The 3rd/9th Light Horse (South Australian Mounted Rifles) (3/9 LH (SAMR)) is a Reserve light cavalry regiment of the Australian Army based in South Australia. It is constituted of a single squadron. It is part of the Royal Australian Armoured Corps (RAAC), the regiment is attached to the 9th Brigade, and currently operates Hawkei Protected Mobility Vehicle - Light (PMV-L) and G-wagon surveillance and reconnaissance vehicles (SRV). 3rd/9th Light Horse (South Australian Mounted Rifles) is currently under command of 1st Armoured Regiment.
Colonial History The Unit traces its history back to the South Australian Volunteer Cavalry that was Gazetted by the South Australian Governor Lieutenant Colonel George Gawler on the 26 Feb 1840. Formed as part of a South Australian Volunteer Militia Brigade with a company of infantry and two troops of cavalry. By April 1840, it had a total strength of 77 and, by June, with a severe economic depression and wave of lawlessness, all training ceased with the brigade disbanded although the officers continued to "dine" together. With a new perceived Russian threat, South Australia's Legislative Council introduced the 1854 bill to raise a volunteer militia of 850 men, with 14 troops of artillery, four troops of Infantry and eight troops of mounted infantry, Acts No 2 & 9 of 1854. The low government pay of one shilling a day meant groups formed their own volunteer forces including independent cavalry corps, most notably in East Torrens, Para and Goolwa. The South Australian Mounted Rifles (SAMR) was formed at this time in 1854. This corps received no pay, found their own arms and equipment and had one captain, one lieutenant, one cornet, one surgeon and 27 troopers.
By 1856, the government's Military Force Act was repealed and its "regiment" disbanded. In 1859 & 60 amendments to the 1854 Militia Acts were passed, manly involving pay and conditions.The Reedbeds Cavalry formed in the Adelaide western wetlands area, the later suburbs of Cowandilla, Lockleys, Underdale and West beach in 1860. With another European war scare in 1866 and the revival of South Australia's voluntary militia (The Volunteer Act 1865-6) including cavalry, Capt Ferguson of the Reedbeds accepted command of B Troop and the squadron named The Duke of Edinburgh's Light Dragoons by the duke during a South Australia visit. South Australia's volunteer militias began to wain and by 1870 had disbanded due to lack of finance and support until war started between Russia and Turkey in 1877.
Responding to concerned citizens, the Adelaide mayor called a public meeting in May that year to discuss the colony's defences and it opened lists for volunteers. James Rowell, who rose through the South Australian Mounted Rifles ranks, was at the meeting. In 1878 the Military Force Act was passed, but the first parade of the Adelaide Mounted Rifles was in August 1877 and the force was divided into two troops, each of 32 men and one officer. Weekly parades were on Saturday afternoons in the park lands.
In 1886 the South Australian Defence Force Act was passed and by 1887, the South Australian Mounted Rifles/Infantry had more than 1,000 troops in major country centres as well as the two troops of Adelaide Lancers formed from the South Australian Mounted Rifles in 1886.The South Australian Governor, the earl of Kintore, was an honorary colonel of the lancers, whose role was mainly ceremonial and, in 1897, a 28-strong detachment from the militia unit was sent to London to represent the colony at the 1897 celebrations in honour of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel James Rowell. The Defence Force Act of 1895 was passed in December of that year and grouped the colonial forces into 3 categories: Permanent Force, Active Militia Force (paid) and the Reserve Militia (unpaid).
Boer War and WW1 History In 1899 the South Australian Mounted Riles (SAMR) started contributing personnel to fight in the Second Boer War as part of the South Australian Mounted Rifles 1st and 2nd Contingent, then the South Australian Bushman's Contingent, Imperial Bushman and the Australian Commonwealth Horse, after federation. These contingents were newly raised as militia units were prevented from overseas service. In 1903 as part on the new Commonwealth forces, SAMR was expanded initially into two Australian Light Horse Regiments, the 16th and 17th Light Horse Regiments, then in 1912 a third being the 23rd Light Horse Regiments (Barossa) as the 6th Cavalry Brigade (Australia). This coincided with a numerical change as part of the Kitchener Report, the 16th & 17th becoming the 22nd (SAMR) and 24th (Flinders) LH for a brief period as the 8th LH Brigade (SA). The three Regiments provided the base of the members required to raise the 3rd & 9th Light Horse Regiments for overseas service with the 1st AIF First Australian Imperial Force upon the outbreak of the First World War. During the war, these two regiments fought at Gallipoli as dismounted infantry, before taking part in the Sinai and Palestine campaign during which the 9th Light Horse had the honour of being one of only 3 Australian units to capture an enemy unit's battle standard, capturing the Turkish 46th Regiment's standard in 1918 at the battle of Kahn near Damascus. The 3rd and 9th Light Horse Regiments returned to Australian in Mar 1919 and where subsequently disbanded as with all of the 1st AIF.
Post WW1 and WW2 History In 1921 the SA Regiments were expanded and number perpetuated to four the 3rd (SAMR) (Formally the 22nd), 9th (Flinders LH) (formally the 24th), 18th (Adelaide Lancers) was raised and 23rd Light Horse Regiment (Australia) (Barossa LH). By the late 1930s the Light Horse had undergone various linking and delinking and modernisation of its units, with the 18th LHR converted to a Machine Gun Regiment (MG) in 1936. With the out-break of World War II another re-organised was required, with the all the Regiments converted to Motor Regiments, then the 3rd & 23rd Regts reducing to Reconnaissance COY/SQNs as part of the 6th Motor Brigade (Australia). The 2nd/9th Armoured Regiment (Second Australian Imperial Force) was newly raised from Volunteers in 1941, and the 12th Armoured Regiment (Militia) raised from the 18th Motor Regt in 1941/2. During late 1942 and into 1943 some militia units where officially disbanded and the forces restructured, by 1945 there were three separate enlistment organisations grouped under the banner of the Australian Military Forces. These included the Permanent Military Force (PMF), the Citizen Military Force (CMF) and the all-volunteer Australian Imperial Force (AIF), which had been raised specifically for expeditionary use during the war.
The 12th Armoured Regiment was formed from the 18th Motor Regiment and was transferred from the Australian Light Horse to the Australian Armoured Corps on 8 May 1942. The regiment, along with the 13th and 14th Armoured Regiments, 9th Motor Regiment and 3rd Reconnaissance Squadron, was allocated to the newly raised 6th Armoured Brigade, itself part of the newly converted 2nd Armoured Division. The 12th Armoured Regiment was initially based in Adelaide. In July 1942, the regiment moved to Puckapunyal with the rest of the 6th Armoured Brigade. By December 1942 the strategic threat to Australia had lessened and the large numbers of armoured units created for the defence of Australia were no longer required, and the 2nd Armoured Division was ordered to disband. While elements of the 6th Armoured Brigade were reallocated to other divisions, the 12th Armoured Regiment was disbanded on 13 February 1943. During this period some members of the disbanded Armoured Regiments joined the Cavalry Commando Regiments in preparation for Pacific theatre operations.
The 2/9th Armoured Regiment was formed in August 1941 as part of the 1st Armoured Division's 2nd Armoured Brigade upon formation the regiment perpetuated the 9th Light Horse Regiment which had served during World War I. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel F.E Wells, drawing its personnel from volunteers for overseas service from the states of South Australia and Tasmania. In Sep 1943 the Regiment was reassigned to the 4th Armoured Brigade, which was the Australian Army's specialist jungle warfare armoured unit at the time. It was relocated to Singleton, New South Wales, but was later moved to the Atherton Tablelands in Queensland and in early 1944 it was re-equipped with Matilda II tanks. During this time it undertook infantry co-operation training in preparation for deployment overseas. The 2/9th was to take part in the Borneo campaign Oboe operations, a series of amphibious landings designed to reoccupy areas of the Borneo and the Netherlands East Indies. The regiment would support the 9th Division landings at Tarakan, and then Labuan and Brunei Bay, in British North Borneo. The 2/9th Armoured Regiment remained on Borneo until the end of December, when it returned to Australia and was disbanded at the start of 1946.The 2/9th Armoured Regiment battle honours are emblazed on the Guidon of the 9th LHR.
Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Blackburn, VC, who was CO 18th Light Horse Regiment in 1939, prepared the unit for service overseas in the Second World War, but this did not eventuate. So LTCOL Blackburn and many of the officers and men of the 18th LHR (MG) joined the 2nd Australian Imperial Force's 2/3rd Machine Gun Battalion (Australia), which fought in Syria and later formed part of the ill-fated Black Force in Java. The Colour of the 2/3 MG BN is laid up in St Peters Cathedral beside those of the LHRs.
Post WW2 History In 1948, following the completion of the demobilisation process after the end of the Second World War, the Citizens Military Force—Australia's part-time volunteer army—was re-organised, albeit on a reduced scale.Grey (2008), p. 200. At this time, the 3rd/9th Armoured Car Regiment (South Australian Mounted Rifles) was re-formed in Adelaide in order to perpetuate the previously existing South Australian light horse and Armoured regiments.
Upon Unit re-establishment in 1948 the unit adopted the Staghound armoured car,Hopkins (1978), p. 342. which it operated until 1956. At this time, the Australian Army, following the British Army's lead, decided that armoured units would be tasked with anti-tank defence. As a result of this, the regiment was converted to an anti-tank regiment, equipped with Land Rover four wheel drives and 6-pounder static and towed 17-pounder anti-tank guns.Hopkins (1978), p. 207. This was only short-lived, however. In 1957, amidst widescale cutbacks in the RAAC, the regiment was close to disbandment. In order to save it from extinction, it was converted to an armoured reinforcement group, however, it never trained in this role and in 1960, when the Army adopted the Pentropic organisation, it reverted to the anti-tank role as 3/9 South Australian Mounted Rifles.
After the abandonment of the Pentropic organisation in 1965, the regiment converted to the cavalry role, equipped with Staghounds, Ferret scout cars and Saracen armoured personnel carriers.Hopkins (1978), p. 343.
In 1976 the regiment was reduced to a Squadron and was equipped with the M113 Armoured Personnel Carrier, which it operated in the armoured reconnaissance role and then the APC role from 1988. In the early 1990s the Light Horse title was re-added to the Units name to maintain historical linage and the allocation of unit colour patches (UCPs). The colour of the senior South Australian Regiment the 3rd Light Horse was adopted, being black over white, with the BDE colour white leading. The unit also reverted to the reconnaissance role.