Description
Physical description
Shoulder Patch to 2/3 Australian Independent Company, being two light blue squares linked at a corner, on grey background. Patch worn horizontally.
History note
Patch worn 1941-1943. Authorised February 1942.
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This patch was discontinued in January 1944 (see below) in favour of the blue and red patch of the 2/7 Commando Regiment (see INS 30411) into which the Company had been absorbed and re-designated 2/3 Commando Squadron.
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The unit formed in or after July 1941 as 3 Independent Company and trained at Wilson around August-September. They deployed to New Caledonia in December where they were joined by an American Task Force in March 1942. They trained with the Americans until recalled to Australia in August. In February 1943 they transferred to New Guinea where they fought in the Wau area in a guerrilla role, particularly on the Komiatum Track in support of 3 Division in the Salamaua campaign. They were withdrawn to Australia in September. In January 1944 as part of Army re-organization they were re-designated 2/3 Commando Squadron which, along with 2/5 and 2/6 Commando Squadrons (the old 5 and 6 Independent Companies), formed 2/7 Commando Regiment and adopted the Regimental patch. They took part in the closing campaigns of the war when they landed with the Regiment on 1 July 1945 at Balikpapan in support of 7 Australian Division. The unit returned to Australia in December 1945 and was finally disbanded in early 1946.
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Australian Independent Companies were in effect commando units, based on their British counterparts. They were formed at the urging of the British who saw a need for small scale raiding forces to complement the three Australian Divisions then in the Middle East. In November 1940 British Military Mission 104 arrived in Australia to advise, bringing with it Captains Mike Calvert and Freddie Spencer-Chapman to assist with selection and training of the volunteers. No 7 Infantry Training Centre was set up at Wilson's Promontory national park, Victoria, selected for its rugged and remote terrain. Wilson closed in January 1943 and all further training was done at the Independent Company Training Centre, a detachment of the Jungle Warfare Training Centre at Canungra, south of Brisbane in South East Queensland. This had been formed in November 1942 to provide a training area closer to the climate and razor-back terrain of New Guinea where the companies were by then expected to operate.
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The initial plan was for eight companies and the first began to form at Wilson in May 1941. Three had been trained and a fourth was assembling when, in October 1941, the programme was halted. Facing the increasing likelihood of war with Japan it was decided that the Companies would deploy to the islands to the north of Australia to provide early warning of invasion and to act as stay-behind guerrilla forces as necessary, for which three companies would be sufficient. Following Japan's entry into the war in December 1941, the programme restarted and a further five companies were formed and trained at Wilson, now re-named the Guerrilla Warfare School. The Companies were numbered sequentially 1 – 8 and in March 1942 adopted the 2AIF nomenclature with a "2/" prefix.
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During 1943 all seven Independent Companies (No. 1 Company had been lost) came under command of the re-raised 7 Divisional Cavalry Regiment HQ, now 2/7 Cavalry (Commando) Regiment. In September 1943 they were re-designated Cavalry (Commando) Squadrons, presumably in recognition of the cavalry lineage of the HQ unit. A further reorganization in January 1944 resulted in 6 and 9 Divisional Cavalry Regiments becoming 2/6 and 2/9 Cavalry (Commando) Regiments, each of the now three such HQ units taking under command three Squadrons, now designated just Commando Squadrons. Four of the now eleven Squadrons were formed on existing Divisional Cavalry personnel. Two of the original Commando Squadrons remained independent, 2/2 and 2/8.
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The double-square, or double-diamond, pattern of badge was designed by Major J. W. Jordan, on the staff of Army HQ at the period when the Independent Companies were formed.