VICE-REGAL ESCORTS

In Australia the term vice-regal refers to persons filling the roles of governor general or state governor. On ceremonial occasions they are afforded an escort. Units of our lineage have provided escorts on multiple occasions. I will look at six occasions, the first in 1938 and the most recent 1981. Five were horse mounted and one AFV mounted.

October and November 1938 was a busy time for 8th (Indi) and 20th (Victorian Mounted Rifles) Light Horse Regiments when on no less than three occasions they provided escorts, once for the Governor of Victoria and twice for the Governor General.

Lord Huntington, Governor of Victoria, and Lady Huntington arrived at Benalla by train on Friday evening 21 October 1938. The following morning they were met by a detachment from 8th Light Horse Regiment commanded by Lieutenant Nelson and escorted to a public gathering at the Gardens and later to the Showgrounds where the Governor inspected the troops.

Immediately following the departure of the Governor, the Governor General, Lord Gowrie and Lady Gowrie arrived at Benalla enroute to Shepparton which was celebrating its centenary. Lord Gowrie was opening the Grand National Show. A detachment from 20th Light Horse met the vice-regal car on the Benalla road on the morning of 26 October and escorted it to the Town Hall where a mayoral reception was held prior to moving to the showground. The newspaper commented the mounted escort “presented a fine spectacle with their lances.”

While in Shepparton, Lord Gowrie announced that the next Governor General would be the King’s younger brother, the Duke of Kent. “It was a practical demonstration of His Majesty's interest in us, and would be the means of bringing us in closer touch with the Throne”, he said. It was not to be however, World War Two intervened and Lord Gowrie remained Governor General till 1945 when he was succeeded by the Duke of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent having been killed in an air crash in August 1942 while serving in the RAF.

Framed photograph of an extract from the “Benalla Ensign of Friday November 4 1938 reporting on the Governor General's escort drawn from the 8th Light Horse at the Melbourne Cup. [6105]

The 8th Light Horse was back in the action on 1 November when it provided an escort to Lord and Lady Gowrie to the Melbourne Cup at Flemington. The escort was commanded by Lieutenant FC Trickey. Soldiers making up the detachment were drawn from Benalla, Euroa, Wangaratta, Tallangatta, Wahgunyah, Wodonga and Rutherglen Troops. Incidentally, New Zealand horse, Catalogue won the Cup.

On 17 July 1939, Major General Sir Winston Dugan and Lady Dugan disembarked from SS “Ulysses” at Port Melbourne and were met by a mounted escort comprised Lieutenant HG Fyffe, Sergeant C Thorburn, Trumpeter G Pyle and 12 troopers drawn from the Tocumwal Troop, 20th Light Horse Regiment. The newly arrived dignitaries were driven in procession to Parliament House where Sir Winston was sworn in as Governor of Victoria.

Framed photograph of the escort drawn from Tocumwal Troop 20th (Victorian Mounted Rifles) Light Horse Regiment at Government House Melbourne, 17 July 1939. The escort was commanded by Lieutenant HG (Bob) Fyffe. [0699]

Photograph showing Major General Sir Winston Dugan speaking to the escort commander Lieutenant HG (Bob) Fyffe. During World War Two, Lieutenant Fyffe served with 6th Division Cavalry Regiment in North Africa where he was awarded the Military Cross. [0701]

A similar procession but with a very different look occurred on 18 October 1949 when Sir Dallas Brooks and his family arrived on the SS “Orcades”, Sir Dallas to take up the post of Governor of Victoria. On this occasion the vice-regal party was met by an escort provided by 4th/19th Prince of Wales’s Light Horse Regiment under the command of Captain Joe Byrne. The escort, mounted in Lynx scout cars and Staghound armoured cars was almost swamped by the Melbourne crowd as it proceeded slowly through the city to Government House.

Lynx Scout Car carrying Captain J Byrne commanding the mounted escort for Governor of Victoria, Sir Dallas Brooks and Lady Brooks, Melbourne, 18 October 1949. Escort was drawn from 4th/19th Prince of Wales’s Light Horse Regiment. [3093.02]

Staghound Armoured Car, part of the 4th/19th Prince of Wales’s Light Horse escort, moving through the huge Melbourne crowd which greeted Sir Dallas and Lady Brooks on their arrival in the city, 18 October 1949. [3093.05]

Horses made their return on 4 December 1981 when Sir Zelman Cowan, Governor General of Australia, made a visit to Bandiana to present the Sovereign's Banner to the Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corps (RAAOC). The 8/13 Victorian Mounted Rifles Light Horse Heritage Troop provided a mounted escort for Sir Zelman and Lady Cowan.

Mounted troops from 8/13th Victorian Mounted Rifles Heritage Troop with drawn sabres escorting the Governor General Sir Zelman Cowan and Lady Cowan at Bandiana 4 December 1981. Escort is commanded by Captain Robert Morrison, at left, riding in front of vice-regal car. [3087.09]

The escort was under the command of Captain (later Major) Robert Morrison, a keen horseman, who had been the prime mover in raising the Heritage Troop. All riders were serving soldiers of A Squadron 8/13 Victorian Mounted Rifles and their horsed activities were additional to their normal training responsibilities. In contrast to previous escorts the riders carried swords not lances.

In an interesting connection this photograph shows Mr H G (Bob) Fyffe presenting Captain Morrison with a certificate of appreciation from RAAOC for the escort provided to Sir Zelman Cowan. Bob Fyffe had commanded the escort for Major General Sir Winston Dugan in 1939. [3099.08]

The 8/13 Victorian Mounted Rifles Light Horse Heritage Troop carried out other escorts notably on the occasion of the visit to Puckapunyal by Prince Charles and Princess Diana, 31 October 1985, but that is another story.

ARMY LEAVES ALBURY AFTER 115 YEARS

On Saturday 13 May 2000, Victorian Mounted Rifles Squadron, 4th/19th Prince of Wales's Light Horse Regiment departed the Drill Hall Albury and relocated to its new depot at Building 105 North Bandiana.

This event signified the end of an Army presence in Albury which began in 1886 when an NSW Volunteer Infantry Company was formed under the command of Captain Foster Cooper.

H Company 1st New South Wales Infantry training at Albury Showground 1889.

Photograph Albury City Collection.

The Drill Hall in Victoria Street was constructed in 1900 on portion of the Police Paddock and opened as a training depot for citizen soldiers of the town. With Federation came a change of role for the soldiers, from infantry to field artillery. Guns, wagons, and horse teams became a common sight as the battery trained for war.

Albury Drill Hall, centre building, constructed in 1900. Flanking buildings were added c. 1915. The complex was vacated in 2000 and demolished for redevelopment in 2004.

Many more of the town’s young men came to the Drill Hall when compulsory training was introduced in 1911. In addition to the Battery, an infantry company under the command of Captain James Simpson was formed.

War came in 1914 and the Albury Battery proceeded overseas under the command of Major Joseph Shellshear. The battery fought on the Western Front with notable roles in the battles at Noreuil and Mont St Quentin.

Following the War, the Battery recommenced training at Victoria Street and continued till the outbreak of the Second World War. Majors Roy Collings MC and Leslie Colquhoun filled command positions. In 1940, the Battery mobilised and moved north; in its absence the depot became home to various military base units.

A Sub-Section 60th Battery Australian Field Artillery training at Albury Drill Hall 1921.

Post-war soldiering resumed in 1948 with the formation of the 8th/13th Victorian Mounted Rifles, a tank regiment of the Royal Australian Armoured Corps. National Service in 1951 brought another influx of Albury and Wodonga young men to the Drill Hall. The ranks of the VMR swelled to hundreds and General Grant tanks and sleek scout cars flying pennants on radio antenna rumbled through the city streets as the regiment moved out on weekend manoeuvres in the surrounding countryside. Colonel John Neale was one regimental commander.

8/13 Victorian Mounted Rifles engaged in an annual training camp with General Grant tanks at Puckapunyal 1954. There were adequate numbers of General Grants to allow regimental sized exercises to be conducted.

Ferret Scout Cars and M113 Light Reconnaissance Vehicles (LRVs) about to depart Albury Drill Hall to conduct a weekend exercise, c.1970.

The closure of the Drill Hall on 13 May 2000 and the relocation of the squadron from Albury brought that all to an end. The subsequent demolition of the buildings and the redevelopment into a prestige housing estate further wiped away all trace of Albury’s military heritage.

Victorian Mounted Rifles Squadron, 4/19 Prince of Wales’s Light horse mounted in M113 Light Reconnaissance Vehicles (LRVs) parading along Dean Street Albury marking its relocation to North Bandiana, 13 May 2000.

The squadron marked its departure in style, however. Mounted in tracked armoured fighting vehicles and led by a section of light horse and the regimental band, the parade moved down Dean Street past an honour guard of Army Cadets and a saluting dais. On the dais, the mayor of the City of Albury, Councillor Les Langford took the salute and farewelled the regiment. This ended 115 years of Albury as a garrison city.

Parade approaching the saluting dais in Dean Street Albury where the Mayor of Albury, Councillor Les Langford, farewelled the regiment.

The squadron marched on. In Wodonga it was welcomed by Councillor Graham Crapp, mayor of the City of Wodonga. Councillor Crapp accompanied the regiment to the gates of North Bandiana Army Base where the Commander Bandiana Area, Colonel Chris Anstey greeted the regiment and handed over Building 105 to the Commanding Officer of the 4th/19th Prince of Wales's Light Horse, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Annett.

The squadron accompanied by the Mayor of Wodonga, Councillor Graham Crapp, met the Commander Albury-Wodonga Military Area, Colonel Christopher Anstey, at the gateway to Building 105 North Bandiana. Naval and Army cadets mounted an honour guard at the gate. Lieutenant Colonel Michael Annett Commanding Officer 4/19 Prince of Wales’s Light Horse is at left.

Building 105 had been constructed in 1942 as part of the rapid development of the Bandiana as Australia’s largest World War Two military logistic base. For fifty years it was the Royal Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (RAEME) Armaments Wing able to repair and refurbishment the largest guns and tanks the army possessed.

The squadron enters Building 105, North Bandiana for the first time. The spacious and recently re-roofed and re-clad building promised to become a superb training facility. Alas this promise was to be short lived. Serious structural defects emerged and in 2009 the building was declared unsafe and the squadron moved to a new home.

The building, an imposing structure, was testament to the carpentry skills of an earlier generation. It was constructed entirely of hardwood timber with bolted joints. Lattice columns supported framed roof trusses.

Prior to the 2000 move-in of the armoured squadron, the building had been refurbished, but no amount of refurbishment could compensate for the structural deterioration caused by ageing roof sheeting which allowed moisture to enter. In 2009 the building was declared unsafe, and the unit moved again, first to temporary accommodation at Bandiana then further out to its current depot at Latchford Barracks, Bonegilla. No parade or ceremony marked these moves.

The departure from Albury together with other outside factors precipitated a decline in the number of soldiers from the district. At the time of the move there were 50, now there are fewer than 20. The citizen soldier of the Army Reserve has close links to the community. When he and his activities are no longer visible, he fades from communal consciousness and consequently the option for young men and women to participate disappears.

REGIMENTAL DRUMS

We hold in the Regimental Collection at North Bandiana a base drum and a side drum. The base drum has ‘8/13 Victorian Mounted Rifles’ painted on the drum skins. The story however falters there. Did the regiment have a band and these two objects are all that remains of its instruments, or did we only ever have a very small drum corps? One clue came from a conversation one ANZAC Day in Albury, 2004, with John Simpson who served with 8/13 VMR 1948-1954.

Base Drum held in the 8/13 VMR Regimental Collection along with a side drum . When and in what capacity they were used we do not know, but would very much like to.

John told of the first stuttering start of an 8/13 VMR Band and how he came to join the regiment. He was playing in the East Kew Citizens’ Band when Lieutenant Colonel Tom Fogarty turned up at band practice one night. Tom Fogarty was CO of 8/13 VMR, a recently formed tank regiment. One of his officers was Jack Bramwell, ex-2/8th Armoured Regiment, as was Tom. Jack Bramwell’s father was bandmaster at East Kew so when Tom Fogarty expressed a desire to have a regimental band, Jack said “What about my father’s band?”  Colonel Fogarty duly went along and explained his need of bandsmen. John and several others joined up, but unfortunately no cornet players could be persuaded to do so.  So, Colonel Tom Fogarty’s dream of a readymade band died a natural death and Simpson& Co were transferred to Recce Troop, HQ Squadron. John became the CO’s driver.

Side drum which by its paint design and colours would appear to match the Base drum marked 8/13 Victorian Mounted Rifles.

So there was an intention to form a band but did it proceed beyond the conceptual stage, and if not how did the drums come about? These handsome musical instruments are to go on display in the 8/13 VMR History Room at Simpson Barracks, but what is their story? Do any of our readers know? If you do contact us and let us know.

FAREWELL THE GRANTS

In February 1956, 8/13 Victorian Mounted Rifles participated in a 2nd Armoured Brigade camp at Puckapunyal. Other units of the Brigade included 4/19 Prince of Wales’s Light Horse, 2nd Armoured Brigade Engineer Squadron and 2nd Armoured Brigade Signals Squadron. All units included voluntary enlisted soldiers and national servicemen.

Soldiers of 8/13 VMR were drawn from the regional centres of Albury-Wodonga, Wangaratta, Benalla, Euroa, Yarrawonga and Corowa as well as the surrounding rural districts of northeast Victoria and southern NSW.

M3 General Grant tanks of 8/13 Victorian Mounted Rifles at Puckapunyal February 1956. It was the last camp for the Grants. They were replaced by the Centurion Mark 3.

It was to be the last occasion that the two armoured regiments of the Brigade used the M3 General Grant tank which had been their main armoured fighting vehicle since 1948. The Grants had been imported from USA in 1942 to equip the Australian Armoured Division. All up about 500 were received so were in plentiful supply for RAAC units post-war.

The camp received extensive press coverage in the Weekly Times of 15 February 1956.

Brigadier H H Hanner presenting presenting Staff Sergeant R J Roberts, Orderly Room Sergeant of the 8/13 Victorian Mounted Rifles with his British Empire Medal (BEM )at Puckapunyal February 1956.

Brigadier H H (Tack) Hammer, ex 2/48 Bn and 15th Inf Bde, commanded the 2nd Armoured Brigade and Lieutenant Colonel Tom Fogarty, ex 2/8 Armd Regt, commanded 8/13 VMR. Squadron commanders included Major Norman Whitehead MC, ex 2/6 Armd Regt, and Major Reg McDermott ex 2/8 Inf Bn.

Following this camp, the Centurion Mark III main battle tank became the primary fighting vehicle of the armoured regiments. The Centurions however were not so numerous as the Grants had been, there being only enough CMF training tanks at Puckapunyal to equip a squadron. So subsequent annual camps were conducted on a squadron basis.

Soldiers of 8/13 Victorian Mounted Rifles inspecting a Centurion Mark 3 tank after it had given a demonstration of its capabilities at camp Puckapunyal February 1956. Viewers were impressed and declared it a ‘super’ tank.

The General Grants tank became surplus to military requirements. Many were sold at disposal sales, converted into bulldozers and ended their life rusting in a farmer’s back paddock

Training with Centurions for 8/13 VMR lasted only two years. In 1959 the regiment converted to a cavalry role and was equipped with Ferret Scout Cars. The regiment did however return to the tank role in 1966, this time with Centurion Mark V vehicles.

20 PDR BREECH BLOCK COMPONENT

How many gunners remember the smallest component in the Centurion 20 Pounder breech block with the longest name: Pin securing screw retaining intermediate firing needle withdrawal lever? It was something of a challenge to remember the name. Was it pin securing screw retaining, or pin retaining screw securing? Today, 50 years on at least I’m not 100% sure. Happy to hear from old gunners with clearer recollections.

Centurions on the firing range at Puckapunyal during Annual Camp 1968.

An explanation of the function of the component is that because rounds in the Centurion main armament were fired electrically, the  firing needle which was in contact with the base of the round (there was no firing pin), could be damaged if it was not drawn clear when the breech opened. When the breech closed the needle moved forward again into a firing position in contact with the base of the round.

WANGARATTA TROOP AT KAKADU 1993

The Dibb Report into mainland defence of Australia,1986, among other things identified the requirement for protection of key assets in Northern Australia and the possibility of involving Army Reserve (Ares) units in this thus releasing regular forces for offensive operations. Dibb also pointed out that this defined role would result in a huge lift in Ares morale.

In June 1988, the 3rd Division (3Div) conducted a Tactical Exercise without Troops (TEWT), Exercise ‘Distant Trumpet’ in the Katherine- Darwin area to study problems associated with defence against low level incursions against Tindal RAAF Base. Exercise ‘Northern Explorer’ followed in October of that year when units of the 3Div including A Squadron 8/13 Victorian Mounted rifles sent patrol groups to get a first taste of environment and conditions. Post-Exercise reports had to include recommendations re: health, equipment and adaptation of Standing Operating Procedures (SOPs) in preparation for the new role deploying to Northern Australia.

Exercise Kangaroo 89 (K89) was a disappointment for the ARes, when the exercise became a regular exercise with minimal Reserve involvement, individual soldiers filling gaps in regular units, but no unit or sub-unit involvement. Exercise K92 was better with the 4th Brigade (4Bde) deploying to Tindal RAAF Base and defending it against raids by small ‘enemy’ groups.

Training by small units continued into the next year. Accordingly, in September 1993, No 3 Troop VMR Squadron 4/19 PWLH (Wangaratta) commanded by Captain Kel Robertson, deployed to RAAF Base Tindal located 15 KM outside Katherine in Northern Territory. Major M Annett was the Officer Commanding the VMR Squadron at the time.

Captain Kel Robertson 3TP (Wangaratta) VMR SQN 4/19 PWLH looking out over the Arafura swamp near the Maningrida to Ramingining road in Arnhem Land. September 1993.

The training began with airfield defence at Tindal followed by a 1000km recon into Arnhem Land in four Landrovers. The troop reported on the conditions of the roads, airfields, bridges (mainly causeways), resources such as fuel supplies in the towns and infrastructure.

Map of Arnhem Land showing area covered by 1000km patrol, September 1993.

Each troop took a different route. 3 Troop had the northern route through Kakadu National Park, across the East Alligator River to Oenpelli then to Maningrida and Ramangining and south to the Central Arnhem Road and back to RAAF Base Tindal.

BERET AND BADGE

8th/13th Armoured Regiment, the title soon changed to 8/13 Victorian Mounted Rifles, was raised 1 May 1948. The Commanding Officer was Lieutenant Colonel C T (Tom) Fogarty and the Squadron Commander A Squadron was Captain N G (Norm) Whitehead MC.

First headdress of 8th.13th Victorian Mounted Rifles Regiment with silver Rising Sun badge.

Being Armoured Corps, the regiment wore a black beret with a chromed Rising Sun as its hat badge. The Rising Sun was replaced by a silver regimental badge c1952. This badge was modelled on the badge of the 20th Light Horse Regiment having the motto Pro Rege et Patria (For King and Country). The scroll below the crest was reworked from ‘20th Aust Light Horse VMR’ to ‘Victorian Mounted Rifles’.

Silver had badge of the 8th/13th Victorian Mounted Rifles Regiment which replaced the silver Rising Sun c.1952.

The black beret has a long history as a headdress for armoured troops, especially tank troops. The Royal Tank Corps received approval for its use from King George V on 5 March 1924. The Tank Corps had adopted it from the French 70th Chasseurs Alpins after noting its practicality in not showing oil stains which were part and parcel of work in tanks.

The black beret was adopted by the embryonic Australian Tank Corps in 1930 after two years of battling with the slouch hat in tanks. The three AIF divisional cavalry regiments, 6th, 7th and 9th all wore black berets, but when the Australian Armoured Division was raised it opted for a khaki beret. The black beret became the headgear of choice for CMF Armoured Corps regiments raised in 1948 with in some cases a tuft of emu plumes behind the hat badge.

NORTHERN TERRITORY DEPLOYMENT 44 YEARS APART

In 1942, 8th Cavalry Regiment (Indi Light Horse) moved to Northern Territory and took over responsibility for airfield defence from 2/7th Divisional Cavalry Regiment. Forty-four years later, 1988, A Squadron 8th/13th Victorian Mounted Rifles deployed to Northern Territory during its annual camp to train for the defence of Tindal Airfield.

8th Cavalry Regiment (Indi Light Horse) in Northern Territory 1942.

8th Cavalry was equipped with Bren Gun Carriers; 8th/13th with M113 Armoured Personnel Carriers, but the climate, terrain and the task remained the same.

Soldiers of the 8th Cavalry Regiment (Indi Light Horse) on patrol Northern Territory 1942.

A Squadron soldiers carried out dismounted and mounted patrols becoming familiar with the conditions especially noting the likely changes between wet and dry seasons. Patrol reports prepared by Captain Colin Carrington can be found on our Victorian Collections catalogue.

Captain Colin Carrington, A Squadron 8th/13th Victorian Mounted Rifles, left front, with his patrol near Fergusson River, Northern Territory 1988.

NEWSPAPER CUTTING 'Border Morning Mail', 30 April 1948

8/13 REGIMENT

Postings to Albury Squadron

Lieut-Colonel C.J. Fogarty of Melbourne, commanding officer 8/13 armoured regiment will be in Albury at 2 o'clock on May 10, to interview officers and NCO's for posting to the unit.

The 8/13 Regiment is to be composed of squadrons raised at Sale, Melbourne, Wangaratta-Benalla and Albury. Capt. N.G. Whitehead of Urana is to command the Albury squadron, the establishment of officers for which is one major, two captains and five lieutenants. More than eight officers however will be accepted as provision is made for holding them on a regimental supernumerary list.

Captain Whitehead saw service as second-in-command and then as officer-commanding an armoured squadron. He will come to Albury next Monday for preliminary discussions should officers or NCO's desire to see him. Anyone interested is invited to apply for information at the drill hall. 

8/13 VICTORIAN MOUNTED RIFLES (RAAC): A BRIEF HISTORY

Original Source: 8/13 VMR Information publication, circa 1970. Updated 3 June 2012 and 13 April 2018.

The Victorian Mounted Rifles was raised from the North Eastern Victoria and New South Wales border districts. For one hundred and thirty-three years the Regiment has served the community in both peace and war. Its history is that of five generations of Australians from these districts, whose heritage it was the duty of the Regiment to protect and preserve. This duty has now passed to the 8/13 Victorian Mounted Rifles Regimental Association.

The South Melbourne Mounted Rifle Corps was the first Mounted Rifles unit raised in Victoria on 2nd October 1860. In March 1885, owing to the very real fears of a future war with Russia, the Victorian Government decided to form a corps of Mounted Rifles to increase the military forces available to the colony. Consequently on 1 May 1885 the Victorian Mounted Rifles (VMR) was formed under the command of Lieutenant Colonel B. B. (Tom) Price. Sub units were raised in Geelong, Colac and Kyneton in June 1885. Later other sub-units were raised in Sale and Woodend. By December the Victorian Mounted Rifles had 45 sub-units in 9 companies. These were formed into two battalions on 18 June 1891.

Enlistment then, as it is today, was voluntary and parades were held on two evenings per week, each of two hours duration. Each trooper was issued with a limited amount of equipment and clothing, but was required to provide his own horse and saddle. He received no pay for his services; however, the Regiment received an annual grant of one pound for each effective soldier. Armament consisted of a Martini-Henry rifle and sword-bayonet for the rank and file.

Colonel Price's zeal resulted in the rapid expansion of the Victorian Mounted Rifles. Having served in India and in the 103rd Foot (Dublin Fusiliers), he had the reputation of being an exceptional judge of man and horse. The voluntary part time training under his clear direction was soon to prove invaluable when the Regiment first saw active service in the South African War. The Victorian Mounted Rifles provided all Victorian cavalry from 1899-1902.

Proof of its effectiveness in this campaign is evidenced by the fact that Colonel Price himself was later given command of the 2nd Australian Contingent, and is preserved by the battle honours emblazoned on the Regimental Guidon. An officer of the Victorian Mounted Rifles, Lieutenant Maygar, was awarded the Victoria Cross in this campaign.

Following the end of the South African War and Federation, the Australian Defence Forces were completely reorganised. From this point, the history of the 8/13 Victorian Mounted Rifles, is that of the 7th Light Horse (Victorian Mounted Rifles), 8th Light Horse (Victorian Mounted Rifles) and 10th Light Horse (Victorian Mounted Rifles). In 1912 a further reorganisation occurred and the 7th LH became 15th Light Horse (Victorian Mounted Rifles), the 8th LH became 16th Light Horse (Indi) and the 10th LH became 13th Light Horse (Gippsland)

Voluntary enlistment and part-time training continued in the intervening period leading up to World War I (WWI) when the regiments were called on to fill the ranks of the AIF regiments. They saw active service in many widely spread campaigns: Gallipoli, Egypt and Palestine, and the Western Front. A total of 31 Battle Honours were awarded and emblazoned on the Guidons presented to the post war regiments, 8th,(Indi), 13th (Gippsland) and 20th (Victorian Mounted Rifles) Light Horse which had replaced the pre-war 16th, 13th and 15th Regiments.

World War Two brought big changes to the regiments. Many officers and soldiers volunteered for the AIF and filled many postings in the Armoured Division and the Divisional Cavalry Regiments. The remainder converted from horses to mechanised transport and a variety of roles.

The 8th Light Horse became 8th Reconnaissance Battalion then in July 1942, became 8th Cavalry Regiment serving in Northern Territory and as the Japanese threat to the mainland declined the regiment was disbanded in March 1944. The 13th Light Horse became the 13th Armoured Regiment, but it too was disbanded in October 1943.

In December 1941, 20th Light Horse became 20th Motor Regiment and in February 1944 was deployed in Merauke, Dutch New Guinea. Upon return to Australia in February 1945 the regiment was redesignated 20th Pioneer Battalion and was disbanded at the end of that year. The 20th Light Horse was the only one of the three regiments to serve overseas in WWII and was awarded the Battle Honour ‘Southwest Pacific 1944-45’.

In 1947, the Australian Government took the decision to raise the Citizen Military Forces (CMF) as an integral part of the Australian Military Forces and accordingly on 1 May 1948, 8th/13th Armoured Regiment was raised as part of the Royal Australian Armoured Corps (RAAC) under the command of Lieutenant Colonel T Fogarty, a former member of 2/8th Armoured Regiment AIF. The regimental title was changed almost immediately to 8th/13th Victorian Mounted Rifles Regiment and the Regiment was equipped with Mk3 General Grant tanks, these were replaced by Centurion Mk 3 tanks in 1955. Service was again voluntary with weekly evening parades and one weekend a month.

Training depots were located in Melbourne, Regimental Headquarters and HQ Squadron; Albury, A squadron; Wangaratta/Benalla, B Squadron and Sale, C Squadron. Members were paid for their training time.

The National Service Scheme was introduced in 1951 which expanded the ranks of the Regiment massively and changes were made to depot locations. In 1952, C Squadron moved from Sale to join A Squadron in Albury. Three years later, Regimental Headquarters moved from Melbourne to Wangaratta and so in 1955 the 8/13 VMR had finally returned home to the districts which for so long had provided its officers and men. The National Service scheme ceased in 1959 and numbers in the regiment declined as National Servicemen completed their training obligation.

In 1970, the Regiment moved Regimental Headquarters from Wangaratta to Albury and changed its role from an Armoured Regiment (Tank) to a Reconnaissance Regiment (Mechanised Cavalry) and back to tank in 1966.

 Between 1965 and 1972 the Regiment again participated in the revived Nation Service scheme and again changed roles from tank to armoured reconnaissance equipped with M113A1 light reconnaissance vehicles (LRV).

In October 1976, as part of a general re-organisation of the Army Reserve, the Regiment became an Independent Reconnaissance Squadron titled A Squadron 8/13 VMR. In January 1988 the unit was again re-organised as an Armoured Personnel Carrier Squadron under the command of 4th Brigade.

As a result of a Force Structure Review in 1990, A Sqn 8/13 VMR and 4/19 PWLH Regiment were linked on 1 April 1991 to form a new two squadron reconnaissance regiment entitled 4/19 PWLH Regiment. By direction one squadron was to be known as "4/19 PWLH Squadron" and the other "8/13 VMR Squadron"