Unofficial history of the Australian & New Zealand Armed Services 

 Search  &  Help Recruits Military History Hall of Heroes Indigenous Slouch hat + ARMY Today Uniforms Badges

 Colours & Flags Weapons Food Equipment Assorted Medals Armour Navy Air Power 

Nurses - Medical Tributes Poetry - Music Posters & Signs Leaders The Enemy Humour Links Killing Anzac

Click to escape. Subject to Crown Copyright
Category: Colour Patches

Click to go up one level

In WW1 Railways units were part of the Engineers but are shown here separately as current-day visitors to the site are unlikely to look in the Engineers section for Railway Operating Companies.

1st Light Railway Operating Company (Victoria)
Formed Victoria December 1916 as 2nd Section, Australian Railway Troops. Departed Melbourne Ballarat 19 February 1917 and torpedoed by a submarine en route 27 March 1917. Arrived Devonport, England 25 April 1917. Redesignated 55th Broad Gauge Railway Operating Company April 1917 and 15th Light Railway Operating Company August 1917. Renamed 1st Light Railway Operating Company 28 February1918.
England, Western Front

2nd Light Railway Operating Company
Formed Australia January 1917 as 5th Section, Australian Railway Troops. Arrived England 21 July 1917. Redesignated 16th Light Railway Operating Company July 1917. Arrived France 4 October 1917. Renumbered 2nd Light Railway Operating Company 28 February1918.
England, Western Front

3rd Light Railway (Forward) Company
Formed France 11 June 1917 as 17th Anzac Light Railway Operating Company. Renamed 3rd Light Railway Operating Company March 1918. Reorganised as a forward company and redesignated 3rd Light Railway (Forward) Company 19 September 1918.
Western Front

4th Broad Gauge Railway Operating Company (Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania)
Formed Australia December 1916 as 4th Section, Australian Railway Troops. Arrived England 20 July 1917. Redesignated 35th Broad Gauge Railway Operating Company July 1917. Arrived France 4 September 1917. Renumbered 4th Broad Gauge Railway Operating Company March 1918.
England, Western Front

5th Broad Gauge Railway Operating Company (Western Australia)
Formed Australia December 1916 as 3rd Section, Australian Railway Troops. Departed Fremantle Militiades 29 January 1917. Arrived Bordon, England 27 March 1917. Redesignated 59th Broad Gauge Railway Operating Company April 1917. Arrived Le Havre, France 12 May 1917. Renumbered 5th Broad Gauge Railway Operating Company March 1918.
England, Western Front

6th Broad Gauge Railway Operating Company (New South Wales)
Formed Australia December 1916 as 1st Section, Australian Railway Troops. Arrived England 11 April 1917. Redesignated 60th Broad Gauge Railway Operating Company April 1917. Arrived France 14 April 1917. Renumbered 6th Broad Gauge Railway Operating Company March 1918.
England, Western Front

many details on this page from Ross Mallett's site

Statistics : Over 35 million page visitors since  11 Nov 2002  

 

Email  

 Search   Help     Guestbook   Get Updates   Last Post    The Ode      FAQ     Digger Forum

Click for news

Digger History:  an unofficial history of the Australian & New Zealand Armed Forces