The Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) is the oldest tank unit in the world, being formed by the British Army in 1916 during the First World War. Today, it is the armoured regiment of the British Army's 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade. Formerly known as the Tank Corps and the Royal Tank Corps, it is part of the Royal Armoured Corps.
The Royal Queensland Regiment (RQR) is a reserve light infantry regiment of the Australian Army based in Queensland. Part of the Royal Australian Infantry Corps, the regiment was established in 1960 following a reorganisation of Australia's part-time infantry regiments that saw the creation of six state-based regiments through the amalgamation of the previously existing regionally designated infantry battalions. Initially only two battalions were raised, but since then the size of the regiment has fluctuated depending upon the Army's requirements. There are currently three battalions within the regiment based at various locations throughout Queensland, all of which are assigned to the 11th Brigade.
The 9th Battalion, Royal Queensland Regiment is a Reserve light infantry battalion of the Australian Army, raised and based in the state of Queensland. It is part of the Royal Queensland Regiment and is currently attached to the 11th Brigade of the 2nd Division. 9 RQR can trace its history as far back as 1867 with the establishment Queensland Volunteer Rifle Corps, although it was not until 1911 that it was designated as the "9th Battalion". Over the course of its history, the battalion has served Australia in a number of conflicts including The Boer War, World War I and World War II, while more recently, members of the battalion have been involved in various peacekeeping operations and exercises around the Pacific region.
The Liverpool Welsh, under various guises, was a unit of Britain's Volunteer Force and Territorial Army (TA) associated with the King's Liverpool Regiment. It served as a tank regiment in the Western Desert and Italian Campaigns in the Second World War, as a security force during the Greek Civil War, and as a heavy anti-aircraft artillery regiment postwar.
The 23rd Armoured Brigade, originally formed as the 23rd Army Tank Brigade, was an armoured brigade of the British Army that saw service during the Second World War. The brigade was a 2nd Line Territorial Army (TA) formation. It was reorganised and renamed the 23rd Armoured Brigade, when it was assigned to the 8th Armoured Division, although it never operated under command of the division.
The 4th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Originally raised as part of the First Australian Imperial Force during the First World War, the battalion formed part of the 1st Brigade, attached to the 1st Division. During the war the battalion fought at Gallipoli and in the trenches on the Western Front, before being disbanded in 1919. In 1921, the battalion was re-raised as a militia unit and designated as the "4th Battalion ", adopting the designation of the Australian Rifles militia unit from which many of the battalion's recruits had come during the war. In 1930, the battalion was amalgamated with the 3rd Battalion and they remained linked until 1936, when they were delinked.
The 12th Battalion was an infantry battalion originally raised for the First Australian Imperial Force during the First World War. The battalion was recruited from Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia and formed part of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division. It served throughout the war, firstly during the Gallipoli Campaign and then on the Western Front. During the interwar years, the 12th Battalion was re-raised as a part-time military unit and during the Second World War undertook garrison duties in Australia, but did not see combat. Today its lineage is perpetuated by the 12th/40th Battalion, Royal Tasmania Regiment, a unit which continues to serve in the Australian Army Reserve.
The 17th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Although its numerical designation was bestowed upon it during World War I, the 17th Battalion can trace its lineage back to 1860, when a unit of the New South Wales Volunteer Rifles was raised in St Leonards, New South Wales. This unit has since been disbanded and reformed a number times. Through its links with the units of the colonial New South Wales defence force, the battalion's history includes service in the Sudan and South Africa. During World War I, the 17th Battalion was raised for overseas service as part of the Australian Imperial Force. Attached to the 5th Brigade, 2nd Division, the battalion was raised in 1915 and sent to Egypt initially, before taking part in the fighting at Gallipoli against the Turks. Later the battalion was sent to the Western Front in France and Belgium, where it served in the trenches as part of the Australian Corps. Throughout the course of the war, the battalion won numerous battle honours and its members received many individual awards, however, at the end of the war the battalion was disbanded in April 1919.
Until Australia became a Federation in 1901, each of the six colonies were responsible for their own defence. From 1788 until 1870 this was done with British regular forces. In all, 24 British infantry regiments served in the Australian colonies. Each of the Australian colonies gained responsible government between 1855 and 1890, and while the Colonial Office in London retained control of some affairs, and the colonies were still firmly within the British Empire, the Governors of the Australian colonies were required to raise their own colonial militia. To do this, the colonial Governors had the authority from the British crown to raise military and naval forces. Initially these were militias in support of British regulars, but British military support for the colonies ended in 1870, and the colonies assumed their own defence. The separate colonies maintained control over their respective militia forces and navies until 1 March 1901, when the colonial forces were all amalgamated into the Commonwealth Forces following the creation of the Commonwealth of Australia. Colonial forces, including home raised units, saw action in many of the conflicts of the British Empire during the 19th century. Members from British regiments stationed in Australia saw action in India, Afghanistan, the New Zealand Wars, the Sudan conflict, and the Boer War in South Africa.
The 16th Field Battery was an Australian Army Reserve unit based in Tasmania with depots at Paterson Barracks in Launceston and Derwent Barracks in Hobart until 2013, when it was reduced in size to a troop, and amalgamated with its Adelaide-based sister battery, 48 Field Battery, to form the 6th/13th Light Battery. The unit is the longest continually serving reserve artillery unit in the Australian Army.
The 31st Battalion, Royal Queensland Regiment was a Reserve infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Although it was officially formed as 31 RQR in 1965 the battalion can trace its lineage back to units formed in 1881 as part of the colonial defence forces of the state of Queensland.
The Colony of Tasmania was a British colony that existed on the island of Tasmania from 1856 until 1901, when it federated together with the five other Australian colonies to form the Commonwealth of Australia. The possibility of the colony was established when the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed the Australian Constitutions Act in 1850, granting the right of legislative power to each of the six Australian colonies. The Legislative Council of Van Diemen's Land drafted a new constitution which they passed in 1854, and it was given royal assent by Queen Victoria in 1855. Later in that year the Privy Council approved the colony changing its name from "Van Diemen's Land" to "Tasmania", and in 1856, the newly elected bicameral parliament of Tasmania sat for the first time, establishing Tasmania as a self-governing colony of the British Empire. Tasmania was often referred to as one of the "most British" colonies of the Empire.
The 2/40th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Formed in mid-1940 from personnel recruited from Tasmania, the battalion was assigned to the 23rd Brigade, which formed part of the 8th Division. After completing basic training, the 2/40th was sent to Darwin to form part of the defensive garrison there as tensions with the Japanese grew throughout 1941. Following Japan's entry into the war, the battalion was deployed to Timor as part of Sparrow Force and in early 1942 they took part in the fighting on the island against the Japanese. Outnumbered and lacking supplies, the majority of the 2/40th's personnel were captured and spent the rest of the war as prisoners of war, although some were able to wage a guerrilla campaign across the island before being withdrawn by the end of year.
The 12th Brigade was an infantry brigade of the Australian Army. Formed in 1912 as a Militia formation, it was later re-raised in 1916 as part of the all volunteer First Australian Imperial Force that was raised for overseas service during the First World War. The brigade was part of the 4th Division and fought on the Western Front until the end of the war in November 1918. During the inter-war years, the brigade was re-formed in Australia as a part-time unit; during the Second World War, it was mobilised for full-time service, but did not serve overseas, undertaking garrison duties in Australia until 1945 when it was used to raise Timor Force.
The 2/12th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army which served during World War II. Raised in late 1939 as part of the all volunteer Second Australian Imperial Force, the battalion's initial recruits were drawn primarily from the states of Queensland and Tasmania. Assigned to the 18th Brigade, the battalion completed basic training in Australia before embarking for overseas in May 1940.
The 40th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Raised in 1916 as part of the Australian Imperial Force during the First World War, the battalion was recruited completely from Tasmania as part of the 10th Brigade, 3rd Division. During the war the battalion served in the trenches along the Western Front and had the distinction of having two of its members awarded the Victoria Cross. The battalion was disbanded in 1919, however was re-raised in 1921 as part of the Citizens Force, serving as a part-time unit in Tasmania throughout the inter-war years. During the Second World War, the 40th remained in Australia until it was amalgamated with the 12th Battalion. It was disbanded in 1946, but was later re-raised in the 1950s before being subsumed into the Royal Tasmania Regiment in 1960. In 1987, it was merged into the 12th/40th Battalion, Royal Tasmania Regiment.
The 6th Military District was an administrative district of the Australian Army. During the Second World War, the 6th Military District covered all of Tasmania, with its headquarters at Hobart.
The 50th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was originally raised in Egypt in early 1916 for service during World War I, drawing a cadre of experienced personnel from the 10th Battalion. After the unit's formation, it was transferred to Europe where it took part in the fighting in the trenches of the Western Front in France and Belgium. Following the end of hostilities, the battalion was amalgamated with the 51st Battalion in early 1919 as demobilisation reduced the numbers in both battalions. In the inter war period, the battalion was briefly reformed in 1921 as a part-time unit based initially in South Australia and then later in Tasmania. At different periods it was amalgamated with both the 10th and 12th Battalions. The battalion did not see combat during World War II, being employed as garrison troops in Australia instead, and it was disbanded in mid-1945.
Major General Steven Lyndon Smith is a senior officer in the Australian Army Reserve. His career includes command at Battalion, Brigade and Divisional levels.
The Monmouthshire Regiment was a Territorial infantry regiment of the British Army. Originating in units of rifle volunteers formed in Monmouthshire in 1859, the regiment served in the Second Anglo-Boer War and both World War I and World War II before losing its separate identity in 1967.
