19th Australian Infantry Training Battalion

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Brief History

Formed at Helwan in Egypt in September 1940, its staff were drawn from units of the 19th Infantry Brigade Group. The unit moved to the AIF's Middle East base at Beir Jirja in Palestine to train the reinforcements that were arriving from Australia. As the AIF expanded , HQ 6th Infantry Training Brigade was formed and the 19th Infantry Training Battalion moved with them to Julis in March 1941. The next month they moved to Kilo 89, and following the losses in Libya, Greece and Crete the pool of trained reinforcements allowed the front line units to be brought up to strength quickly. In August 1941 all the training units moved together at Nuseirat.