The Origin and History of the City of Newcastle Regiment 2nd Infantry Battalion Australian Military Forces
Newcastle: no publisher, circa 1950. Fifteen leaves printed from a typed manuscript, stapled within printed wrappers, as issued. Very good condition. A rare history of this epic fighting unit drawn from district of the the Hunter Valley, New South Wales. This publication charts the course of the regiment from its inception in the nineteenth century from the remnants of the Newcastle Volunteer Rifles, through to modern times and the First World War (including Gallipoli and the Dardanelles). At the outbreak of the Second World War, a bifurcation of administrative command occurred:
"The [Newcastle] regiment, due to the system in vogue, was not privileged to serve overseas in the 1939-45 war, however, it was very well represented in the 2/2 Infantry Battallion, A.I.F., who wore the famous purple over green colour patch and adopted the motto 'Nulli Secundus'. It also provided many trained officers and men for other A.I.F. units."
As such, the last third of the book principally concerns the activities of the now legendary 2/2 Infantry Battallion in North Africa, Palestine and New Guinea. One passage regarding the Buna campaign gives a good sense of the depredations inflicted on the 2/2, and hence the need to draw men from the Newcastle Regiment in such numbers. Of 800 men at the commencement of the campaign, only 73 remained when they were relieved, being extraordinary casualty rates by any standards. Item #3316
Price (AUD): $300.00