Reference your P.50 [1], P.51 and P.55. [2]

1. These cablegrams were referred to the Chiefs of Staff for
consideration in connection with an appreciation on Australian
Defence which they had in hand. [3] They were also engaged with
the New Zealand Chiefs of Staff on an appreciation relating to the
Anzac Area. [4] It is noted that no request for Australian troops
for Ceylon was raised by the United Kingdom Government.

2. The submission of the reports of the Chiefs of Staff on 28th
February was immediately followed by advice from the Chief of the
General Staff [5] that he had since received information that 26
of our 54 ships had already left or passed Colombo and the first
ship was due at Fremantle on 3rd March. The Chief of the General
Staff had no information of the location of the other 28 ships but
considered some of these may have been routed direct from Aden.

3. From this information he considered it impracticable to divert
anything from the first two flights now at sea owing to the
confusion of marrying up troops with equipment. Consequently the
Chief of the General Staff was of the view that if the United
Kingdom Government requested some part of the A.I.F. for
temporarily strengthening the defence of Ceylon, it could only
come from the third flight of the movement, namely two brigade
groups of the 6th Division which are embarking from Suez. You will
have seen the cablegram to the Prime Minister [6] through the
Dominions Office offering these two brigades.

CURTIN