5th Australian Infantry Battalion (Victorian Scottish Regiment)

Shoulder patch

Brief History

Formed during 1921 in Melbourne, this unit was training at Mt Martha (Vic) in December 1941 as part of the 2nd Australian Infantry Brigade of the 4th Australian Infantry Division. Following mobilisation they moved to forward positions between Rye and Flinders until late January 1942 where they remained until late January 1942 when they moved to a reserve position prior to leaving for Western Australia in April.

Arriving at Melville, they relocated to a new camp at Bellevue in May 1942, and then to a forward position at Moora. In July they relocated to Moonyoonooka in reserve to the brigade which was in Geraldton. IN September they moved into Geraldton itself for a month to relieve the local garrison battalion to undertake a month's training. In November they moved south to rotate through positions patrolling the coast between Lancelin and Trigg, rotating with periods of training at Swanbourne and Gingin. With the reduction of infantry troops in WA, the battalion moved to Chidlows where they trained until August when they along with the Brigade moved to Melbourne enroute to Darwin. Here they were allocated to the Southern Brigade Area with the 5th Battalion at 67 mile camp. From here they trained and patrolled. In May 1944 the battalion moved to Parap nearer to Darwin, joining its direct defence. Men from the 5th Battalion were now being used to top up units of the 12th Infantry Brigade Group and the 13th Infantry Brigade Group, with the remnants left to move to be disbanded at Wallgrove in NSW during October 1944.

Unit Personnel

• William Leslie Cucel 3 Jul - 2 Nov 142 & 22 Nov 1942 - 19 Jan 1943

Notes

Content has come from The Unit Guide - Volume 2 - The Australian Army 1939-1945, pages 2.195 & 2.196 - Graham R McKenzie-Smith - Big Sky Publishing - 2018