'Tid-Apa' is the unit history of the 4th Anti Tank Regiment of the Royal Australian Artillery. The Regiment was raised in Victoria in late 1940 as part of the 8th Division, however, only part of the unit was dispatched to fight in the Malayan peninsular. One battery remained in Australia, firstly to serve in the defense of Darwin, and then in numerous camps in New South Wales before being unceremoniously disbanded.
     The history traces the formation of the Regiment at Puckapunyal and follows the movements of the various batteries and headquarters throughout Australia and Malaya as the war clouds gathered to the north. The Japanese onslaught down the Malayan peninsular and finally onto the Singapore Fortress is detailed from the perspective of the 4th Anti Tank Regiment. The concurrent defense preparations undertaken by the 14th Battery in Darwin are also examined.
     Before the rigors of life as Prisoners of War of the Japanese are described an overview of the Malayan campaign is provided. This helps to put into perspective the frustrations of the anti tankers as they were forced to withdraw from position to position regardless of their own highly successful actions. For many anti tankers the Fall of Singapore was followed by three and a half years of imprisonment isolated from loved ones and the outside world. These men were confronted with prolonged starvation, disease, acts of brutality and executions while forced to work as slaves for their Japanese captors.
     A great many men of the 4th Anti Tank Regiment gave their lives during World War Two. Even more suffered horribly at the hands of the Japanese and still carry the resultant mental and physical burden. But there remains to this day a bond of strength and friendship, not only among the men but also with their loved ones. This bond has enabled them to triumph over all adversities. It is to honour these people and to record the achievements of a short lived unit, together with some of its humour and tragedy, that this history has been written.