61st Battalion (Cameron Highlanders of Queensland) - 1939

[slick_mick]

The 61st Battalion (Queensland Cameron Highlanders) on the march at Fraser's Paddock, Enogerra - May, 1939.

Enjoy!

Mick

[Wmr-RHB]

Question about the title. I have
61st Battalion (Queensland Cameron Highlanders)
Do you know what is correct?

[Lancer 17]

G'day Henk

Cossums 1930 to 1942 book lists the 60th Infantry battalion as the Cameron Highlanders of Queensland, unfortunately the lettering on the badge in the photograph is too hard to read.

I hope that this helps.

Regards Phil.

[Wmr-RHB]

Hello Phil,

I guess you mean the 61st (and not the 60th). Typo?

I am not sure where I got the information from. T.F. Mills Regiments .org (archieved at http://web.archive.org/web/200710110.../aargxrefn.htm) shows
61st Battalion (The Queensland Cameron Highlanders)
thus adding "The".

I have a not to good picture (see below) of the badge, but in my opinion it has
QUEENSLAND CAMERON HIGHLANDERS were the middle word is in the lower part of the scroll (beneath a 61), but I would read that in this sequence. Of course it would not be the first badge were the wording is different from the official designation.

[Lancer 17]

Hi Henk

Yes, sorry 60 is a typo so read 61. Jeff Cossum seems to add a The to the titles of quite a few Battalion names so please read the "The" with a lower case t. And sorry (again) but I cant read the lettering in your photo either and I don't have this badge.

Regards Phil.

[Wmr-RHB]

Hi Phil,

Sorry for the bad picture. But there are a several out there on the internet. Searching with "Queensland Cameron Highlanders badge" (without the "s) will give you enough that are more detailed.

Regards,

[Wmr-RHB]

BTW, I searched that search string on Google and that page alone gives you:
61 Infantry Battalion (The Cameron Highlanders of Queensland)
61st Battalion (Cameron Highlanders of Queensland)
61st Infantry (Queensland Cameron Highlanders)

I assume that more permutations are possible

Oh, when people tried to use the correct terms to avoid confusion

[fairlie63]

Australian Army Order (AAO) 237/1939 of 31 August 1939, amending AAO 175/1937 -

After "60th Battalion" insert "61st Battalion - Queensland Cameron Highlanders".

The Army List of the Australian Military Forces, Part I, Active List, 1st June 1940 -

61st Battalion (THE QUEENSLAND CAMERON HIGHLANDERS.)

So take your pick, but I would go with the Army List, particularly as AAO 175/1937, which updated and consolidated the list of territorial titles and mottos for regiments and battalions of the Citizen Military Forces, uses 'The' in its entirety for infantry battalion titles. I assume the absence of 'The' in the territorial title added for the 61st Battalion when AAO 175/1937 was amended is a clerk's error - not unknown.

Keith

[Wmr-RHB]

Thanks a lot.

Apart from the THE, I think it now pretty clear that it is not "Cameron Highlanders of Queensland" but "Queensland Cameron Highlanders".

I am glad to have that

[Lancer 17]

Thanks Keith

You always come to the rescue.

Regards Phil.

[Wmr-RHB]

Originally Posted by fairlie63

... uses 'The' in its entirety for infantry battalion titles.
Keith

Hello Keith,

Yesterday I was a bit under time pressure and did not quite value all the detail you gave here.

I checked my personal list and the 61st is about the only one where I hadn't "The". I repaired that.
Two other ones do not have "The" in my lists:
35th Battalion (Newcastle Own)
36th Battalion (St. Georges English Rifle Regiment)
I guess that adding "The" to the 36th should be done, but am not sure about the 35th.
May I ask you what AAO 175/1937 has for them?

Regards,

[fairlie63]

Henk,

The title for 35th Battalion is Newcastle's Own Regiment in AAO 175/1937 and the Army List.

The St. George's English Rifle Regiment is correct for the 36th Battalion, in both references.

Cheers, Keith

[Wmr-RHB]

Keith,

Thanks a lot!

A small, but important step in making my lineage tables more up to reality.

My personal opinion is that Australia isn't the most easy subject in this area of interest .

All the best,

[fairlie63]

No problems Henk.

There is a ready reference to Australian mounted regiments and infantry battalions 1903-1965 called "Lineage of the Australian Army" by Alfred Festberg. I think they are not uncommon. There is an updated edition as well.

This contains some errors but is the generally accepted reference work on the subject. Depending on how much detail you require there is also the Army List up until the beginning of the Second World War, and "Tables of Organisation, Location, and Distribution of the Australian Military Forces", some of which are digitalised on the National Archives of Australia website. Some Location Statements were preserved for the post WW2 period, unfortunately these are few and far between and mostly cover the 1950s. These references cover down to sub-unit level.

Keith

[Wmr-RHB]

Keith,

Thanks for the info.
I looked for Festberg. Maybe not easy to get one to the Netherlands.

My information to this date is in fact all found on-line.

Sometimes I tear my hair out. This thread lead me to go through some of my pages and I had a Wikipedia page on the 5th Infantry, AIF beside it. Differences!!! I have the Victorian Scottish as being once the 51st, Wikipedia the 52nd. I do not know where I got my 51st from. Have to investigate again.

Another source of frustration is 1918. I have a source saying that Citizens Force battalions were then 2nd (sometimes 5th) Battalions of regiments numbered after AIF Infantry Battalions. Most seem to skip this and jump to 1921 when e.g. 2nd Bn, 5th Infantry Regt was redesignated 5th Battalion (to get it's secondary title in 1927). But I can not find a definitive list of this.
Etc., Etc.

But it is only a hobby.

BTW, you can see one of my trials here: https://hcvv.home.xs4all.nl/milweb/A...try/VR-B1.html

Going down to battalion level is enough for me.