1st Royal New South Wales Lancers

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1st Light Horse Regiment (Australia)
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1st Royal New South Wales Lancers
Parramatta, New South Wales
EngagementsSecond Boer War
First World War
Second World War
Insignia

Cap badge
1st Royal New South Wales Lancers

The 1st Royal New South Wales Lancers was an

Matilda tanks, fighting the Japanese in New Guinea and Borneo
.

The Lancers was reformed after the Second World War in 1948 as a reserve formation in the

15th Northern River Lancers to create the 1st/15th Royal New South Wales Lancers, a unit which continues to serve today in the Australian Army Reserve
.

History

Second Boer War

The unit's complicated lineage included the New South Wales Lancers, which had been first formed as the New South Wales Cavalry, a reserve colonial unit in 1885 and had later served in the Second Boer War.[1][2] A half squadron of the Regiment had been in Great Britain where they participated in the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. When war was declared they were transported to South Africa. The Lancers contributed a squadron that had served under John French in Lord Roberts' army, and participated in a counter-invasion of the Orange Free State that eventually lifted the Siege of Kimberley in 1900.[3][4]

First World War and inter-war years

Sinai Desert

In August 1914, following the outbreak of the First World War, the

Sydney, as part of the raising of a 20,000-man expeditionary force known as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). The new regiment was raised mainly from volunteers of the 7th Australian Light Horse (New South Wales Lancers), an existing militia unit based in Sydney and on the New South Wales south coast.[1][2]

Unit colour patch of the 1st Light Horse Regiment

Upon establishment, the men from the 7th ALH formed the bulk of Regimental Headquarters, and A and B Squadrons, while AIF volunteers made up the remainder of the new unit. Among them were veterans of the New South Wales Lancers who had fought in South Africa.

Es Salt, before the war end in late 1918.[2]

The regiment returned to Australia in mid-1919,

Citizens Force (later known as the "Militia") after the war, the Lancers was designated as successor to the 1st Light Horse Regiment, and they consequently inherited the former unit's battle honours.[6] The regiment continued as the 1st Light Horse Regiment until 1929, its ranks augmented with conscripts. In 1929, universal service ended, and the unit was linked with the 21st Light Horse to become the 1st/21st Light Horse (New South Wales Lancers) in the wake of the Great Depression.[1] In 1935, the regiment received the prefix "Royal", while the 1st and 21st Light Horse were uncoupled the following year. The unit was subsequently converted into a motorised machine-gun regiment, and was renamed the 1st Light Horse (Machine Gun) Regiment (Royal New South Wales Lancers).[6]

Second World War

An Australian Matilda Frog flamethrower tank in Borneo, 1945.

At the start of the Second World War, due to the limitations of the Defence Act (1903), which prevented the government from sending the Militia to fight outside Australian territory, it was decided to raise an all volunteer force to serve overseas. This force was known as the

Mediterranean theatre.[1] In December 1941 the regiment became the 1st Machine Gun Regiment and was given its first operational role securing the northern Newcastle beaches as part of the Newcastle Covering Force.[6][8]

In March 1942, the regiment was again renamed, being converted to the 1st Motor Regiment.

Matilda tanks.[8] In 1943 the unit became part of the 4th Armoured Brigade and was designated as an AIF unit, thus allowing it to be deployed to any theatre of the conflict.[6] Later, after completing training in Caboolture, Queensland it deployed to New Guinea in August 1943 where it supported the 9th Division fighting the Japanese 20th Division around Lae, on the Huon Peninsula and around Finschhafen, Sattelberg and Lakona. The unit was then withdrawn to Australia in mid-1944.[6][9] During the fighting the tanks had performed well, and despite the difficult jungle terrain, the suitability of the Matilda for such operations had been proven with the Australians effectively employing combined arms tactics against which the Japanese had no effective response.[10]

On 1 June 1944, the unit was renamed the 1st Armoured Regiment.

anti-tank ditches in order to compensate for their lack of anti-tank guns. With the fighting coming to a conclusion however, tank operations ceased on 24 July.[12] In total, casualties suffered by the regiment during the war included 14 dead.[6]

Post-war era

Following the end of the war the Australian Army was

Centurion tanks. This unit continues to serve today as a part-time unit in the Australian Army Reserve, operating Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles (PMV) in the Light Cavalry (Reconnaissance) role.[1]

Battle honours

The regiment has received the following battle honours:[16]

Notes

Footnotes
  1. ^ See 1st Armoured Regiment (Australia).
Citations
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "1st RNSWL". New South Wales Lancers Memorial Museum. 2010. Archived from the original on 6 June 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d e "1st Light Horse Regiment". First World War, 1914–1918 units. Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 13 March 2011. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
  3. ^ Paterson 1934, pp. 188–9, 111–3.
  4. ^ "New South Wales Lancers". South Africa, 1899–1902 (Boer War) units. Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 31 October 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  5. ^ Grey 2008, p. 125.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "1st Armoured Regiment". Second World War, 1939–1945 units. Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 17 September 2009. Retrieved 31 October 2009.
  7. ^ Grey 2008, p. 146.
  8. ^ a b c d Hopkins 1978, p. 319.
  9. ^ Hopkins 1978, p. 128.
  10. ^ Hopkins 1978, p. 137–138.
  11. ^ Coulthard-Clark 1998, p. 254.
  12. ^ Hopkins 1978, pp. 166–173.
  13. ^ Grey 2008, pp. 200–201.
  14. ^ Hopkins 1978, p. 323.
  15. ^ Hopkins 1978, p. 183.
  16. ^ Festberg 1972, p. 39.

References

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