The Royal Western Australia Regiment is a reserve infantry regiment of the
Australian Army
The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...
consisting of two battalions, the
11th/28th Battalion and the
16th Battalion
16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. 16 is a composite number, and a square number, being 42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors, its proper divisors being , , and .
In English speech, ...
. The regiment was raised in July 1960 as part of the reorganisation of the
Australian Army Reserve
The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citizens Forces, the Citizen ...
through the amalgamation of the three existing infantry regiments in
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
:
* The City of Perth Regiment
* The Cameron Highlanders of Western Australia
* The Swan Regiment
Initially formed as a single battalion, in 1966 it was reorganised into first two, then three battalions. Two of these, the 11th Battalion and 28th Battalion were reduced to single companies in 1977, then amalgamated into the single 11th/28th Battalion in 1987.
The regiment perpetuates the traditions of three battalions of the
Australian Imperial Force:
* 11th Battalion – the 11th Battalion was raised in 1903 when the Perth Rifle Volunteers was renamed as the 11th Australian Infantry Regiment. On the outbreak of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, volunteers from the 11th Regiment were recruited into the 11th Battalion of the
Australian Imperial Force. This unit saw action in the Middle East at Gallipoli and in France before the end of the war. For its service, the battalion was awarded a
King's Colour
In military organizations, the practice of carrying colours (or colors), standards, flags, or guidons, both to act as a rallying point for troops and to mark the location of the commander, is thought to have originated in Ancient Egypt some ...
. The battalion was amalgamated with the 16th Battalion for a time, named as the 11th/16th Battalion for three years, before regaining its former title for service during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. A second battalion, 2/11th Battalion, was raised for service overseas in 1939. This saw service in North Africa,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
and
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
, where the majority of its men were captured following the
Battle of Retimo Airfield. Reformed in
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
in 1941, the 2/11th Battalion moved to New Guinea in 1943. Both war raised battalions were disbanded in 1946.
* 16th Battalion – the 16th Battalion was originally raised in September 1914. It was landed at
Gallipoli
The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...
the following year, also seeing service in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. The battalion was disbanded at the end of the war, then becoming a Citizen Military Force unit. It amalgamated with the 11th Battalion in 1930. A new 16th Battalion was raised in 1936 as the Cameron Highlanders of Western Australia. This battalion saw service in
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
,
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu
Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea).
It is a simplified version of ...
and
Borneo
Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...
before the end of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
* 28th Battalion – the 28th Battalion was raised in 1915, and saw service in the Middle East and
Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to:
Military frontiers
*Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany
*Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany
*Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...
before being disbanded in 1919. The battalion was reformed from its militia unit for the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, serving alongside the 11th Battalion in
New Britain
New Britain ( tpi, Niu Briten) is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi the Dam ...
. The
2/28th Battalion saw service overseas in North Africa, the Middle East and New Guinea. It was disbanded in 1946.
Battle honours
11th/28th Battalion
* South Africa 1899–1902
* The Great War: Pozieres, Messines, Passchendaele, Mont St.Quentin, Landing at Anzac, Somme 1916–1918, Bullecourt, Ypres 1917, Amiens, Hindenburg Line
* World War II: Capture of Tobruk, Defence of Tobruk, El Alamein, Brallos Pass, Liberation of New Guinea, Kokoda Trail, Borneo, Damour, Lae-Nadzab, Labuan
16th Battalion
* South Africa 1899–1902
* World War I: Somme 1916–1918, Pozieres, Bullecourt, Messines 1917, Ypres 1917, Polygon Wood, Passchandaele, Arras 1918, Hamel, Amiens, Albert 1918, Hindenburg Line, Epehy, France and Flanders 1916–1918, Anzac, Landing at Anzac, Defence of Anzac, Suvla, Sari Bair, Gallipoli 1915, Egypt 1915–1916
* World War II: North Africa 1941, Syria, Syrian Frontier, The Litani, Sidon, Wadi Zeini, Damour, South West Pacific 1942 – 1945, Kokoda Trail, Isurava, Eora Creek, Templetons Crossing, Efogi-Menari, Ioribaiwa, Buna-Gona, Gona, Liberation of Australian New Guinea, Ramu Valley, Shaggy Ridge, Borneo, Balikpapan, Waitavolo
Alliances
* –
The Highlanders
* –
* –
The Rifles
The Rifles is an infantry regiment of the British Army. Formed in 2007, it consists of four Regular battalions and three Reserve battalions, plus a number of companies in other Army Reserve battalions. Each battalion of The Rifles was formerly ...
See also
*
Australian Army
The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...
*
Australian Army Reserve
The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citizens Forces, the Citizen ...
*
List of Australian Army Regiments
The following is a list of current regiments of the Australian Army, listed by Corps and service type.
Armour Regular Army
*12th/16th Hunter River Lancers
*1st/15th Royal New South Wales Lancers
*4th/19th Prince of Wales's Light Horse
*3rd/9th ...
External links
Official website of the Royal Western Australia Regiment{{Australian Infantry
WA
Military units and formations established in 1960
Australian army units with royal patronage
1960 establishments in Australia
Military Units in Western Australia