7th Light Horse Regiment (New South Wales)  [2nd Light Horse Brigade] Served in Egypt, Gallipoli, Sinai, Palestine Formed New South Wales September 1914 for 2nd Light Horse Brigade.  Badge displayed either unofficial or CMF.

• Departed Sydney on Ajana 19 December 1914 and Ayrshire 20 December 1914. 
  • 1st Reinforcements departed Sydney on Berrima 19 December 1914, 
  • 2nd Reinforcements departed Sydney on Saldanha 20 February 1915, 
  • 3rd Reinforcements departed Sydney on Hymettus 5 February 1915, 
  • 4th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Argyleshire 10 April 1915, 
  • 5th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Kabinga 20 May 1915, 
  • 6th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Uganda 15 June 1915, 
  • 7th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Chilka 7 June 1915, 
  • 8th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Suffolk 28 July 1915, 
  • 9th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Argyleshire 30 September 1915, 
  • 10th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Themistocles 5 October 1915, 
  • 11th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Hawkes Bay 23 October 1915, 
  • 12th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Hawkes Bay 23 October 1915, 
    • Euripedes 2 November 1915, 
    • and Persic 18 November 1915, 
  • 13th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Aeneas 20 December 1915, 
  • 14th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Malakuta 16 March 1916, 
  • 15th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Orsova 11 March 1916, 
  • 16th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Palermo 18 April 1916, 
  • 17th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Port MacQuarie 26 April 1916, 
  • 18th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Hororata 2 May 1916, 
  • 19th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Mongolia 8 July 1916, 
  • 20th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Malwa 22 July 1916, 
  • 21st Reinforcements departed Sydney on Katuna 23 November 1916, 
  • 22nd Reinforcements departed Sydney on Katuna 23 November 1916, 
  • 23rd Reinforcements departed Sydney on Boorara 10 May 1917, 
  • 24th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Boorara 10 May 1917, 
  • 25th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Boorara 10 May 1917, 
  • 26th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Boorara 10 May 1917, 
  • 27th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Port Sydney on 9 May 1917, 
  • 28th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Port Lincoln 11 June 1917, 
  • 29th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Kyarra 3 September 1917, 
  • 30th Reinforcements departed Melbourne on Commonwealth 2 November 1917, 
  • 31st Reinforcements departed Melbourne on Commonwealth 2 November 1917, 
  • 32nd Reinforcements departed Melbourne on Commonwealth 2 November 1917, 
  • 33rd Reinforcements departed Sydney on Canberra 16 November 1917, 
  • 34th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Ulysses 19 December 1917, 
  • 35th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Ormonde 2 March 1918.

Battle Honours:  

7th Light Horse Regiment

The 7th Light Horse Regiment was raised in Sydney in October 1914 from men who had enlisted in New South Wales, and became part of the 2nd Light Horse Brigade. Sailing from Sydney in late December 1914, the regiment disembarked in Egypt on 1 February 1915.

The light horse were considered unsuitable for the initial operations at Gallipoli, but were subsequently deployed without their horses to reinforce the infantry. The 2nd Light Horse Brigade landed in late May 1915 and was attached to the 1st Australian Division. The 7th Light Horse became responsible for a sector on the far right of the ANZAC line, and played a defensive role until it finally left the peninsula on 20 December 1915.

Back in Egypt, the 2nd Light Horse Brigade became part of the ANZAC Mounted Division and, in April 1916, joined the forces defending the Suez Canal from a Turkish advance across the Sinai Desert. It fought at the battle of Romani on 4 August, at Katia the following day, and was involved in the advance that followed the Turks’ retreat back across the desert.

The regiment spent late 1916 and early 1917 engaged on patrol work until the British advance into Palestine stalled before the Turkish bastion of Gaza. It was involved in the two abortive battles to capture Gaza directly (27 March and 19 April) and then the operation that ultimately led to its fall – the wide outflanking move via Beersheba that began on 31 October.

With the fall of Gaza on 7 November 1917, the Turkish position in southern Palestine collapsed. The 7th was involved in the pursuit that followed and led to the capture of Jerusalem in December. The focus of British operations then moved to the Jordan Valley. In early 1918 the 7th was involved in the Amman (24–27 February) and Es Salt (30 April–4 May) raids, and helped defeat a joint Turkish-German attack launched on the Jordan bridgehead around Musallabeh on 14 July.

The next major British offensive was launched along the coast in September 1918, and the 7th took part in a subsidiary effort east of the Jordan. It was part of the force that captured Amman on 25 September, which proved to be its last major engagement of the war; Turkey surrendered on 30 October 1918. The 7th Light Horse was employed one last time to assist in putting down the Egyptian revolt of early 1919, and sailed for home on 28 June. Text from AWM

• 165 killed, 655 wounded

• Decorations

  • 1 CMG
  • 5 DSO
  • 1 OBE
  • 7 MC
  • 8 DCM
  • 20 MM
  • 28 MID
  • 5 foreign awards