Description
Description: Battledress Flash – WERRIWA REGIMENT (Canvas)
Condition: Very Good
Comments: Worn by the 3rd Battalion (Werriwa Regiment) up to 1960 on battledress uniform. An early canvas variation.
In 1948, the 3rd Battalion (Werriwa Regiment) was re-raised as part of the Citizens Military Force (CMF), which was the forerunner to the Australian Army Reserve that currently exists. This time the battalion was based around Canberra, with depots around regional New South Wales. As had been the case following World War I, it was decided that the units of the CMF would become the custodians of the battle honours earned by the AIF during World War II, and thus the battle honours of the 2/3rd Battalion were passed to the Werriwa Regiment.
Between 1951 and 1960 a national service scheme operated and the battalion’s numbers remained reasonably steady, however, in 1960 the scheme was suspended once more and the Australian Army was reorganised with the introduction of the Pentropic divisional structure. As a result of this the CMF was greatly reduced and fourteen infantry battalions were disbanded altogether, while many others were amalgamated into the battalions of the six State-based regiments. As a result of this, the 3rd Battalion was reduced to a company-sized element of the 3rd Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment, forming ‘C’ Company.
In 1965, the Australian Army abandoned the Pentropic divisional structure and in an attempt to restore some of the regional ties of the State-based regiments, a number of the regional companies of the State-based regiments were split and used to form new battalions with their traditional numerical designations. As a result ‘C’ Company, 3 RNSWR was used to re-raise the 3rd Battalion in its own right. This unit would remain in existence until 1987, when further reforms to the Army Reserve led to a reduction in the number of infantry units across Australia and 3 RNSWR was amalgamated with 4 RNSWR to form the 4th/3rd Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment.
