Description
Description: 60th Battalion (The Heidelberg Regiment) – Brass & Enamel Hat Badge – 1927 to 1930
Maker’s Name: Unknown
Condition: Near Mint
Comments: 60th Battalion (The Heidelberg Regiment) – Brass & Enamel Hat Badge – 1927 to 1930. Complete with 2 lugs.
Guaranteed to be 100% genuine. Now scarce and highly desirable.
After the First World War the defence of the Australian mainland lay with the part-time soldiers of the Citizens Military Force (CMF), also known as the Militia. The Militia was organized to maintain the structure of the First AIF and kept the same numerical designations. The Militia units were distributed in the same areas the original AIF units were raised.
The 60th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was raised for service during World War I in 1916 and took part in the fighting on the Western Front for two and a half years. Following the end of the war it was disbanded before being re-raised in 1921 as a part time unit of the Citizens Force. In 1930 it was amalgamated with the 57th Battalion to form the 57th/60th Battalion.
In 1927 territorial titles were introduced and the 60th Battalion went through a number of name changes: firstly the “Brunswick Carlton Infantry Regiment”, the “Jika Jika Regiment” and finally “The Heidleberg Regiment”. At this time it adopted the motto “Celer Et Audax”, meaning “Swift and Bold”.
In 1930, due to the combination of the end of the compulsory training scheme and a a lack of volunteers following the Great Depression, the battalion was amalgamated with the 57th Battalion, to become the 57th/60th Battalion (Merri/Heidelberg Regiment). They would remain linked for the next sixteen years, seeing action in World War II in the South-west Pacific in 1943–45. They were finally disbanded on 30 March 1946.
