Australian Army Museum of Western Australia > Records

Inter-War, Western Australia, Swanbourne, 44 Battalion, (West Australian Rifles)1939

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1939

Overview

Militia, 44 Battalion, Swanbourne, 1939

Historical information

The 44th Battalion was an infantry unit of the Australian Army. Raised at Claremont, Western Australia, in February 1916, the battalion formed part of the 11th Brigade, which was part of the 3rd Division, which was formed as part of an expansion of the all-volunteer Australian Imperial Force (AIF). The battalion fought in the trenches along the Western Front in France and Belgium between late 1916 and 1918, before disbanding at the conclusion of hostilities.
In 1921, Australia's part-time military force was reorganised to perpetuate the numerical designations of the AIF, and the 44th Battalion was re-raised at this time, drawing personnel from the 16th, 28th and 51st Infantry Regiments. Through its link with these units, the battalion inherited the theatre honour "South Africa 1899–1902". Despite the widespread Defence cutbacks that occurred in the 1920s and 1930s, the battalion remained in existence throughout the Great Depression, even when other units were amalgamated as manpower became scarce. In 1927, the battalion adopted the title of the "West Australian Rifles. The majority of the battalion was based in Perth during this time, but a single company was raised at Bunbury.[15]
During World War II, it undertook garrison duties in Australia and was later gazetted as an AIF unit after the majority of its personnel volunteered to do so, it was never Post World War II the 44th was amalgamated with the 11th Battalion, before being subsumed into the Royal Western Australia Regiment in 1960.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-32-AMWA30212

Item type

Photographs

Themes

War and Conflict

Width

199 mm

Height or length

250 mm

Contextual Information