38th Battalion (Australia)

38th Battalion
Soldiers from the 38th Battalion at Guillemont, 29 September 1918
Active	1915–1919 1921–1929 1936–1944 1948–1960
Country	Australia
Branch	Australian Army
Type	Infantry
Part of	10th Brigade, 3rd Division (1915–1919)
Motto(s)	Honorem Custodite
Colours	Purple over Red
March	Sussex by the Sea
Engagements	World War I Western Front
Insignia
Unit Colour Patch

World War I

The 38th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Originally formed in 1916 for service overseas during World War I as part of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF), the battalion was recruited from the state of Victoria and formed part of the 10th Brigade, 3rd Division. It served throughout the war on the Western Front before being disbanded in 1919. During the inter-war years, the battalion was re-raised as a part-time military unit and during the World War II undertook garrison duties in Australia, but did not see combat. After the war, it was re-formed in Victoria and was eventually subsumed into the Royal Victoria Regiment, with its honours and traditions being preserved by the 8th/7th Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment.

The 38th Battalion was originally raised in early 1916 for service during World War I, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Charles Davis. Part of the all volunteer Australian Imperial Force (AIF), it formed part of the 10th Brigade, attached to the 3rd Division. Like the other units of the 3rd Division, which was formed as part of an expansion of the AIF after the Gallipoli Campaign, the battalion was raised in Australia, undertaking rudimentary training in Bendigo, Victoria, before being moved to Campbellfield, Victoria, after an outbreak of cerebro-spinal meningitis resulted in several deaths. Upon the conclusion of their initial training, the 3rd Division was transported by sea to the United Kingdom where they undertook further training before arriving on the Western Front in November 1916.