The 5th/6th Battalion ("5/6 RVR") is one of two battalions of the Royal Victoria Regiment, and is an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. The battalion traces its lineage back to many units that existed prior to Federation, as well as units that fought during World War I and World War II and the battalion carries the battle honours of these units as a mark of respect. Today 5/6 RVR is part of the 4th Brigade, 2nd Division and is based at various depots around Melbourne, Victoria. Recently, members from the battalion have been involved in deployments to the Middle East, East Timor, the Solomon Islands and Malaysia as part of Rifle Company Butterworth.
Unit history 5th/6th Battalion, The Royal Victoria Regiment is derived from earlier Australian battalions which had drawn members from the Melbourne metropolitan area. The history of this Battalion and the events leading up to their linking and the formation of the subsequent 5th/6th Battalion, The Royal Victoria Regiment is detailed below.
The Regiment
In the late 1950s, it was determined to consolidate all Army state infantry regiments into one regiment per state. With this move, several regimental histories were ended and a new chapter in the history of Victorian volunteer military forces begun. The Royal Victoria Regiment was formed on 1 July 1960. It inherits and embodies the traditions of the infantry in Victoria from the earliest units formed since 1854.
A number of previously existing Melbourne metropolitan units and Victorian regional units now make up the 5th/6th Battalion, The Royal Victoria Regiment. The regional units' traditions and histories are entrusted to 8th/7th Battalion, The Royal Victoria Regiment, which is the sister unit of 5/6 RVR. Many of the 1st AIF and the 2nd AIF units were raised directly from the skeleton of militia units on the declaration of war. For this reason, The Royal Victoria Regiment can claim more battle honours than any other regiment or unit in the Australian Defence Force.
Three Victorian battalions (5th, 6th and 58th/32nd) have been merged, split and renamed several times from 1948 through to 2003. A fourth battalion was briefly formed in the early 1970s. This constant flux and turmoil has disrupted the clarity of the battalion's heritage. The various regimental families however, sustain the unit's past and a benefit of this consolidation is the breadth of its affiliations.
With World War Two over the 2nd AIF was de-mobilised more rapidly than the similar forces of any other participating nation. It was not long however, before the fear of communism prompted the expansion of Australian Forces. In 1960, the National Service scheme ceased, resulting in an immediate reduction in strength. A substantial structural change was also about to occur, for on 30 June 1960, all battalions and their members were absorbed into the new-style pentropic 1st Battalion, The Royal Victoria Regiment (RVR).
The Korean War, coupled with a perceived threat of communism to the security of the country and surrounding regions, led to the adoption of National Service. This scheme required participants to complete three months of full-time training, followed by three years service as members of Citizens Military Force (CMF) units..
5th Battalion – The Victorian Scottish Regiment The 5th Battalion, The Victorian Scottish Regiment (VSR) had existed prior to World War Two and was re-established on 1 April 1948,. as part of the Citizen Military Forces (CMF). Just as many of the members of the pre-war VSR had helped to raise the AIF, many ex-members of the 2nd AIF returned to the colours to again raise the 5th Battalion. Battalion Headquarters was established at Hawthorn and the Companies were located at Kew, Surrey Hills, Armadale and Dandenong.
The first Commanding Officer of the new battalion was Lieutenant Colonel G.R Warfe, DSO, MC, ED. The battalion quickly undertook a variety of training and duties, providing a guard of honour on the occasion of the presentation of the Field Marshal's Baton to Sir Thomas Blamey Australia's first and as at the time of writing only active Field Marshal (the Duke of Edinburgh is also listed as a Field Marshal in the Australian Army).
The battalion colours were also recovered with great pomp and ceremony, from the Scots' Church in Melbourne. In addition, Scottish Dress was quickly approved and the VSR was soon dressed distinctively. In 1898, the VSR had originally worn a modified Gordon tartan, with the gold lines replaced by red. This was replaced by the Gordon tartan in 1930 with the approval of an alliance with the Gordon Highlanders. The battalion motto was the same as that prior to World War One: "Nemo Me Impune Lacessit". These same words are engraved at the entrance of Edinburgh Castle. Loosely translated this means "no one hurts me and gets away it with it". The battalion march was "Cock of the North", and the unit colour was gold.
The introduction of National Service in 1951 led to 5th Battalion VSR growing to be over full-strength, allowing the unit to conduct ambitious peacetime training successfully. The battalion was represented in the Coronation Contingent sent to London in 1953. In 1954 the battalion provided the Government House Ceremonial Guards during the visit of Queen Elizabeth II. In the same year, the battalion also provided troops to line the streets, with their colours, for the opening of Parliament in Canberra. The battalion was presented with new Queen's and Regimental Colours on the 12 May 1957, which are now laid up in The Scots' Church, Melbourne.
6th Battalion – The Royal Melbourne Regiment In May, 1948, the 6th Battalion was re-formed.. 6th Battalion, The Royal Melbourne Regiment (RMR) had existed prior to the Second World War and again ex-soldiers of the 2nd AIF returned to the colours, members now of the CMF. The battalion recovered its colours, adopting the motto of "Semper Paratus" or "Always Ready".. The Battalion March was "Waltzing Matilda" and the unit colour was Khaki.
The battalion was established in the same Victoria Street Training Depot that they had occupied prior to the war. Today, this depot still stands near Queen Victoria Market on the corner of Therry & Victoria Streets in Melbourne. Companies were also established at Preston and Carlton. The 6th Battalion gained an influx of members due to the effects of National Service and participated in many of the major ceremonial events that the 5th Battalion VSR was involved in. The size of the unit allowed large scale and advanced training, although when the scheme ceased, the unit suffered a reduction in size. The battalion also gained a significant honour, being granted the Freedom of Entry to the City of Melbourne, on 10 March 1960.. 6th Battalion's Colours are laid up in St Paul's Cathedral Melbourne.
58th/32nd Infantry Battalion – The City of Essendon Regiment A third CMF Infantry Battalion was raised in the Melbourne area in 1948,. being based predominantly in the Western and North-Western suburbs. Initially encompassing Footscray, and known as The West Melbourne Regiment, then sometime later as The Melbourne Rifles, the battalion eventually expanded to be 58th Battalion, The City of Essendon Regiment in 1955..
The battalion established its headquarters at Pascoe Vale Road Moonee Ponds and had companies at Footscray and Brunswick. It gained many new members through National Service, but lost many when the scheme ceased. This battalion was also absorbed into 1 RVR, when the pentropic organisation was adopted in 1960. Unlike the 5th and the 6th battalions the 58th Battalion has not since reappeared in the Australian Army's Order of Battle, yet strong links are still maintained by the 58th/32nd Battalion Association. The current Moonee Ponds Depot is still the location for their annual ANZAC day service. The 58th Battalion Colours were laid up on the 10 May 1970 located at the Essendon Town Hall. The 32nd Battalion Colours were laid up in August 1970, and are at St John's Anglican Church in Footscray.
1960–1965 – The Pentropic experiment A re-assessment of optimal fighting strengths and structure resulted in the Australian Army adopting a Pentropic arrangement for its battalions in 1960. All of the Victorian CMF Infantry units were affected by this and two units were created to replace the five older ones. 1 RVR comprised most metropolitan sub-units whilst 2 RVR was built from a mixture of city and metropolitan units.
The pentropic arrangement comprised five rifle companies, a support company, an administration company and a command element. For 1 RVR the break up of the Sub-units was as follows:
A Company (The Scottish Coy); B Company (The Merri Coy); C Company (The Melbourne Coy) from the 6th Battalion; D Company (The Essendon Coy); E Company (The Footscray Coy) from the 58th/32nd Battalion; and Support Company was established from the 5th Battalion..
The term Royal Victoria Regiment had been adopted at the outset of the formation of the new unit, to reflect the connection of the unit with the State from which it was raised. This was an effort to uphold the traditions and maintain the ties to the local communities. At the same time, a new badge was adopted, which is still retained by current units. The regiment celebrated its birthday on 1 July 1960 as a result of this union.
1965–1982 – A period of expansion The pentropic arrangement was found to be generally unsuitable for use within the Australian Army and by 1965, alternatives had been studied and selected.. On the 3 May 1965 both 1 RVR and 2 RVR were again split to form the following five units: 1st Battalion, The Royal Victoria Regiment (Melbourne Area), 2nd Battalion, The Royal Victoria Regiment (Country Areas), 5th Battalion, The Royal Victoria Regiment (Melbourne Area), 6th Battalion, The Royal Victoria Regiment (Melbourne Area), and 1st Independent Rifle Company (Mildura).
When National service ended in 1960 CMF units were again eroded, as they became completely voluntary units. However, National Service was again introduced in 1965, offering six years voluntary service in the CMF or two years full-time service, subject to being balloted by birth date, enabling all of the metropolitan units to remain at good manning levels.. This scheme was abolished in 1973, however, and the Government commissioned a review into the training and organisation of the CMF. One result from this was that the CMF became known as the Australian Army Reserve or as it is more widely known: The Army Reserve..
1 RVR: The creation of 1 RVR essentially replaced 58th Battalion as the third metropolitan battalion. As with its predecessor, it was concentrated in the western and north-western parts of Melbourne. In 1975, 1 RVR absorbed both the 5 & 6 RVR due to all units being well below strength. This caused disruption to many members and was due at least in part to the fallout from the Australian involvement in Vietnam and the generally uninterested public view of the military following that unpopular conflict. With changes to its conditions of service, the number of people in the Army Reserve began to drop significantly. On the 14 November 1987, 1 RVR was absorbed into 5/6 RVR. The colours of 1 RVR were laid up on 25 April 1988 and remain at the Essendon Town Hall.
5 RVR: