32nd Battalion (Australia)

32nd Battalion 32nd Battalion (Footscray Regiment)
Map reading class conducted by members of the 8th Brigade, on the Somme in July 1918
Active	1915–1919 1921–1942
Country	Australia
Branch	Australian Army
Type	Infantry
Size	~800–1,000 officers and men
Garrison/HQ	1914–19: South Australia & Western Australia 1921–42: Victoria
Motto(s)	Audax Pro Patria
Colours	White and Yellow
Engagements	First World War Western Front Second World War New Britain campaign
Insignia
Unit Colour Patch

First World War

Second World War

The 32nd Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was first raised in 1915 as part of the Australian Imperial Force and was initially made up of personnel from South Australia and Western Australia. The battalion served in France and Belgium during the First World War before being disbanded in 1919.

It was re-raised in 1921 as the "32nd Battalion (Footscray Regiment)", a unit of the part-time Militia, and between the wars the battalion served as a home defence unit in Victoria. During the Second World War the battalion was merged with the 14th Battalion to become the 14th/32nd Battalion (Prahran/Footscray Regiment), serving firstly as garrison troops in Australia and New Guinea before taking part in the fighting during the New Britain campaign. In July 1945, that battalion was disbanded.

After the war, the battalion was not re-raised in its own right when the Citizens Military Force (the forerunner to the Australian Army Reserve) was formed in 1948, however, it was raised as an amalgamated unit known as the "58th/32nd Battalion (City of Essendon Regiment)". This unit remained in existence until 1960 when it was subsumed into the Royal Victoria Regiment. The battalion's honours and traditions are now maintained by the 5th/6th Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment.

The 32nd Battalion was raised on 9 August 1915 in Mitcham, South Australia, for overseas service with the all volunteer Australian Imperial Force (AIF). Its first commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel Donald Coghill. While 'A' and 'B' Companies were made up of recruits from South Australia, 'C' and 'D' Companies were formed in Perth, Western Australia, and underwent training at the Blackboy Hill Training Camp before sailing on the transport Indarra and joining the rest of the battalion in Adelaide at the end of August. Most the battalion's recruits had previously worked as miners or farmers. After completing basic training, the battalion left Australia in November aboard the HMAT Geelong, bound for Egypt. It arrived amidst the aftermath of the failed Gallipoli campaign, which saw a reorganisation and expansion of the AIF in preparation for its dispatch to France and Belgium to take part in the fighting against the Germans along the Western Front.