Provost Units (cont'd) and other assorted AIF Units & services

Australian Army Provosts Corps (cont'd)

Australian New Guinea Admin Unit ANGAU

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Australian Army Provosts Corps (cont'd)

• 1480. 4th Aust. Division Provost Company: Auth. AAO 148/1941, 30.11.1941. Despite the existence of a CCF supplied sample, the manufacture of this design in some quantity in Western Australia in the post 1942 period, and the retention of obsolete 9th Aust. Division Provost Company patches (No. 1486) for AIF personnel of this unit, this colour patch was not worn at any stage by the 4th Aust. Division Provost Company. HQ 3rd Aust. Corps advised LHQ on 11.1.1943 that the colour patch being worn at that point was that of Headquarters, 4th Aust. Division (No. 421), and former members of the unit have confirmed that No. 421 was worn from the formation of the unit, and continued to be worn when it was reorganized as 20th Aust. Independent Brigade Group Provost Platoon in May 1945. (Telephone discussion with Mr. Alan Tumley on 26.4.1996.)
• 1481. 5th Aust. Division Provost Company, 1942-1945: Auth. AAO 148/1941, 30.11.1941. Raised in May 1942 by redesignation of Northern Command Provost Company. Disbanded in October 1945.
• 1482. 6th Aust. Division Provost Company: This design was submitted for approval by the GOC 2nd AIF in February 1940 and a trial example was produced by the CCF. This design was not adopted, partially because of difficulty in manufacture, but primarily due to opposition to the boomerang shape being used on a colour patch. (An example of this patch is held with the relative correspondence in AA(Vic): MP 508/1, item 36/756/63.)
• 1483. 6th Aust. Division Provost Company, 1940-1945: Ref. AHQ(DOS) Memo No. 14456, 13.3.1940. This design was actually submitted by the Assistant Manager of the CCF as being more suitable from the manufacturing point of view than No. 1482. It was accepted by the Military Board and the GOC 2nd AIF, however the period of first issue is not known and is possibly as late as September 1940.
• 1484. 7th Aust. Division Provost Company, 1940-1945: Ref MGO Branch Line Drawings, p.21. There is no evidence that approval was given for this patch until late September at least, the GOC 7th Aust. Division advising on 21.9.1940 that patches had not been issued to this unit.
• 1485. 8th Aust. Division Provost Company, 1940-1945: Ref. MGO Branch Line Drawings, p.21. Also worn by staff of the AIF Detention Barrack Room, Malaya, 1941-1945. Captured in Singapore in February 1942.
• 1486. 9th Aust. Division Provost Company, 1941-1942: To Benghazi, Long, Appx 4. Formed in March 1941 from personnel of Australforce Provost Unit. Superseded by No. 1487 in December 1942.
• 1487. 9th Aust. Division Provost Company, 1942-1946: Auth. GRO 225/1943, 12.3.1943.
• - 10th Aust. Division Provost Company, 1942: No colour patch was approved for this unit. Raised in January 1942 as Newcastle Covering Force Provost Company, was redesignated in April 1942, and in December 1942 formed 1st Aust. Division Provost Company.
• 1488. 11th Aust. Division Provost Company: Formed by redesignation of Milne Force Provost Company in January 1943. HQ New Guinea Force records submitting a sample of this patch to LHQ for approval in January 1943 however this appears to have been mislaid and in any case approval was not subsequently given.
• 1489. 11th Aust. Division Provost Company: Example, J.A. Ryan Collection, AWM. It is believed that this design was submitted to LHQ for approval in February and October 1944. It was not approved and there is no evidence that it was worn.
• - 12th Aust. Division Provost Company: Formed by redesignation of Northern Territory Force Provost Company in January 1943. On 4.9.1942 approval was requested for a colour patch for NT Force Provost Company, and while there is no official evidence that it was given, stocks of patches for 'N.T. Force Provost' were held in 2 BOD at Broadmeadows in early 1947. In October 1943 the personnel of this unit were transferred to 2nd Aust. Army Provost Company, which was subsequently redesignated 12th Aust. Division Provost Company in January 1944 and was disbanded in March 1946. In August 1944, HQ 2nd Aust. Army requested information from LHQ in relation to the colour patch to be worn by 12th Aust. Division Provost Company. Unfortunately no further information is available in relation to any patch worn by this unit.
• 34th Aust. Infantry Brigade Provost Company, 1946-1948: Wore No. 1658.
• Torres Strait Provost Platoon, 1943-1945: Allotted No. 1469 circa November 1943. Raised in April 1943 and was absorbed by 12th Aust. Division Provost Company in June 1945.
• 3rd Aust. Infantry Brigade Provost Platoon, 1942: Wore No. 793. Raised as HQ 3rd Infantry Brigade Provost and Defence Platoon, disbanded in mid 1942.
• 12th Aust. Independent Brigade Group Provost Platoon, 1942-1944: Understood to have worn the colour patch of HQ 12th Aust. Infantry Brigade (No. 803). Raised in July 1942 and was absorbed by 3rd Aust. Armoured Division Provost Company in February 1944.
• 17th Aust. Independent Brigade Group Provost Platoon, 1944-1945: No colour patch was worn by this unit until the introduction of No. 1658. Raised in April 1944 as part of 2nd Aust. Beach Group, and was absorbed by 7th Aust. Division Provost Company in November 1945.
• 18th Aust. Independent Brigade Group Provost Platoon, 1944-1945: Allotted No. 401 by LHQ Memo No. 79336, 11.6.1944. Raised in June 1944 as part of the AIF(UK) Reception Group.
• 19th Aust. Independent Brigade Group Provost Platoon, 1945: Raised on 8.1.1945 from personnel of 11th Aust. L of C Sub-Area Independent Provost Platoon, and is believed to have retained No. 1505.
• 20th Aust. Independent Brigade Group Provost Platoon, 1945: Raised in May 1945 from the 4th Aust. Division Provost Company and wore No. 42 1. Disbanded in December 1945.

Note: The 21st, 22nd, 23rd and 24th Aust. Independent Provost Platoons were raised in 1945 and wore No. 1658. No patches are yet known for the 13th and l4th Aust. Independent Brigade Group Provost Platoons.

• 1490. 1st Cavalry Division Provost Squadron, 1942; 
  • 1st Aust. Motor Division Provost Company, 1942: Auth. AAO 148/1941, 30.11.1941. Redesignated 3rd Aust. Armoured Division Provost Company in November 1942.
• 1491. 2nd Cavalry Division Provost Squadron, 1941-1942; 
  • 2nd Aust. Motor Division Provost Company, 1942: Auth. AAO 148/1941, 30.11.1941. Superseded by No. 1494 in August 1942.
• 1492. (a) 1st Aust. Armoured Division Provost Company, 1942-1946: Ref. MGO Branch Line Drawings, p.21. It is believed that this colour patch was approved and supplied as early as March 1941 but was not issued until the unit was raised in February 1942. Fake patches, comprising a grey tank shaped inset superimposed on Western Australian manufactured examples of this patch have been seen. The unit was disbanded in April 1946.
  • (b) 1st Aust. Armoured Brigade Provost Platoon, 1943-1944: Raised in
    December 1943 from personnel of 1st Aust. Armoured Division Provost Company,
    and was absorbed by 3rd Aust. Corps Provost Company in September 1944.
• 1493. 1st Aust. Armoured Brigade Provost Platoon: A Western Australian manufactured design which was not adopted by the unit, although approval is believed to have been sought from LHQ in December 1943.
• 1494. (a) 2nd Aust. Motor Division Provost Company, 1942-1943; 
  • 2nd Aust. Motor Division Independent Brigade Group Provost Platoon, 1943: Auth. GRO 301/1942, 7.8.1942. Disbanded in June 1943.
  • (b) 6th Aust. Armoured Brigade Provost Platoon, 1942-1943: Raised in July 1942 by redesignation of 6th Aust. Motor Brigade Provost Section, and formed part of 2nd Aust. Motor Division Provost Company, although Routine Orders Part II were published separately for the unit. Disbanded in February 1943.
• 1495. (a) 3rd Aust. Armoured Division Provost Company, 1943-1945: Auth. GRO 165/1943, 19.2.1943. Formed by redesignation of 1st Aust. Motor Division Provost Company in November 1942 and was disbanded in May 1945.
  • (b) 15th Aust. Independent Brigade Group Provost Platoon, 1944-1945: Ref. 1st Aust. Corps Minute G/3360/SD dated 21.5.1944. Raised from personnel of 3rd Aust. Armoured Division Provost Company in April 1944 for 1st Aust. Beach Group. Superseded by No. 1658 in early 1945.
• 1496. 3rd Aust. Army Tank Brigade Provost Platoon, 1943: Auth. GRO 375/1943, 7.5.1943. Raised in October 1942 from personnel of 15th Company AASC and was absorbed by 2nd Aust. Army Provost Company on 31.7.1943. The initial order for this colour patch was submitted to Braeside Pty Ltd on 11.2.1943, and examples from this manufacturer are woven. A CCF supplied example in facing cloth exists although it is unlikely that they were produced for issue by the CCF. NSW supplied examples are in compressed felt and are smaller in size.
• 1497. 4th Aust. Armoured Brigade Provost Platoon, 1943-1945: Auth. GRO 310/1943, 16.4.1943. Raised in February 1943 from personnel of the 2nd Aust. Motor Division Provost Company and was disbanded in December 1945. Appendix 'B', 4th Aust. Armoured Brigade War History, (AWM 54, item 89/3/5.) shows this colour patch with red in place of black, however this is believed to be an error and no examples have been sighted of this variation.

• 1498. Aust. Base and Line of Communication Area Units, 1940-1943: Auth. Colour chart promulgated with AHQ(DOS) Memo No. 70030, 21.10.1940. Allotted to 2/1st, 2/2nd, and 2/3rd Aust. Provost Companies (L of C). See also Detention Barracks.
  • Note: It should be noted that no authorities have been located for the following eight colour patches however they are stated to have been approved by MGO Minute B6104, Schedule B, dated 26.1.1944. This is not an authority but simply lists the colour patches approved for the Aust. Army Provost Corps and five other major Arms as at that date. (Department of the Army (MGO Registry) File 36/2/4 1, dated 26.1.1944.) It is unlikely that they were issued prior to the end of 1942. Stocks of all these patches were held by 2 Base Ordnance Depot in early 1947.
• 1499. Provost Companies, Queensland L of C Area, 1943-1945: 1st, 2/3rd, and 7th.
• 1500. Provost Companies, NSW L of C Area, 1943-1945: 2nd, 8th, and 9th.
• 1501. Provost Companies, Victoria L of C Area, 1943-1945: 3rd and 10th.
• 1502. South Australia L of C Provost Company, 1943-1945:
• 1503. 5th Aust. L of C Provost Company, 1943-1945:

• 1504. 6th Aust. L of C Provost Company, 1943-1945:
• 1505. Provost Units, Northern Territory L of C Area, 1943-1945: 
  • NT L of C Provost Company and 
  • 11th Aust. L of C Sub-Area Independent Provost Platoon.
• 1506. Provost Companies, New Guinea L of C Area, 1943-1945: 2/2nd and 10th.
• - 1st Aust. Provost Company, 1947-1949: Wore No. 1658. Raised in Japan in September 1947 from the 23rd and 24th Aust. Independent Provost Platoons, and was reorganized as BCOF Provost Unit in March 1949.
  

Detention Barracks

Personnel on the staff of detention barracks in Australia wore the colour patch of the headquarters of the L of C Area to which they were allotted. This has been confirmed in the case of 8th Aust. Detention Barracks (Geelong, Victoria) by a former member of the staff of that unit. Detention Barracks and Guard Compounds were transferred to the Aust. Army Military Prisons and Detention Barracks Service in May 1943.

Aust. Base and L of C Area Units, 1940-1943: Some confusion exists regarding these units. The colour chart promulgated with AHQ(DOS) Memo No. 70030 of 21.10.1940 distinctly shows No. 1498 as being allotted to detention barracks, as well as provost companies, of the Aust. Overseas Base Sub-Area, however the cover sheet of the memo itself advises that detention barracks were to wear the patch of HQ Aust. Overseas Base Sub-Area (No. 430). No reference is made to detention barracks by AIF(ME) Order No. 179 of 17.1.1941 which lists those units which were to wear No. 430, and it is assumed that they retained No. 1498 until their return to Australia.

• 1507. 3rd Aust. Detention Barracks, AIF(ME), 1942-1943: No authority located to date,
  and stocks returned from the Middle East in early 1943 were stated to be obsolete by LHQ Memo No. 148131, 31.8.1943. This unit was raised in the Middle East in November 1941 from personnel of the 1st Aust. Detention Barracks. Note: All issued colour patches of this design measured 2 inches by I and 1/2 inches. Examples measuring 2 and 1/2 inches by I and 1/2 inches are reproductions.
• 1508. AIF Detention Camp, United Kingdom, 1940-1941: No authority located, all
  examples are of distinctive UK manufacture.

Special Investigation Branch and Special Investigation Branch (Maritime Group), 1943-1948: The various units and detachments of this branch are believed to have been allotted the colour patch of LHQ or the headquarters of the formation to which they were attached for duty. Many personnel in fact continued to wear the colour patch of the unit to which they had previously belonged.

• 1509. Unidentified: Military Heraldry Collection, AWM, in facing cloth.
• 1510. Provost Companies (Command and District): Thought to be circa early 1942, of CCF manufacture, in response to a request by the Provost-Marshal for a design to be approved for these units similar to those for divisional provost units introduced at the end of November 1941. There is no evidence that this design was produced for issue.
• 1511-1515. Reserved.

Raised in August 1941 and was disbanded in 1947. Re-raised in 1950 as the Women's Australian Army Corps and became the Women's Royal Australian Army Corps in 1951. Members of the AWAS wore the colour patch of the unit or formation headquarters to which they were posted for duty. Auth. GRO 310/1942, 14.8.1942, and GRO 169/1943, 26.2.1943. The identity of their particular service was maintained by the wearing of the title 'AWAS' in cloth or blackened metal on the shoulder straps of the uniform. 

• The only units which existed of this service were of an administrative nature, comprising: 
  • AWAS Barracks; 
  • Women's Army Service Administrative Cadres; 
  • Army Women's Services Composite Units. 
  • Personnel of 2nd Aust. Army Women's Services Composite Unit, serving in Tasmania L of C Area, are known to have worn the LHQ colour patch (No. 401).
• 1516.'Z' Aust. Special Unit: An unofficial colour patch worn circa late 1943 by AWAS personnel serving as typists and stenographers with the unit at Victoria Barracks, Melbourne. The author Loma Ollif refers to them in her history of the AWAS, (Women in Khaki, Loma Ollif, Ollif Publishing Co., Sydney, 1981.) stating that they were ordered to replace them with the LHQ colour patch (No. 401) as they were "...exciting comment and enquiry...", (ibid page 174) something the unit could not afford in its clandestine warfare role. An illustration of this patch appears in an incomplete history of colour patches undertaken by the late Alfred Festburg, with the statement that the details were supplied by Loma Ollif in 1984 to the Victorian Branch of the Military History Society of Australia. This branch advised me however in July 1997 that no details of this patch could be located in their records.

Brigade and Area recruiting staffs wore the colour patch of their respective L of C Area headquarters between 1942 and 1946.

Personnel of 2nd Echelon and L of C Area Records Offices wore the colour patch of LHQ or their respective L of C Area headquarters between 1942 and 1944. On 2.8.1944 an LHQ 2nd Echelon memo, No. 040245, directed that all personnel of the 2nd Echelon organization were to wear the LHQ colour patch (No. 40 1). This was consequent on the redesignation of L of C Area Records Offices as Queensland, etc, Echelon and Records, and New Guinea Advanced 2nd Echelon  (GRO A.241/1944, 30.6.1944.) and their reclassification as LHQ units.

Raised in 1940 as the Australian Army Graves Service. Units and personnel of this service were directed to wear the colour patch of the headquarters of the formation to which they were allotted. Authorities include: AHQ(DOS) Memo No. 70030, 21.10.1940, for units of the 2nd AIF; AIF(ME) Order No. 179, 17.1.1940, for 1st Aust. Graves Registration and Enquiries Unit; Minute, Director of Personnel Services, 15.9.1942,'69 for the service as a whole. Redesignated as the Australian War Graves Service on 10.7.1944. (GRO G.239/1944, 30.6.1944.)

Units included Graves Registration and Enquiries Units, and Graves Maintenance Details, redesignated War Graves Units, and War Graves Maintenance Details respectively on 10.7.1944. By March 1945 the service comprised War Graves Maintenance Units, War Graves Units, HQ War Graves Groups, and HQ War Graves Service (Middle East). Its functions were taken over by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission soon after the end of the Second World War.

Formed on 2.7.1943. GRO 490/1943, 2.7.1943. Members of this service were directed to wear the colour patch of the unit or formation headquarters to which they were attached or posted. Auth. GRO 735/1943, 29.10.1943. Included LHQ Pool AA Edn Svce; Aust. Book Depot; Correspondence Branches.

Originally formed in June 1942 as the Amenities Staff from personnel of the Physical and Recreational Training Staffs. (GRO A. 114/1942, 19.6.1942.) The Australian Army Amenities Service was created on 9.4.1943. (GRO A.281/1943, 9.4.1943.) Personnel of the service were directed to wear the colour patch of the formation headquarters or unit to which they were allotted. Auth. GRO 301/1943, 16.4.1943.

Units of the service comprised: AMF Concert Parties; Divisional, Force, and L of C Concert Parties; 30 Club Concert Party; Aust. Cinema Unit; Aust. Entertainment Unit; 1st Aust. Broadcasting Control Unit. All concert parties were disbanded on 24.3.1945.

• 1517. AIF Entertainment Unit: A design submitted for approval in June 1941. Although it was rejected, some samples were manufactured by Murdoch's Ltd of Sydney, and a miniature example has also been noted. This unit was directed to wear No. 404 by AHQ(DOS) Memo No. 42036,23.6.1941.
• 1518. AIF (Middle East) Entertainment Group, 1942-1943: Auth. HQ AIF(ME) Memo No. 3800, 9.3.1942. Reorganized as AMF Concert Party No. 2 on its return to Australia.

Formed on'5.1.1945 (GRO A.7/1945, 5.1.1945.) by absorbing the AAG Psychology Service, LHQ, and personnel of Psychology Testing Sections and Aptitude Testing Sections which were disbanded on 5.1.1945. Units of the AA Psych Service were LHQ units and as such were directed to wear No. 401. Auth. GRO 7/1945, 5.1.1945. Became the Aust. Army Psychology Corps in 1952.

Formed in May 1943, (GRO A.384/1943, 14.5.1943.) assuming responsibility for all detention barracks and guard compounds from the Aust. Army Provost Corps. Military prisons were not established in Australia. Personnel wore the colour patch of the headquarters of the L of C area to which their unit was allotted. Eastern Command Detention Barracks, raised at Holsworthy in July 1941, became 5th Aust. Detention Barracks in June 1943, and was retained as part of the post war regular army, becoming 2nd Military District then Eastern Command Detention Barracks in 1947. It was reorganized as the 1st Military Corrective Establishment (presently the Defence Force Corrective Establishment) in July 1948.

Remount squadrons, although shown separately on the Order of Battle as part of the Remount Service, wore the colour patches allotted to L of C Area horsed transport and remount units of the AASC. Remount sections attached to veterinary hospitals were part of the Aust. Army Veterinary Corps and wore the patch appropriate to that Corps. Personnel posted to formation headquarters as representatives of the Remount Service wore the patch of that headquarters.

The Army Postal Service was the responsibility of the Quartermaster-General's Branch of AHQ and was not maintained during peacetime. Immediately prior to the outbreak of the Second World War it became the responsibility of the Royal Australian Engineers and on the outbreak of war was established as a separate directorate at AHQ. Postal units for the 2nd AIF commenced raising on 13.11.1939 however postal functions for units and formations in Australia remained largely in the hands of the Postmaster-General's Department and unit appointed postal orderlies at that stage. Formation of postal units for formations of the Home Forces commenced in 1941 and at that point postal orderlies of units with a strength exceeding three hundred personnel became members of the Aust. Army Postal Service.

The eventual proliferation of units and personnel performing postal functions at all levels led, in April 1943, to the adoption of two basic colour patches for all personnel and units of the service regardless of the formation to which they belonged. Second AIF postal units were initially allotted the patch of their formation headquarters, (AHQ (DOS) Memo No. 70030,21.10.1940, AA(Vic.): MP 508/1, item 36/756/63.) 176 ironically an attempt by HQ 1st Aust. Corps to introduce a single colour patch for all units and personnel of the AIF Postal Corps in mid 1940 was rejected by the Military Board, who argued in part that if a single colour patch was worn there would be no means of distinguishing the wearer's parent formation. Red and white were the colours of the civilian Postmaster-General's Department, from ' which many members of the AA Postal Service were drawn, and had long been used by the British Army postal services.

• AHQ Postal Training Depot, 1940-1942: No colour patch known.
• LHQ Postal Unit: Allotted No. 1543 by LHQ(DAPS) Memo No. 114754, 30.9.1942, and it is noted in use with this unit by 4.12.1942. Superseded by No. 1545 in April 1943. The unit was raised in early 1942 as AHQ, later GHQ, Postal Unit, and was disbanded in March 1946.
• First Aust. Army Postal Unit: Allotted No. 1543 by LHQ (DAPS) Memo No. 114754, 30.9.1942, but this patch may not have been worn, HQ 1st Aust. Army submitting their own preferred design on 5.11.1942. No. 1545 was worn by the unit from April 1943. Raised on 2.5.1942 from personnel of Southern Command Postal Unit and was disbanded in January 1946.
• Second Aust. Army Postal Unit: Allotted No. 1543 by LHQ(AG) Memo No. 108134, 17.9.1942, which was superseded by No. 1545 in April 1943. The unit was raised on 5.5.1942 and was disbanded on 2.8.1944, many of its personnel transferring to 3rd Aust. Base Postal Unit.
• 1519. 1st Aust. Corps Postal Unit, 1941-1943: Auth. AIF Order (ME) No. 185, 24.1.194 1.
  Raised in July 1940, redesignated 2nd Aust. Corps Postal Unit on 5.6.1944.
• 1520. 2nd Aust. Corps Postal Unit, 1942-1943: Auth. GRO 206/1942, 17.7.1942.
  Redesignated 1st Aust. Corps Postal Unit on 5.6.1944.
• 1521. 3rd Aust. Corps Postal Unit, 1942-1943: Auth. GRO 206/1942, 17.7.1942. Raised
  on 1.6.1942, disbanded in June 1944.
• 1522. New Guinea Force Postal Unit, 1942-1943: Auth. GRO 370/1942, 4.9.1942.
  Raised in June 1942 by redesignation of 8th Military District Field Postal Unit, and
  was redesignated 5th Aust. L of C Postal Unit in October 1943.
• 1523. 1st Aust. Division Postal Unit, 1941-1943: Auth. AAO 148/1941, 30.11.1941.
  Raised in October 1941, disbanded in November 1944.
• 1524. 2nd Aust. Division Postal Unit, 1941-1943: Auth. AAO 148/1941, 30.11.1941.
  Raised in December 1941, disbanded in early 1944.
• 1525. 3rd Aust. Division Postal Unit, 1941-1943: Auth. AAO 148/1941, 30.11.1941.
  Raised on 7.1.1941, disbanded in January 1946.
• 1526. 4th Aust. Division Postal Unit, 1941-1943: Auth. AAO 148/1941, 30.11.1941.
  Raised on 5.11.1941, disbanded in mid 1945.
• 1527. 5th Aust. Division Postal Unit, 1942-1943: Auth. AAO 148/1941, 30.11.1941. Raised in May 1942 by redesignation of Northern Command Field Postal Unit, disbanded in October 1945.
• 1528. 6th Aust. Division Postal Unit, 1941-1943: Auth. AIF Order (ME) No. 185, 24.1.1941. Raised in November 1939, disbanded in December 1945.
• 1529. 7th Aust. Division Postal Unit, 1941-1943: Auth. AIF Order (ME) No. 185, 24.1.1941. Raised on 29.6.1940, disbanded in November 1945.
• 1530. 8th Aust. Division Postal Unit, 1941-1945: Although no authority has been located, stocks of patches for this unit were still held by 2 BOD in early 1947 and numerous references to it occur in DAPS correspondence during 1942. (AA(Vic): MP 508/1, item 36/756/25.) Raised in July 1940 and was captured in Singapore in February 1942.
• 1531. 9th Aust. Division Postal Unit, 1941-1942: Auth. AIF Order (ME) No. 185, 24.1.1941. Raised in January 1941 from personnel of Australforce Postal Unit. This patch was superseded by No. 1532 in December 1942.
• 1532. 9th Aust. Division Postal Unit, 1942-1945: Auth. GRO 225/1943, 12.3.1943.
  Disbanded in late 1945.
• - 10th Aust. Division Postal Unit, 1942: A design incorporating an upright ellipse was considered for approval in mid 1942, however the unit was disbanded in September 1942 prior to any action being taken on this proposal. Raised in March 1942 as Newcastle Covering Force Postal Unit and was redesignated in April 1942.

• 1533. 11th Aust. Division Postal Unit: A sample of this design was submitted for approval by HQ NG Force in January 1943 but was mislaid before any action could be taken on it. The unit was allotted No. 1544. Initially raised in October 1942 as Milne Force Postal Unit, and was redesignated in January 1943.
• 1534. 11th Aust. Division Postal Unit: Example, J.A. Ryan Collection, AWM, of NSW manufacture. There is no reference in the extensive DAPS correspondence files to this colour patch design being submitted for approval.
  • 12th Aust. Division Postal Unit: Raised in May 1942 as Northern Territory Force Postal Unit from personnel of 7th MD Field Postal Unit and 7th MD Base Postal Unit, and was redesignated in December 1942. There is no evidence that any colour patch was worn until the introduction of No. 1544. The unit was disbanded in mid 1944.
  • Infantry Brigade Postal Sections, 1944-1945: These sections were raised by giving unit status to brigade field post offices of divisional postal units, with an establishment of four all ranks, divisional postal units being reduced in strength accordingly. No. 1544 was worn by these units.
• 1535. 1st Cavalry Division Postal Unit, 1941-1942; 
  • 1st Aust. Motor Division Postal Unit, 1942: Auth. AAO 148/1941, 30.11.1941. Raised on 23.2.1941 and was redesignated 3rd Aust. Armoured Division Postal Unit in November 1942.
• 1536. 2nd Cavalry Division Postal Unit, 1941-1942: Auth. AAO 148/1941, 30.11.1941.
  Raised on 30.5.1941, redesignated 2nd Aust. Motor Division Postal Unit in May 1942.
• 1537. 2nd Aust. Motor Division Postal Unit, 1942: Auth. GO 18/1942, 31.5.1942.
  Approved to replace No. 1536 as a result of a request submitted on 16.2.1942.
  Superseded by No. 1538 in August 1942.
• 1538. (a) 2nd Aust. Motor Division Postal Unit, 1942-1943: Auth. GRO 301/1942,
  7.8.1942. Disbanded in February 1943.
  • (b) 6th Aust. Armoured Brigade Postal Unit, 1942-1943: Disbanded in February
    1943.
• 1539. 1st Aust. Armoured Division Postal Unit, 1942-1943: Although no official authority
  or reference in DAPS correspondence has been located for this patch, worn examples
  of CCF manufacture have been noted and substantial quantities were supplied from
  local sources in Western Australia. There is as yet no evidence that it was worn by the
  unit while it was serving in WA.
• 1540. 1st Aust. Armoured Division Postal Unit: Example noted to date is of CCF manufacture, in compressed felt, and is believed to have been supplied in lieu of the design submitted for approval as No. 1552. There is no evidence that it was ever issued. The unit was raised on 16.1.1942 and was redesignated 1st Aust. Armoured Brigade Postal Unit in October 1943.
• 1541. Force Postal Unit, AIF in United Kingdom, 1940-1941: Also known as Australforce
  Postal Unit, raised in June 1940 and redesignated 9th Aust. Division Postal Unit in January 1941. A Postal Unit, Fixed Echelon, AIF in UK, also existed in conjunction with Australforce Postal Unit although it has not been possible to establish if it also wore this patch. It should be noted that a divisional and a base postal unit were raised in Australia for service in the UK but were subsequently disbanded when they arrived in the Middle East enroute to England.
• 1542. HQ AIF, Base, and Line of Communication Postal Units, AIF(ME), 1941-1943: Auth. AIF(ME) Order No. 185, 24.1.1941. To be worn by 1st and 2nd Aust. Base Postal Units AIF(ME); Base Postal Unit, Malaya; 2/1st and 2nd Aust. L of C Postal Units; AIF postal reinforcements training in Australia; and personnel of the AIF Postal Corps attached to units of the AEF Base and L of C Area. The reference to HQ AIF Postal Unit is unclear as this unit had been disbanded in late 1940, its personnel absorbed by 1st Aust. Base Postal Unit AIF(ME) and its functions taken over by AHQ Postal Training Depot.
• 1543. Non-divisional Postal Units, 1942-1943: Auth. LHQ(DAPS) Memo No. 114754, 30.9.1942. This memo advised "... it is understood that approval has been given, and will appear in GRO's at an early date (AA(Vic): MP 742/1, item 61/13/64.) It was to be worn by the following types of units: 
  • LHQ Postal Unit; 
  • Army Postal Units; 
  • L of C Postal Units; 
  • Field Postal Units; 
  • Force Postal Units. The memo also stated that this patch was already in use by Base Postal Units, although this is unlikely to have occurred prior to 2.9.1942, while an earlier memo, LHQ(AG) Memo No. 108134 of 17.9.1942, had already approved its use by 2nd Aust. Army Postal Unit. A DAPS memo dated 16.12.1942 confirmed the dimensions of the central white inset as being 1/2 inch square, and states that initial issue would be undertaken by LHQ. (ibid.) When this patch appeared in draft GRO's in March 1943 the size of the central inset had been modified to 3/4 inch square and this design was eventually approved as No. 1545.
• 1544. Aust. Army Postal Service (Field Units), 1943-1945: Auth. GRO 310/1943, 16.4.1943. For wear by all independent brigade, divisional, and corps postal units, brigade postal sections, and personnel of the AA Postal Service attached to other units of these formations as postal orderlies.
• 1545. Aust. Army Postal Service (Other than Field Units), 1943-1945: Auth. GRO 310/1943, 16.4.1943. 
  • For wear by LHQ Postal Unit; 
  • Army Postal Units; 
  • Force Postal Units; 
  • L of C Postal Units; 
  • Base Postal Units; 
  • Reception Group Postal Units; and personnel attached to other units of these formations as postal orderlies.

Note: No's 1544 and 1545 superseded all previously approved colour patches worn by units and personnel of the AA Postal Service except No. 1532.

• 1546. Unidentified: CCF manufacture, compressed felt.
  
  The following new designs of colour patches were submitted to MGO Branch for approval on 3.9.1942. All appeared in draft GRO's dated 13.3.1943, however on 19.3.1943 it was directed that they were to be deleted and No. 1544 was approved in lieu. No official authority was given for their adoption and as far as can be ascertained none were ever worn, although some examples exist.
• 1547. 1st Aust. Division Postal Unit:
• 1548. 2nd Aust. Division Postal Unit: An unworn example of Western Australian manufacture has been noted.
• 1549. 3rd Aust. Division Postal Unit:
• 1550. 4th Aust. Division Postal Unit:
• 1551. 5th Aust. Division Postal Unit:
• 1552. 1st Aust. Armoured Division Postal Unit: The impression given throughout DAPS correspondence relating to this colour patch is that it was already in use, although no authority had been published. It is believed that an example of this design was actually supplied as No. 1540, while the patch being worn at the time by the unit was No. 1539.
• 1553. 3rd Aust. Armoured Division Postal Unit:
• 1554. 3rd Aust. Army Tank Brigade Postal Unit: MGO Order No. 3724, submitted on 11.2.1943 for the supply of colour patches to units of this brigade makes no mention of a patch for the postal unit.
• 1555. 4th Aust. Armoured Brigade Postal Unit: To date only a reproduction has been sighted by the author, although the existence of a genuine patch cannot be discounted as two further patches for units of 4th Armoured Brigade which also appeared in this draft GRO, but were deleted prior to approval being given, were manufactured and issued (see No's 1398 and 1424). This patch is also stated to have been worn by the 4th Aust. Armoured Brigade War History, Appendix 'B'. (AWM 54, item 89/3/5.)

Note: The three following colour patches appear respectively on pages 25, 34 and 35, and 36 of MGO Branch Line Drawings. 17here is no evidence amongst the extensive surviving Postal Directorate correspondence that these designs were ever considered, although it is possible that No's 1556 and 1558 are drafting errors. Fake examples of all three colour patches have been seen to date.

• 1556. 1st Aust. Armoured Division Postal Unit:
• 1557. 3rd Aust. Armoured Division Postal Unit:
• 1558. 3rd Aust. Army Tank Brigade Postal Unit:
• 1559-1562. Reserved.

Personnel appointed as representatives of this service on formation headquarters wore the patch of that headquarters.

The Salvage and Recovery Service AASC was raised on 15.7.1940, (MBI Q.71, 15.7.1940.) although salvage units had been raised as part of the 2nd AlF in the previous month. The functions of this service were taken over by the RAAOC on 1.7.1949. Salvage units were classified as miscellaneous units and until November 1942 they wore the colour patch of the headquarters of the formation to which they were attached. (Authorities include AHQ(DOS) Memo No. 70030, 21.10.1940, and Minute, QMG, dated 11.8.1942.) The colour patches approved as No's 1563 and 1569 are the only patches for which an official authority has been located. In all other cases examples exist, however it has not been possible in all cases to establish whether they were worn.

• 1563. Aust. Army Salvage Service, 1942-1945: Auth. GRO 663/1942, 11.12.1942. For
  wear by all Army, Corps, Force, and Divisional Salvage Units, HQ Salvage Depots, and L of C Salvage Sections. The use of this colour and shape was first suggested by the MGO in August 1942, on the basis that it would be quite distinctive from any other unit colour patch.
• 1564. Second Aust. Army Salvage Unit: Example, J.A. Ryan Collection, AWM. Worn examples of CCF manufacture also exist.
• 1565. 1st Aust. Corps Salvage Unit: J.A Ryan Collection, AWM.
• 1566. 3rd Aust. Corps Salvage Unit: J.A. Ryan Collection, AWM. Western Australian manufactured examples are the most common of this design and stocks were still held in 7 AOD in October 1946.
• 1567. New Guinea Force Salvage Unit: J.A. Ryan Collection, AWM.
• 1568. 12th Aust. Division Salvage Unit: J.A. Ryan Collection, AWM. Formerly Northern Territory Force Salvage Unit until December 1942.
• 1569. 9th Aust. Division Salvage Unit, 1942-1945: Auth. GRO 225/1943, 12.3.1943.
• 1570. 1st Aust. Armoured Division Salvage Unit: Western Australian manufacture, no evidence of issue. In October 1943 this unit was redesignated 1st Aust. Armoured Brigade Salvage Unit and on 21.5.1944, 1st Aust. Corps Minute G/3360/SD advises that no colour patch was then being worn by this unit.
• 1571. AIF(ME) Base Area Salvage Unit: Not confirmed, facing cloth, possibly a fake or reproduction. AIF Order (ME) No. 179, of 17.1.1941, directed that salvage units forming part of the AIF(ME) base and line of communication area were to wear No. 430. This unit was raised in April 1941 and disbanded on 1.5.1942. There are also suggestions that this patch was worn by the Australforce Salvage Unit, 1940-1941.
• 1572. Salvage Units, Queensland L of C Area: 2 BOD records holding a large stock of patches for these units in January 1947, while stocks were also held separately by 7 BOD in October 1946, marked "HQ Qld L of C Area Salvage Depot".
• 1573. Salvage Units, New South Wales L of C Area:
• 1574. Salvage Units, Victoria L of C Area: This colour patch is known to have been worn by AWAS personnel posted to units of this service.
• 1575. Salvage Units, Western Australia L of C Area: Example, Army Museum of WA, worn by a former member of the AWAS allotted to either HQ 5 Aust. Salvage Depot or the 23rd or 38th Aust. Salvage Sections. WA manufacture.
• 1576. Salvage Units, Northern Territory L of C Area: J.A. Ryan Collection, AWM.
• - 3rd Aust. Armoured Division Salvage Unit: No actual example has yet been sighted, however 1st Aust. Corps Minute G/3360/SD, dated 21.5.1944, states that sections of this unit allotted to 1st Aust. Beach Group were wearing the colour patches of "3rd Aust. Armoured Division Salvage Unit".
• 1577-1578. Reserved.

Organized as the Aust. Army Labour Service in June 1945, although it had existed in various forms since at least 1940. Absorbed by the Aust. Army Ordnance Corps on 31.1.1947.

Raised in early 1942 as pioneer companies for engineering tasks in L of C areas, primarily Queensland and the Northern Territory, and were redesignated as special pioneer companies in July 1942. No authority has been located for colour patches specifically for these units, although 2nd Base Ordnance Depot records holding 1,834 patches for "AIF L of C Pioneers" in January 1947. These are believed to have been identical to No. 1579. Colour patches identified as actually being worn by these units are listed below.

• 2/1st Aust. Special Pioneer Company: Raised in NSW in early 1942 from personnel of 9th Pioneer Training Battalion, and was absorbed by the 2/11th Aust. Army Troops Company RAE on 30.9.1942. No. 1034 was worn by personnel of this unit until early 1943 when it was replaced by No. 661 as a result of the reorganization and redesignation of the unit. Ref. 2/11th Aust. Army Troops Company RAE Association.
• 2/2nd Aust. Special Pioneer Company: Details as for the 2/1st Pioneer Company except that No. 1035 was issued to and worn by this unit until early 1943.
• 3rd Aust. Special Pioneer Company: Raised in NSW in March 1942 and was reorganized as 30th Aust. Employment Company in September 1942. No colour patch has yet been identified as being worn by this unit.
• 2/4th Aust. Special Pioneer Company: Raised in Victoria in March 1942 and was reorganized as 29th Aust. Employment Company in November 1942. Advice has been received from members of the 2/1st and 2/2nd Aust. Special Pioneer Companies which operated with this unit in the Northern Territory that a colour patch was worn, the description suggesting that it was identical to No. 1579.
• 1579. 2/5th Aust. Pioneer Company: Raised in Victoria in March 1942 and was reorganized as 34th Aust. Infantry Training Battalion during May/June 1942. A former member has advised that this colour patch was issued to and worn by the unit during its brief existence. (...Information provided by the late Mr. Michael Sheehan to the author in September 1996, and from photographs and additional information provided by his daughter, Rosemary Martyn, in January 1998. Mr. Sheehan's colour patches are now held by the Australian War Memorial.) No authority or correspondence relating to this patch has been located although it is of CCF manufacture and probably official. see Colour Plate No. 66
• 7th Aust. Special Pioneer Company: Raised in Queensland in April 1942 from personnel of the 7th Aust. Infantry Training Battalion, and was disbanded in September 1942. No colour patch was worn by this unit although a design entailing a purple square with a central red over green inset was submitted to LHQ for approval in July 1942. Considerable correspondence relating to attempts to have patches approved for pioneer and labour companies in Queensland L of C Area exists in AWM 60.
• - 8th Aust. Special Pioneer Company: As for the 7th Pioneer Company but raised from personnel of the 29th Aust. Infantry Training Battalion.
• 1580. Reserved.

• Labour Group Headquarters: Wore the colour patch of the headquarters of the formation to which the group was allotted.
• Labour Companies: No colour patch is known to have been approved for these units, the first of which was raised as early as January 1940. Redesignated Employment Companies on 3.10.1942.
• 1581. Employment Companies, 1943-1946: Auth. GRO 92/1943, 22.1.1943. Raised on 3.10.1942 by redesignation of existing labour units. Companies were organized according to nationality or religion, and in addition to white and indigenous Australian personnel they included Indonesians, Chinese, Timorese, political and enemy internees, and prisoners-of-war. Personnel other than Australians of substantially British descent were officially described as alien personnel. In April 1944 employment companies manned by Australian personnel were redesignated Works Companies. Only personnel of substantially British descent serving in employment companies were armed.
• 1582. Employment Companies, New Guinea Force: Example, Military Heraldry Collection, AWM.
• 1583. Works Companies, 1944-1947: Auth. GRO 201/1944, 26.5.1944. Formed in April
  1944 by redesignation of works companies comprised entirely of personnel of substantially British descent. This was the result of applications by Australian manned employment companies in New Guinea for some form of distinction between them and alien manned companies. All personnel of Works Companies were armed.
• 1584. Works Companies, New Guinea Force: Example, J.A. Ryan Collection, AWM.
• - Employment Platoons, 1940-1942: Initially raised for labouring tasks with the headquarters of AIF formations in the Middle East, existing for a brief period only. In 1942 they were raised in Australia for Base and L of C Area headquarters, again only briefly,. Personnel were directed to wear the colour patch of the headquarters of the formation to which they were attached. Auth. AHQ(DOS) Memo No. 70030, 21.10.1940, and AIF(ME) Order No. 179, 17.1.1941.

• Units of this service wore the colour patch of the headquarters of the formation to which they belonged. Auth. AHQ(DOS) Memo No. 70030, 21.10.1940, and LHQ (DP&SS) Memo No. 152571, 7.9.1943. Units included: 
  • Printing Presses; 
  • Mobile Printing Units; 
  • L of C Stationery Depots; 
  • LHQ Bulk Stationery Depot. Absorbed into the Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corps in 1951.

Formed as the Australian Defence Canteens Service on 1.7.1942 from the former PMF Regimental Institutes, and was redesignated the Aust. Army Canteens Service on 1.1.1944. (GRO G.45/1944, 11.2.1944.)  The Aust. Army Canteen Service AIF was created in December 1939. The service was absorbed by the Australian Services Canteens Organization on 1.7.1959.

• Units as such included: 
  • 1st AIF Reception Camp Canteens Services Detachment (UK); 
  • 1st AACS Women's Services Club; 
  • AACS Officers Clubs; 
  • AACS Other Ranks Clubs; 
  • AACS Cafeteria, Albert Park.
• 1585. Aust. Army Canteen Service AIF(ME), 1941-1943: Auth. Sec. Military Board Memo No. 44424,1.7.1941.
• 1586. Aust. Defence Canteens Service, 1942-1944; 
  • Aust. Army Canteens Service, 1944-1945: Auth. GRO 663/1942, 11.12.1942.
• 1587. Aust. Defence Canteens Service, 1942-1943: Ref. Dir. Canteens Service Memo No.
  25964, 12.2.1943. This colour variation is that originally issued to all personnel of the
  ADCS as a result of MGO Order No. 2813, submitted to the CCF on 3.8.1942 for the
  initial supply of 5,000 patches of this design. The DOS denied that colour patches in
  this colour blue had been approved or supplied by MGO Branch.
• 1588. Colour variation of No. 1587, Western Australian manufacture.
• 1589. 1st Aust. Armoured Division Canteens: Example, J.A. Ryan (AWM) and Victoria Barracks Collections. NSW manufacture.
• 1590. New Guinea Force Canteens: CCF manufacture.
• 1591. New Guinea Force Canteens: J. A. Ryan Collection, AWM.
• 1592. Reserved.

Movement Control Groups, Movement and Transportation Sections, and Docks Control Detachments were LHQ units and wore No. 401.

• 1593. (a) AIF (ME) Movement and Transportation Group, 1942: Became 2/1st Aust.
  Movement and Transportation Group on return to Australia and wore No. 401.
  • (b) AIF (ME) Movement Control 1/2 Group, 1942:
  • (c) AIF (ME) Port Detachment, 1942-1943: Previously known as the Australian Port
    Detachment (Middle East).
• Authority for all of the units above was HQ AIF(ME) Memo No. 3216, 22.2.1942.

• 1594. Sea Transport Staff, 1941-1945: Auth. GRO 468/1943, 18.6.1943, however the first reference is AHQ(DOS) Memo No. 36323, 3.6.1941, placing MGO Order No. 1252 with the CCF for the initial production of these patches. For personnel of permanent Ships Staffs.

These were LHQ units and wore No. 401. Included Unit Stores Account Section; Unit Maintenance Inspection Section; Unit Equipment and Accounts Section.

• Special Units
  • "M" Aust. Special Unit, 1943-1945: Raised in May 1943 as the administrative holding unit for personnel of the Allied Intelligence Bureau, which was responsible for coast-watching, intelligence gathering, propaganda dissemination and guerilla warfare. No colour patch was worn by operational personnel of this unit.
  • "M" Aust. Special Unit Infantry Battalion, 1945: Raised on 15.2.1945 as an administrative holding unit for all native personnel serving with the Allied Intelligence Bureau. No colour patch was allotted to this unit.
• "Z" Aust. Special Unit, 1942-1945: Raised in June 1942 as the administrative holding unit for personnel of the Inter-Allied Services Department, later known as the Services Reconnaissance Department, which was responsible for long range penetration, specialised sabotage, and organization of guerilla activities, and formed part of the Allied Intelligence Bureau. In September 1943 the unit sought approval for a colour patch design based on the double diamonds of the independent companies but this was rejected by LHQ, who proposed that No. 401 be worn in lieu. Although No. 401 was subsequently worn by administrative personnel, operational personnel wore no colour patch at all. 
  • See also No. 1516. In addition there is reference to the issue, in early August 1945, of a distinguishing badge to all members of SEMUT parties of this unit operating in Borneo. This comprised a representation of the Sarawak coat of arms with the motto Dum Spiro Spero (While I Live I Hope). Ref, Operation SEMUTI.- 'Z' Special Unit's Secret War, Long, B. p. 235.

Originally directed to wear No. 438 (Headquarters NG L of C Area). This unit took over the administration of native affairs following the suspension of the civil administration in Papua and New Guinea in February 1942. 

• Comprised of: 
  • District Staffs Section; 
  • Native Labour Section; 
  • Supply and Stores Section; 
  • Marine Section; 
  • Royal Papuan Constabulary (European Section).
• 1595. Australian New Guinea Administration Unit, 1943-1944: Auth. GRO 672/1943, 17.9.1943. Superseded by No. 1596 in February 1944.
• 1596. Australian New Guinea Administration Unit, 1944-1947: Auth. GRO 67/1944, 25.2.1944.
• 1597. Australian New Guinea Administration Unit: Western Australian manufacture, not 
  issued. A variation with a 1/2 inch wide mid green strip also exists.
• 1598. Reserved.

This unit was tasked with re-establishing civil government in North Borneo and included Australian and British personnel.

• 1599. 50th Civil Affairs Unit, 1945; 
  • British Borneo Civil Affairs Unit, 1945-1946: Auth. GRO 187/1945, 13.7.1945, and an amendment to GRO 187/1945 published in GRO's dated 27.7.1945.

Prior to 1943 these were classified as miscellaneous units and wore the colour patch of the headquarters of the formation to which they were allotted.

• 1600. AIF (ME) Kit Store, 1942-1943: Auth. HQ AIF(ME) Memo No.3215, 22.2.1942. Redesignated 2/1st Aust. Kit Store on return to Australia in 1943.
• 1601. Aust. Kit Stores, 1943-1945: Auth. GRO 92/1943, 22.1.1943.

• From 1939 the following organizations were authorised to work in conjunction with the Australian Military Forces:
  • Australian Comforts Fund,
  • Salvation Army,
  • Young Men's Christian Association,
  • Young Women's Christian Association.

Those listed above were primarily concerned with the welfare and provision of social services to fit members of the forces. Members of these organizations were permitted to wear uniform according to rank status, the title 'AUSTRALIA', and the badges of their organization. Wearing of AMF hat, cap and collar badges was forbidden. GRO 202/1945, dated 30.7.1945, directed that representatives of these organizations were to wear the colour patch of the unit or formation headquarters to which they were attached.

(b) Australian Red Cross Society,

This organization supplemented the work of the Medical Services, assisted in the tracing of missing personnel and the welfare of prisoners-of-war, and attended to the needs of sick and wounded personnel. Instructions relating to the wearing of uniform and badges by the ARCS were identical to the organizations listed in (a) above, with the exception of colour patches.

• 1602. Aust. Red Cross Society, AIF (ME), 1942-1943: Auth. HQ AIF(ME) Memo No.
  2407,5.2.1942.
• 1603. Aust. Red Cross Society, 1943-1949: Auth. GRO 641/1943, 3.9.1943. Prior to the
  introduction of this colour patch, GRO 480/1943, dated 25.6.1943, directed personnel to wear the colour patch of the unit or formation headquarters to which they were attached. A grey background to these colour patches could only be worn by personnel who had signed a contract or undertaking to serve overseas. Even after the introduction of No. 1603, many personnel continued to wear the colour patch of the unit to which they were attached.
• 1604. Aust. Red Cross Society: A sample submitted by the ARCS on 22.9.1943 for approval in preference to No. 1603, as the authorised colour patch was said to be similar to that worn by the American Red Cross and by sick bay attendants, and a identical design of larger dimensions was worn on the left breast of the indoor uniform by personnel of the VAD and AAMWS. Approval for this design was rejected by the C-in-C AMF.

• (c) Official War Correspondents,
  AIF Photographic Unit (Department of Information),
  Australian Broadcasting Commission Unit,
  Official War Artists.
  Personnel listed above were directed to wear the uniform authorised for the AIF. No mention is made regarding colour patches and it is believed that none were worn. A metal shoulder title, AUSTRALIAN/WAR/CORRESPONDENT, was worn on the epaulette of the shirt or jacket in the Middle East, and above the left shirt pocket in New Guinea.
• 1605. Official Photographers, AIF(ME), 1941-1943: A printed shoulder slide introduced in
  late 1941 as a result of a request by the AIF(ME) Military History and Information Section for identification for official cameramen and photographers operating in forward areas. See Plate 66
• (d) Unofficial correspondents, photographers and broadcasters approved to accompany the AIF overseas. These personnel were permitted to wear military uniform without service badges or colour patches, a special shoulder title and woven hat badge being introduced in 1942 as below.
• 1606. Accredited War Correspondents, 1942-1952: Ref. Regulations for Accredited War Correspondents accompanying a Force in the Field in Australia or its Territories, General Staff, AHQ, February 1942, and a Ministry of Munitions memo dated 29.1.1942 to the CGCF confirming a verbal order of that same date. (AA(Vic): MP 508/1, item 36/702/94.)   In February 1942 an additional smaller sized patch was requested to allow it to be sewn onto shoulder slides. Full size patches measured 3 inches wide by 2 inches high, small patches were two inches wide. See Colour Plate No. 66

• 1607. Unallotted Personnel, 1st Aust. Armoured Division, 1941: Ref. AHQ(DOS) Memo No. 43529, 30.6.1941. In excess of 7,000 of these colour patches were still held in 2 BOD in early 1947 and it appears unlikely that they were ever issued, No. 1621 being worn in their stead.

• 1608. Reinforcements (Unallotted), 6th Aust. Division: Military Heraldry Collection, AWM.

• 1609. Reinforcements (Unallotted), 9th Aust. Division: Military Heraldry Collection, AWM.
• 1610. AIF Reinforcements (Unallotted), 1942-1947: Auth. GRO 663/1942, 11.12.1942.
• 1611.AMF Personnel transferred to the RAAF Reserve General Details Depot, 1942: Reference to this colour patch has been located in the HQ 6th MD correspondence register (AA(Tas): CRS P618, item 415/l/256, entry dated 30.9.1942.) and examples are noted of Western Australian manufacture.
• - Aust. General Base Depot, 1940-1941: Allotted No. 430. Auth. Colour chart promulgated with AHQ(DOS) Memo No. 70030,21.10.1940. 
• The following units were directed to wear No. 430 by AIF(ME) Order No. 179, 17.1.1941:
  • HQ Aust. General Base Depot; 
  • HQ AIF Reinforcement Depot.
• The following reinforcement units wore the colour patch of the headquarters of the L of C area that controlled them: 
  • Recruit Reception and General Details Depot; 
  • General Details Depots; 
  • Base Sub-Area Details Depot; 
  • Base Depots-Personnel; 
  • Recruit Reception Depots; 
  • Leave Transit Depots; 
  • Personnel Staging Camps; 
  • Staging Camps; 
  • Advanced Reinforcement Depots; 
  • Discharge Depots; 
  • Army Women's Recruiting Depots; 
  • Transhipment Centre.

• 1612. Army Headquarters Schools, 1942: Ref. AHQ(DOS) Memo No. 28230, 18.3.1942. This advised of the submission of MGO Order No. 2223 to the CCF for the provision of 1,000 pairs each to Eastern and Southern Commands for wear by the staffs of AHQ controlled schools in those commands. The LHQ School of Signals noted that these were issued to it in error in June 1943. Superseded by No. 1613 in August 1942.
• 1613. Headquarters Allied Land Forces Schools, 1942-1943: Auth. LHQ(MGO) Memo No. 95730, 24.8.1942, and GRO 468/1943,18.6.1943. LHQ 95730 and GRO 469/1943 directed that this patch was to be worn by the Royal Military College and Staff School (Aust.), and personnel on the establishment of all LHQ Schools. Superseded by No. 1614 in September 1943.
• 1614. Headquarters Allied Land Forces Schools, 1943-1945; 
  • Headquarters Australian Military Forces Schools, 1945-1946; 
  • Army Headquarters Schools, 1946-1949: Auth. GRO 672/1943, 17.9.1943, and MBI 3 6/1946, 17.5.1946.
• 1615. Schools and Training Units, First Aust. Army, 1943-1945: 
  • Auth. GRO 672/1943, 17.9.1943. Included North Eastern Reinforcement Training Centre until 1944.
• 1616. Schools and Training Units, Second Aust. Army, 1943-1945: 
  • Auth. GRO 672/1943, 17.9.1943. Included Southern Reinforcement Training Centre until 1944.
• 1617. 1st Aust. Corps Schools and Training Units, 1943-1945: 
  • Auth. GRO 672/1943, 17.9.1943.
• 1618. 2nd Aust. Corps Schools and Training Units, 1943-1945:
  •  Auth. GRO 672/1943, 17.9.1943.
• 1619. 3rd Aust. Corps Schools and Training Units, 1943-1945: 
  • Auth. GRO 672/1943, 17.9.1943. Included Western Reinforcement Training Centre until 1944.
  • Note: Until the adoption of No's 1615 to 1619 inclusive, GRO 469/1943, 18.6.1943, had 
    directed that staffs of schools and training units under the control of these formations were to wear the colour patch of that formation headquarters. This direction also applied to training units under the control of Line of Communication areas.
• 1620. Armoured Training Brigades and Regiments, 1941-1942; 
  • Armoured Corps Training Regiments, 1942: Ref. AWM colour patch file card register. These units were reorganized as part of the Aust. Armoured Corps Training Centre in March 1943. It seems likely that this patch was worn only in Southern Command by units of 2nd Aust. Armoured Corps Training Brigade, as in September 1942 HQ NSW L of C Area Training Depots advised that no colour patch had been allotted to HQ 1st Aust.
    Armoured Corps Training Brigade nor its armoured, army tank and motor training
    regiments and battalions.
• 1621. Instructional Cadres, Aust. Armoured Corps, 1941: RAAC Tank Museum, Puckapunyal. This colour patch was worn between April and October 1941 by personnel of this Corps who were undergoing courses of instruction at the Armoured Fighting Vehicles School, the Army School of Mechanization, and various Armoured Divisional Schools, for the purpose of forming instructional cadres for the training of armoured regiments then being raised. It is also understood to have been retained by staff of the Armoured Fighting Vehicles School until early 1942 at least. The paintings of Armoured Corps patches at the RAAC Museum simply refer to this patch as being for armoured corps training units. A fake variation has been noted in compressed felt with the colours reversed, and a tank shaped inset.
• 1622. LHQ School of Artillery (Coast): Examples, J.A. Ryan and Victoria Barracks Collections. It has not been possible to confirm that this colour patch was worn, either by the staff of this school or by members of the Coast Artillery Training Batteries.
• Eastern Command School of Artillery (Anti-Tank), 1941: It was reported to AHQ on 11.10.1941 that personnel attending this school were wearing the letters 'AT' superimposed on their divisional artillery colour patches. The original complaint related not to the wearing of unauthorised insignia, but to the fact that 'AT' was being used instead of the official abbreviation of 'A TV. In any case AHQ(DPS) Memo No. 80200, of 23.10.1941, directed that the practice was to cease.
• Artillery Training Regiments and Batteries, 1940-1942: Each divisional artillery generally comprised one field training regiment and an anti-tank training battery, while independent regiments had a training battery. Many of these were only on the order of battle for a short period to provide initial training to Universal Service personnel prior to them being absorbed by their regiments. They were staffed by cadres of their divisional artillery or independent regiments and wore the appropriate colour patch of their formation.
• Aust. Artillery Training Regiment AIF(ME), 1940-1942: Personnel posted, or seconded, from their original units for duty on the staff of this regiment wore the following colour patches:
  • RHQ - the patch of the unit from which originally posted; 
  • 6th Battery (Field and Anti-Tank) - No. 578; 
  • 7th Battery (Field and Anti-Tank) - No. 579; 
  • 9th Battery (Field and Anti-Tank) - No. 582; 
  • Corps Battery (Army Field, Medium and Survey) - No. 604; 
  • Anti-Aircraft Battery - No. 604.
• AIF (Middle East) School of Signals and Signal Training Battalion, AIF(ME), 1941-1942: See No. 709, AUST. CORPS OF SIGNALS.
• Infantry Training Battalions AIF(ME), 1940-1943: Personnel serving on the staff of these units were only seconded from their original battalions, and continued to wear the colour patch of that unit. Each training battalion was affiliated to an infantry brigade, each company of that battalion was directly affiliated to, and staffed by, one battalion of that infantry brigade.
• 1623. 1st Aust. Corps Mobile School of Mechanization, 1940-1942: Auth. AIF Order (ME) No. 143, 20.12.1940. Originally allotted No. 1142 vide AHQ(DOS) Memo No. 70030, 21.10.1940. Reorganized as the Mobile Workshop Wing of LHQ AASC School on its return to Australia in early 1942.

• 1624. Unidentified: CCF manufacture, possibly for LHQ School of Mechanization.
• - AAMC Training Units, 1942-1945: See Miscellaneous AAMC Units, AUST. ARMY
  MEDICAL CORPS.
• 1625. Aust. Ski School, 1942: Not yet confirmed. Raised in the Lebanon in November 1941
  to train ski companies for 1st Aust. Corps and the three AIF divisions, but was closed
  down before this was completed.
• 1626. Eastern Command Schools and Training Units, 1946-1949: Auth. MBI 36/1946,
  17.5.1946.
• 1627. Southern Command Schools and Training Units, 1946-1949: Auth. MBI 36/1946,
  17.5.1946.
  
  Note: No's 1626 and 1627 should not be confused with No's 1616 and 1615. The draft MBI
  authorising them states that they were reallocated to the Command Schools following
  the disbandment of First and Second Army Schools.

• Senior Cadet Instructional Group, Eastern Command, 1947-1949: Directed to wear No. 1626 by HQ E Comd memo No. 35928, 23.4.1947. Prior to this date personnel of this group had worn the colour patch of HQ Eastern Command (No. 432).
• 1628-1630. Reserved.

• The following miscellaneous units wore the LHQ colour patch: 
  • HQ LHQ Mobile Meteorological Squadron; 
  • Mobile Meteorological Flights; 
  • Aust. Prisoner-of-War Reception Groups; 
  • HQ Psychology Service; 
  • Psychology Testing Sections; 
  • Aptitude Testing Sections; 
  • Prisoner-of-War Contact Enquiry Units; 
  • War Crimes Sections.
• The following miscellaneous units wore the colour patch of the headquarters of the formation to which they were attached: 
  • L of C Area Bands; 
  • Corps, Force, and Divisional Sections, Reception Camps; 
  • Military History and Information Sections; 
  • Public Relations Field Units; 
  • Visitors and Observers Sections; 
  • Operational Reporting Teams; 
  • Mobile Bath Units (until early 1943); 
  • Prisoner-of-War and Internee Reception Camps; 
  • Leave Train Cooking Sections; 
  • Field Punishment Centres; 
  • GHQ (Aust.) Officers Mess; 
  • Aust. Staff Corps Mess MELBOURNE; 
  • Women's Services Officers Mess; 
  • Allied Services Senior NCO's Club PORT MORESBY; 
  • Nurses Rest Home MORESBY; 
  • Army Rehabilitation Sections; 
  • Army Rehabilitation Unit; 
  • Darwin Press Unit; 
  • Administrative Cadres for Convalescent Homes (Red Cross); 
  • Recreation Centres; 
  • General Hospital Farm Unit.
    
• AIF (United Kingdom) Reception Group, 1944-1945: This group, which comprised a headquarters, the 
  • 1st AIF (UK) Transit Camp, 
  • four AIF(LTK) Reception Camps, 
  • 1st Aust. Reception Group Postal Unit, 
  • 86th Aust. Dental Unit, 
  • 18th Aust. Independent Brigade Group Provost Platoon, 
  • 92nd Aust. Depot Cash Office,
  • 1st AIF Reception Camp Canteens Services Detachment (UK), was directed to wear No. 401 by LHQ (AG) memo No. 79336 of 11.6.1944. This instruction was modified by LHQ (AG) memo No. 82088 of 16.6.1944 to direct that any formed unit or sub-unit of the group which already possessed its own colour patch would wear that in lieu of No. 401.

The material on this section of the site is drawn from "Distinguishing Colour Patches of the Australian Military Forces 1915-1951" by Keith Glyde. ISBN 0-6460-36640-8