Tobruk Memorial in the Roma Street Parklands, Brisbane 
  Memorial at Ithaca Creek State School, Bardon, Brisbane 
  Beenleigh St Joseph's School Tobruk Memorial 70 Tobruk Street, Beenleigh, City of Logan 
  Bundaberg Rats of Tobruk Memorial in Rats of Tobruk Memorial Park, corner Takalvan Street (Isis Highway) and Steffensen Street, Bundaberg 
  Rockhampton Rats of Tobruk Memorial in Jeffries Park, Albert Street and Alma Street, Rockhampton 
  Mackay Rats of Tobruk Memorial in Queens Park, Goldsmith Street, Mackay 
  Other non-replica memorials to the Rats of Tobruk include:
  Rats of Tobruk Memorial in the Shrine of Remembrance in ANZAC Square, Brisbane 
  Toowoomba Rats Of Tobruk Memorial in East Creek Park, Margaret Street and Burstow Street, Toowoomba
caption: Rats of Tobruk Memorial, Canberra, 2014
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA", "Image Make": "OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.", "Image Model": "E-PL3", "Image XResolution": "314", "Image YResolution": "314", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Version 1.3", "Image DateTime": "2014:05:17 17:43:27", "Image Artist": "Picasa", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Copyright": "", "Image ExifOffset": "922", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 2, 0, 0]", "GPS GPSLatitudeRef": "S", "GPS GPSLatitude": "[35, 17, 134535/8192]", "GPS GPSLongitudeRef": "E", "GPS GPSLongitude": "[149, 8, 72885/2048]", "GPS GPSAltitudeRef": "0", "Image GPSInfo": "1644", "Image PrintIM": "[80, 114, 105, 110, 116, 73, 77, 0, 48, 51, 48, 48, 0, 0, 37, 0, 1, 0, 20, 0, ... ]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1918", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "7406", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/800", "EXIF FNumber": "28/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "200", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2014:05:17 07:32:36", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2014:05:17 07:32:36", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "49/32", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "8", "EXIF FocalLength": "20", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3866", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2902", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "Interoperability RelatedImageWidth": "4032", "Interoperability RelatedImageLength": "3024", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "1770", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Hard", "EXIF Sharpness": "Hard", "EXIF ImageUniqueID": "52ed23d29382b433c96200364f26dc6e"}