Lineage Although the 1st Battalion was not technically established until 1914, the unit takes its lineage from units that were raised in Sydney sixty years before then. Indeed, the 1st Battalion was the oldest infantry battalion from New South Wales and is a successor unit of the Sydney Volunteer Rifles which were raised in 1854 in the then colony of New South Wales in response to concerns about possible threats posed by Russian naval forces in the
Pacific during the
Crimean War. Following that the unit went through a number of changes in composition and designation as the various colonial defence forces were reorganised during the mid to late 19th Century. By 1860 the unit had become known as the "Sydney Battalion", but in 1878 following the decision to introduce a system of partial payment for volunteer soldiers, the unit was absorbed into the 1st Regiment of New South Wales Volunteer Infantry. This was largely because the provisions of the
Defence Act 1901 prohibited sending
conscripts overseas to fight, but was also in part due to the need to maintain a military presence in Australia in case of emergency or attack while the 1st AIF was deployed overseas. Although initially there were limits placed upon the numbers of militiamen that could enlist as there was a requirement to man coastal defences and guard vital installations, large numbers of militiamen did enlist and were largely allocated to AIF units based upon locality. As a result, many of the AIF units became associated with the Militia units from where they were located and to some extent there was an attempt to maintain the identity of these units within the AIF. Up to 100 men from the pre-war 1st Infantry Regiment are believed to have served in various AIF units during the war, including the 1st Battalion. After a brief period of
basic training the 1st Battalion was among the first Australian troops to be deployed overseas, arriving in
Egypt on 2 December 1914. and was
Mentioned in Despatches. In August, the
Allies went on the offensive on the Gallipoli peninsula launching the
August Offensive. As part of this offensive, the 1st Division was called upon to launch a diversionary attack with the
Battle of Lone Pine. It was during this battle that the battalion took part in arguably its most notable engagement of the campaign. The Allies evacuated Gallipoli in December 1915 and the 1st Battalion returned to Egypt. The battalion was out of the line when the
Armistice was declared on 11 November 1918. Following the end of hostilities, the process of
demobilisation began and slowly the battalion's numbers dwindled as its personnel were repatriated to Australia. They were finally disbanded in May 1919. On 1 April 1921 the AIF was officially disbanded and a month later the new organisation of the Militia was adopted. In 1927, territorial titles were introduced and the battalion officially adopted the designation of 1st Battalion (East Sydney Regiment), which it had unofficially used since 1921. It was also renamed the "Militia" at this time. The decision to suspend compulsory training, coupled with the economic downturn of the
Great Depression meant that the manpower of many Militia units dropped considerably and as a result the decision was made to amalgamate a number of units. On 1 July 1930, the 1st Battalion was amalgamated with the
19th Battalion, later adopting the title of the 1st/19th Battalion (City of Sydney's Own Regiment). To maintain the ability of the Army to defend Australia should Japan enter the war, it was decided once again to limit the number of militiamen that were allowed to enlist in the
Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF) to roughly one quarter. While the units of the 2nd AIF were sent overseas to England, North Africa and the Middle East, the militia remained in Australia to carry out various garrison duties and training to improve the nation's overall readiness. Following Japan's entry into the war in December 1941 this changed and over the course of 1942–45 many Militia units were mobilised and deployed to fight in
New Guinea,
New Britain,
Bougainville and
Borneo. In any case over 207,000 militiamen transferred from the Militia to the AIF throughout the course of the war. As a result of this, and the serious manpower shortages experienced by the Australian economy from October 1942 onwards eight Militia battalions were disbanded while another eleven more were broken up and their personnel distributed to other units. as part of this in October 1942, the 1st Battalion was amalgamate with the 45th Battalion to form the 1st/45th Battalion. However in 1944 the 1st/45th Battalion was disbanded having not deployed overseas. After World War II the Citizens Military Force was reformed in 1948, although the 1st Battalion was not re-raised at that time. In 1957, it was decided to expand the 1st Commando Company as a full battalion named the 1st Infantry Battalion (Commando), City of Sydney's Own Regiment. When the CMF was reorganised in 1960 along the
Pentropic division concept, this unit was once more reduced to company size, forming No. 1 Commando Company (The City of Sydney Company), 1st Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment. In 1965, when the Pentropic establishment was discontinued this company was once again raised to a full battalion sized unit, forming the non-Pentropic 1st Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment (Commando). The battalion maintained the commando role until 1971 when it was amalgamated with the
19th Battalion to become
1st/19th Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment, a unit which remains in existence today and perpetuates the honours of the 1st Battalion and its predecessor units as well as that of the 19th Battalion. The 1st Commando Company was subsequently re-raised as a separate unit and later subsumed into the
1st Commando Regiment. ==Battle honours==