40th Battalion (Australia)
The 40th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Raised in 1916 as part of the Australian Imperial Force during the First World War, the battalion was recruited completely from Tasmania as part of the 10th Brigade, 3rd Division. During the war the battalion served in the trenches along the Western Front and had the distinction of having two of its members awarded the Victoria Cross. The battalion was disbanded in 1919, however was re-raised in 1921 as part of the Citizens Force, serving as a part-time unit in Tasmania throughout the inter-war years. During the Second World War, the 40th remained in Australia until it was amalgamated with the 12th Battalion. It was disbanded in 1946, but was later re-raised in the 1950s before being subsumed into the Royal Tasmania Regiment in 1960. In 1987, it was merged into the 12th/40th Battalion, Royal Tasmania Regiment.
Reinforcements for the 40th Battalion in Melbourne on their way to the Western Front, October 1917.
Lewis McGee, the 40th Battalion's first Victoria Cross recipient
Officers of "B"Coy, 40th Battalion, 1916
The 10th Brigade was an infantry brigade of the Australian Army. Originally formed in 1912 as a Militia formation, the brigade was re-raised in 1916 as part of the expansion of the Australian Imperial Force following the end of the Gallipoli campaign. It subsequently saw service on the Western Front in France and Belgium during World War I. After the war it was disbanded but was re-raised in 1921 as a part-time formation based in the state of Victoria. During World War II the brigade was used in a garrison role in Australia before being disbanded in 1942. The brigade is slated to be re-raised as the Army's 'Fires Brigade' to host and operate the Australian Army's High Mobility Rocket System (HIMARS) and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMAS)
Members of the 10th Brigade receiving medals on parade 7 July 1918