25th Australian Infantry Training Battalion

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Brief History

Formed in Palestine at Dimra in April 1941 with staff drawn from units of the 25th Infantry Brigade Group who had recently arrived from England. The reorganisation of the AIF resulted in the establishment of a 7th Infantry Training Brigade HQ oversighting the 18th, 21st and 25th Australian Infantry Training units. They were initially able to supply reinforcements for units engaged in the invasion of Syria before being recalled to Australia with the rest of the 25th Brigade in February 1942. Arriving in Adelaide, they camped at Mt Barker before moving to Balcombe, Victoria in July 1942.

In September they recommenced training at Tenterfield, NSW, but with the consolidation of recruit training at Cowra, the unit turned its attention to more advanced infantry training. They remained at Tenterfield until March 1944 when they were disbanded

Trainees

• † Bernard Sydney Smailes 24 Sep - 3 Oct 1941
• Stanley Upton Hammond 24 Sep - 14 Nov 1941
• Maxwell John Watson 20 Nov 1943 - 5 Jan 1944
• Fred Alexander McKelvie 14 Dec 1943 - 14 Mar 1944

Notes

Information comes from The Unit Guide Volume 6 - The Australian Army 1939-1945, page 6.246, Graham R McKenzie-Smith - Big Sky Publishing - 2018