Preface to the 1990 Edition

By the Colonel Commandant, the Royal Australian Regiment

This book is the story of the Royal Australian Regiment, from its birth on 23 November 1948 to the present day (1990). It is the proud history of the senior infantry regiment of the Australian Army. The origin of the regiment is the three Australian infantry battalions that served in the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan. These battalions, formed by volunteers from the Australian infantry divisions of the Second World War, provide the lineal connection between the Royal Australian Regiment and the great infantry units and formations of the Australian Army of the 1939–45 period. The battalions of the regiment became the first ever regular infantry units of the Australian Army.

In the 42 years to 1990, the regiment has grown from its original three battalions to nine battalions and has now contracted to six battalions. Units of the regiment have served in the force occupying Japan after the end of the Second World War, the Korean War 1950–56, the Malayan Emergency 1955–60, Confrontation in Malaysia and Borneo 1960–65 and in Vietnam 1965–72. In addition, the regiment provided many officers, warrant officers and non-commissioned officers to the Australian Army Training Team, Vietnam and to the Australian component of peacekeeping forces in many parts of the world.

The first three chapters of the history are devoted to the raising of the infantry component of the force that was to occupy Japan, service in the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in 1946–48 and the formation of the regiment in Japan, and the difficulties experienced by the battalions up until the start of the Korean War. There is no doubt that service in Japan forged strong links between the battalions. From the experience of working closely together in the same brigade the battalions developed bonds of friendship and similar methods of operating which were assets readily used to advantage when the regiment was formed.

I can remember the start of it all. In 1948 I was a platoon commander in the 66th Australian Infantry Battalion serving in Japan as part of the 34th Australian Brigade when we got word that the three battalions of the brigade—65th, 66th and 67th—were to form the Australian Regiment. I can recall that everyone was pleased but at the time the 65th and the 66th Battalions were preparing to leave Japan for Australia in the HMAS Kanimbla and there could be no formal celebrations to mark the occasion. Furthermore, to many soldiers in the battalions the formation of the regiment meant very little because they had engaged only for service in Japan and were looking forward to their discharge when they arrived in Australia. My battalion—2 RAR—re-formed in Puckapunyal in January 1949 with a strength of about ten officers and 70 other ranks.

For the two units in Australia, the first eighteen months of the regiment’s existence were harrowing times, as this history records. There were numerous discharges through frustration and discontent. The units were not strong enough to undertake meaningful training, the barracks were in a dilapidated state and any improvements made had to be the work of battalion working parties patching up as best they could; neither money nor tradesmen ever seemed to be available. 3 RAR in Japan fared better but suffered from being significantly under strength. Yet from all these adverse conditions and circumstances came the hard core of dedicated soldiers destined to be the strong non-commissioned officers of the regiment in the Korean War and the outstanding warrant officers and sergeants of the battalions that served in Malaya and in the early part of the Vietnam campaign.

Korea was the ‘baptism of fire’ for the regiment. In August 1950, 3 RAR was warned for service in Korea and it was brought up to full strength by sizeable contingents from 1 RAR and 2 RAR. In essence, all three battalions of the regiment were represented when 3 RAR went into action in October 1950 at a time when the regiment was not two years old. During the next 22 years at least one, more often two and sometimes three battalions of the regiment were in combat in South-East Asia at any one time.

Combat operations dominate the history of the regiment from 1950 to 1972 during which time all units were either in action or preparing for action. The requirement for the regiment to provide units to serve in both Korea and Malaya and later, units to serve in Malaysia/Borneo and in Vietnam necessitated the expansion of the regiment to four battalions in 1964, to seven battalions in 1965, to eight battalions in 1966 and to nine battalions in 1967. The National Service Training Scheme introduced by the government in 1965 was important for the creation of the new battalions and there is no doubt that the regiment was well served by these high quality young men. Every commanding officer during the period of national service in Australia from 1965 to 1972 has acknowledged the calibre and contribution of the national servicemen in his battalion.

There is no official history of the Malayan Emergency in 1955–60 or of the Confrontation period in Malaysia and Borneo in 1960–66 and this puts these campaigns at a disadvantage when compared with Korea and Vietnam.⁴ A reader of this history seeking more information of the regiment’s involvement in Korea is able to turn to the official history of that campaign, and there are already a good number of books about the Australian operations in Vietnam. For this reason the chapters in the book dealing with the Emergency and Confrontation contain more detail and intimate descriptions of small actions than those dealing with Korea or Vietnam.

If Korea was the foundation of the regiment’s fighting tradition, which was substantiated in Malaya and Malaysia/Borneo, Vietnam won for the regiment new admiration and esteem. The demonstrated professionalism of the units in every type of operation undertaken, the obvious dedication of all ranks to the regiment’s motto, ‘Duty First’, and the prominent recognition received from national and international sources for the achievements of the battalions confirmed the value of the regiment as a component of the Australian Defence Force. These observations come through clearly in the three chapters dealing with Vietnam: ‘The Build Up— Vietnam 1965–67’, ‘Main Force Operations—Vietnam 1968–69’ and ‘Pacification in Phuoc Tuy—Vietnam 1969–72’.

When the last Australian battalion withdrew from Vietnam—4 RAR sailed from Vung Tau for home on 29 February 1972—the regiment’s continuous involvement in operations for more than two decades came to an end. But it was a further year before the last battalion came home when the government decided to withdraw 6 RAR from Singapore. 1973 marks the first year in the history of the regiment that all battalions of the regiment were based on home soil.

The final chapters take quite a different direction. The one titled ‘The Defence of Australia 1973–79’ covers the effect on the regiment of the changes in defence policy introduced by the Whitlam government. The number of battalions was reduced to six by amalgamations, the strength of the units was also reduced and strategic and tactical concepts changed from forward defence in cooperation with friendly nations to one that ensured the army placed greater emphasis on defence within the continent of Australia. In this period the versatility of the regiment was improved greatly by the diversity of the exercises undertaken in training in Australia and by the opportunity for some companies to participate overseas in exercises staged by allied nations.

Chapter 13 is titled ‘Ready Reaction and Specialisation: Australia, 1980–90’. It highlights the fundamental changes in the role and sometimes organisation of each of the six battalions. It covers the establishment of the Operational Deployment Force, its training and how it has been used, the development of special roles for a parachute battalion and for a mechanised battalion and the general tasks given to the two battalions in Brisbane. When I had completed reading the history to this point I felt a glow of satisfaction that I had been a part of it all; my regiment had achieved a great deal in its first 40 years.

I am fortunate to have known a lot of the people who had been prominent in the significant episodes mentioned in the history and in my mind’s eye I can still see their faces. To me, people make the regiment and perform the great deeds. In the concluding chapter a cross-section of highly respected members of the regiment have written about various aspects of battalion life and experience ranging from General Sir Francis Hassett’s commanding 3 RAR in action in Korea to Harry Smith’s participation on an unusual parade. All the contributions are well worth reading. I am only sorry that space would not allow the editor to invite contributions from many others.

What does it mean to have served in the regiment? Some 60,000 men have passed through its ranks since its inception [until 1990] and most have carried the strong bonds of family throughout their lives. Many of them have a favourite battalion; many have served in more than one battalion. But the regiment is supreme; the regiment is the family—the RAR family. Look at the comments made by some of the authors of the ‘Individual Views’ in chapter 16:

• Brian Betts: ‘My fondest memory is my service in the Royal Australian Regiment. Given my life to live again, I would do it all over and enjoy it just as much.’

• David Butler: ‘“Duty First” is truly the measure of the Regiment.’

• Jim Cruickshank: ‘As (A.B.) Facey said in his book, I had a most fortunate life.’

• John Essex-Clark: ‘My professional affection was for my men and my rewards were success in our combined endeavours. The regiment was my professional family and our motto, “Duty First”, was my creed.’

• Benny O’Dowd: ‘Kapyong was won by the Diggers.’

The key to the success of the regiment has been the good leaders, good noncommissioned officers and good soldiers. I am sure that our soldiers are, and have always been, second to none and this history is stern testimony of that. Our warrant and non-commissioned officers are the backbone of the regiment, brought up in the strong traditions of regimental spirit. They are the enforcers of professionalism and high standards and the fierce custodians of the regiment’s reputation. The officers have guided the way by ability and example and have provided the spark of initiative so essential to success in battle and in training. It is a tribute to all who have served in the regiment but particularly the regulars who made the regiment their careers and provided much needed continuity. I have the highest praise for the regulars who have served the regiment loyally and true in Australia and overseas and set the pattern for what is expected of Australian infantry.

The success of the regiment has not been without cost, and a total of 651 men have died on overseas service with the regiment [between 1947 and 1990].⁵ The period since the Second World War demanded a different sort of dedication from the new regular army. Unlike earlier wars, the Australian soldier was not motivated by imperial sentiment or a feeling that the country was in immediate danger. Certainly many soldiers felt that communism was a threat to the Australian way of life, but most soldiers fought because they were professionals, in service of their country’s government—a service that was, and continues to be, driven by a sense of duty and responsibility. As this history shows, many fine Australians were willing to give their lives in fulfilling their duty. The government and people of Australia can expect no more from their servants.

One cannot forget the families of the regiment. While the history makes no specific mention of the sacrifices made by the wives and children in supporting husbands and fathers, often in difficult circumstances, the staunch and loyal contributions of the families to the success of the regiment is very much admired and it is acknowledged in this preface.

This seems the appropriate place to pay tribute to the outstanding talent, perseverance and dedication of the editor, Colonel David Horner, in producing this book. He has been the power, the driving force. In short, as the commanding officer he devised the contents and allocated the tasks. As the RSM he worked hard to ensure that the tasks were done on time. By writing some of the chapters he has been one of the company commanders and he has been a ‘digger’ doing all the jobs that no one else wanted to do. David Horner is a fine historian and the regiment is lucky and proud to have him in its ranks.

There are many others who have contributed to the contents of this book not least of whom are the authors of the chapters. The voluntary contributions made, in some instances perhaps with shades of the press gang of past times, and the generous amount of time spent in making the history as complete as possible are personal tributes to the regiment. To them I say that all of us who enjoy the fruits of your labours thank you so much. We hope you get great joy and satisfaction from the pleasure you have given us, the readers of this history.

Finally, let this history show to those who are serving now and to all who will join the regiment in the future the privilege that we of the past have had in serving. As the Colonel Commandant I am in the fortunate position of knowing the regiment today almost as well as I knew it in years gone by and I am convinced that it is every bit as good as it has ever been. May the Royal Australian Regiment continue to prosper.

A.L. Morrison
Major General
Colonel Commandant
Canberra, ACT
1989