Description

Description: 20th Battalion (Parramatta & Blue Mountains Regiment) – Brass Hat Badge – 1930 to 1942

Maker’s Name: N/A

Condition: Very Good

Comments: 20th Battalion (Parramatta & Blue Mountains Regiment) – Brass Hat Badge – 1930 to 1942. Complete with 2 lugs.

Guaranteed to be 100% genuine. 

The 20th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Raised in early 1915 as part of the Australian Imperial Force, it was attached to the 5th Brigade, 2nd Division that served during World War I. The battalion first saw action during the Gallipoli campaign, before being evacuated in December 1915. After that the 20th Battalion was sent to France where they served in the trenches along the Western Front. Over the course of the next two years, they fought in many major battles, including the battles of the Hundred Days Offensive at the end of the war. The 20th Battalion’s last engagement was at Montbrehain in October 1918. Following the end of the war, it was disbanded in April 1919. It was later re-raised in 1921, although it was amalgamated in 1929 due to manpower shortages. During World War II the battalion was briefly re-raised and carried out garrison duties in Australia.

In 1921, Australia’s part time military force, the Citizens Force (later known as the Militia), was re-organised to perpetuate the numerical designations and structure of the AIF. At this time the 20th Battalion was re-raised in New South Wales, around Parramatta, and was again placed under the command of the 5th Brigade, 2nd Division. In 1929, following the suspension of the compulsory training scheme by the newly elected Scullin Labor government,[9] financial pressures and manpower shortages resulted in a number of battalions being amalgamated. The 20th Battalion was one of those chosen, and it merged with the 54th, although they were later delinked. In 1939, the 20th Battalion merged with the 19th Battalion to become the 20th/19th Battalion, adopting the territorial designation of the “Parramatta and Blue Mountains Regiment”.

Following the outbreak of World War II, the 20th/19th Battalion was transferred from Sydney to Darwin in the Northern Territory, where they were to form part of the town’s garrison. These two battalions were delinked on 1 November 1941 as part of the expansion of the Australian military following Japan’s entry into the war. At this time they were assigned once again to the 5th Brigade, although in February 1942 they were transferred to the 28th Brigade. Nevertheless, as a result of a manpower shortage in the Australian economy, the government decided to disband or amalgamate a number of Militia units throughout 1942-43, and on 13 December 1943, the 20th merged with the 34th to form the 20th/34th Battalion. This unit remained in existence until it was disbanded on 6 April 1944.