Some Government Issued Badges

Nearest Female Relative Badge	War Widows Guild Brooch	Silver War Badge	Discharged Returned Soldier Badge
Government issued badge in enamel and sterling silver issued to the wife, mother or nearest female relative of a serving soldier. Additional bars were suspended below for further individuals.	Membership badge of a Kookaburra in sterling silver, issued by the Government to the widows of men who lost their lives due to their service. Numbered on the reverse.	Awarded to service personnel who sustained a wound, or contracted sickness of disability in the course of the war as a result of which they were invalided out, or to soldiers who had retired during the course of the war.	First issued in 1916. Slight variations are indicative of a number of makers. 267,300 were issued. Numbered on the reverse but the numbers have no link withlength of service or Service Number.

[Badge information collated from Australian War Memorial, "Australians Awarded" by Clive Johnson and en.wikipedia.com]

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Abbreviations and acronyms which are underlined with dots can be expanded by moving the cursor over the term eg WIA. The cursor will change to a ? and the expansion of the abbreviation will be shown. This function is gradually incorporated into the site, replacing the earlier expansion of abbreviations. There may be a discernable delay before the expansion is first displayed.

There is also a separate list of abbreviations which is available through the menu at the top of the page or the hyperlink here.

There are a number of sources for tracing abbreviations used in Australian and New Zealand service records. Those used during World War I are most likely to be identical to British terminology and abbrevations. Those used in World War II are most likely to be similar to US terminology and abbreviations. Those used solely within Australia, especially regional Australia are often unique and can be impossible to find. Sometimes a "best guess" is the only answer.

Duplicated Pages

Some of the service information may be duplicated although individual occurences are not in the same order, use different abbreviations and are in a different hand.

This occurs when unit and headquarters records are amalgamated upon discharge or death. It may be a source for additional information concerning the event.

Service Numbers

Service numbers in Word War I were unique to the unit (e.g. Battalion) or Corps (e.g. Artillery).

If a member changed their unit or corps and the number was already in use, the number of the individual being transferred was given an aphabetic suffix - e.g. 1234A.

In World War II Service Numbers were unique to the State in which they were allotted, each State having an alphabetic prefix unique to the State, eg N12345. If the individual was allotted for overseas service, their Australian Imperial Force number was different, and an X was inserted after the State letter, eg NX 34567.

Individuals alloted for war service did not always serve oveseas, as it was a contingency measure.

For further, much detailed information about identity numbers for Service personnel, see "What's In a Number" by Graham Wilson

The following information and chronological table are a summary of the entries from the service record of Arthur Gardiner.

[Based on information in Redcoats to Cams, Ian Kuring.]

In December 1914, battalions of about 1000 men were organised into eight companies each divided into half of 60 men and then into two sections of around 30 men. Command was highly centralised with companies commanded by a Captain, half-companies by Lieutentants and sections by a Sergeant.

In early 1915 Australia reduced the number of Companies to four, but doubled their size to more than 220 men. Each rifle company had a headquarters and four platoons. Each platoon had a headquarters and four rifle sections of 10 men commanded by corporals.

From early 1916 light machineguns replaced medium machine guns and were eventually issued to each rifle platoon.

During 1917 rifle platoons were reorganised to have a light machine gun section, a rifle grenade section, a hand grenade/bombing section and a rifle assault section.

By mid 1918, the number of officers had increased to 38 but the number of other ranks had declined to 900. At the same time, the firepower of the battalion was greatly augmented with hand and rifle grenades and Lewis Guns, of which there was 34 per battalion.

Rifle, Small Magazine Lee-Enfield .303in, Mark III with sword bayonet

Raised in New South Wales the 13th Battalion was assigned to the 4th Brigade, commanded by Colonel John Monash The Colour patches of the 4th Brigade initially conformed to the 1st Division protocol, but with their later allocation to the 4th Division, upset the logical and sequential numbering sequence and the colour patch assignment of the AIF - the most logical in the history of the ADF!

The rectangle signified the First Division. The dark blue lower half indicates the fourth brigade of the 1st Division. However instead of a black upper denoting the first battalion of that brigade, in this case it is pale blue.

On August 4 1914 Great Britain declared war on Germany. Australia quickly followed the Mother Land’s call to arms. A rush of volunteers flocked to Victoria Barracks in Sydney and the Liverpool Camp south west of the city to enlist.

From the city and suburbs clerks laid down their pens, shopkeepers and shop assistants walked out of their shops, solicitors paused with their briefs, workmen downed their picks and shovels and from the countryside bushmen, farmers, graziers, shearers, woodchoppers set out on by horse drawn buggy, by train, by horse and on foot starting their journey to join a new type of army - an all volunteer army - the Australian Imperial Force.

They were assembled equipped and trained (many had served in the militia so army drill, shooting and field exercises were not new to them) and by late October the Great Convoy began assembling in ports around the country departing over the period 15-25 October 1914 bound initially for Albany in Western Australia to concentrate and pick up their escorts before crossing the Indian Ocean for the Middle East. The 4th Brigade had to wait for more shipping so they did not depart Australia until December.

By the time they arrived in Egypt in February it had been decided to conform to the British three brigade per Division structure, and to form another Division, designated the ANZAC Division, to which the 4th Brigade was added along with the New Zealand Brigade, the NZ Mounted Brigade and the 1st Austrlaian Light Horse Brigade, commanded by NZ Major General Godley.

The 4th Brigade took part in the defence of ANZAC and in August was part of the force that was to attempt to seize the heights of Sari Bar in the August Offensive.

Meanwhile the 1st Division was trying to block Turkish reinforcements on the southern approaches at Lone Pine.

Things did not go well for the Brigade in the rough and broken ground north of the Sari Bair range, at night and with no reliable communications or navigation aids, their advance faltered and then elements of the Brigade were caught in the open on exposed approaches by Turkish machine gun posts. They played no further part in what became a forlorn hope.

They also took part in the attack on Hill 60 later in the month and fared little better.

The 13th Battalion went on to serve throughout the campaign at ANZAC until the evacuation in December.

Following extraction to Egypt, it was split along with all of the Battalions in the 1st-4th Brigades to create the new Battalions of the 4th and 5th Divisions. The 4th Brigade becasme the foundation formation of the 4th Division. The 13th Battalion's 'pup' Battalion became the 45th Battalion in the 12th Brigade, also in the 4th Division.

In March 1916, the newly 'doubled' AIF began sailing for France and the Western Front. From then until 1918 the battalion was heavily involved in operations against the German Army.

The Battalion's first major action in France was at Pozieres in the Somme valley in July 1916. After Pozieres and Mouquet Farm, the 13th Battalion fought at First Bullecourt on 11 April 1917 and along with the rest of the 4th Division, sustained heavy casualties despite breaking in to the German defensive line. Supporting tanks failed and there was only limited artillery support, because the advocates of armour had convinced the higher command that the tanks would achieve surprise without artillery preparation. As they didn't even get to the start line on time in the first instance, and then after the attack was postponed they were all neutralised quickly and the German defensive barbed wire belts in front of their positions had not been cut - again.

Reinforced and recovered from the travails of Bullecourt, the 4th Division relocated north in order to take part in the Batlle of Messines on 7 June 1917, the second Allied victory on the Western Front after the Candaina success at Vimy Rodge in April. They then moved just a short distance north to the Ypres area in Belgium for the great 'Third Ypres' offensive beginninhgg in late July. Intended to clear the enemy from the high ground around the city, it was initially successful with victories at Menin Road, Polygon Wood (in which the 4th Division played a key role) and at Broodseinde Ridge, albeit with heavy casualties. However all momentum was lost and the offensive ultimately foiled by the onset of torrential rain and the mud and misery of Passchendaele.

After spending the winter in Flanders, all hell broke loose on the 21st March when the Germans launched a 'make or break' offensive primarily directed at the British 5th Army between Arras and the Somme. The AIF was rushed south to plug gaps in the crumbling British line. The AIF was 'penny packeted' across the Front - Brigades were detached from Divisions in trying to stiffen Allied resistance. The 13th Battalion and the rest of the the 4th Brigade was split from the rest of the Division and plugged into a gap in the British line at Heburterne north of Albert, while the rest of the Division defended near Dernancourt. They played a critical role in stopping a German break through towards Amiens, the key German objective on this part of the Front.

With the offensive halted by mid May, the Battalion then engaged in a phase known as 'Peaceful Penetration' by the AIF formations along the front. See the related campaign entry.

In early July, the 4th Brigade was the 4th Division’s contribution to the AIF’s demonstration of Combined Arms tactics at Le Hamel, with the 13th Battalion clearing Vaire Wood to the south of the village. A minor re-set took place ahead of the Great Allied offensive, the "Last Hundred Days" campaign beginning on the 8th August 1918 with the Battle of Amiens.

The Battalion along with the rest of the AIF, was resting 'out of the line' when the Armistice was declared on the 11th November 1918. The long process of repatriation and demobilisation began. For many, re-settling into civilian life after the turmoil of the battlefield was not a straightforward process.

Many were beset with the legacy of multiple woundings, in some casess amputations, gassing and what we now know as PTSD. Many died young, it is a staggering statistic but 50% of the men who returned from the war were dead from multiple causes within 20 years, no doubt exacerbated by the onset of the Great Depression. The effects of the war did not discriminate by rank or station in life. Others lived on to lead very productive lives rendering further service to the community, marching every Anzac Day in memory of their fallen mates until they too succumbed to the passage of time. They had lived through 'The Broken Years', so vividly described in Professor Bill Gammage's superb book of the same name.

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Battle Honours:

Albert 1918, Amiens, Ancre 1918, ANZAC, Arras 1918, Bullecourt, Defence of ANZAC, Egypt 1915-16, Epéhy, France and Flanders 1916-18, Gallipoli 1915, Hamel, Hindenburg Linbe, Landing at ANZAC, Menin Road, Messines 1917, Passchendaele, Polygon Wood, Pozieres, Sari Bair, Somme 1916 1918, Suvla, Ypres 1917

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1914-15 Star

[Extract from Ribbons and Medals: Naval, Military, Air Force and Civil, Captain H. Taprell Dorling, DSO RN,
George Philip & Son, 33 Fleet Street, London EC4, 1940]

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British War Medal 1914-20

[Extract from Ribbons and Medals: Naval, Military, Air Force and Civil, Captain H. Taprell Dorling, DSO RN,
George Philip & Son, 33 Fleet Street, London EC4, 1940]

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Victory Medal

[Extract from Ribbons and Medals: Naval, Military, Air Force and Civil, Captain H. Taprell Dorling, DSO RN,
George Philip & Son, 33 Fleet Street, London EC4, 1940]

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The ANZAC 'A'

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The Rising Sun Badge

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Wound Stripe

Army Order No.204 Headquarters, 1st A.N.Z.A.C., 9th August, 1916. (slightly amended for layout)
DISTINCTIONS FOR OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS WHO HAVE BEEN WOUNDED

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Long Service Badges

[Image from http://www.diggerhistory.info]

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Overseas Service Chevrons

[http://au.geocities.com/fortysecondbattalion/level2/reference/01nos-standards.htm]
[Image from http://www.diggerhistory.info]

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[Badge information collated from Australian War Memorial, "Australians Awarded" by Clive Johnson and en.wikipedia.com]