Original Australian WWI Unit Insignia Flash Patches With Original Unit Color Key – 25 Flashes Original Items

Original Items: Only One Lot Available. This is a wonderful lot displaying the Australian division unit “flashes”. The best feature of the grouping is the original key to identifying what exactly these colors and how they are arranged mean. For example, a blue square with a small red square in the center is for the Australian Ordnance Corps.

Unit color patches are a method of identification used by the Australian Army, used to indicate which unit a soldier belongs to.

It is believed that the Australian system of color patches is based upon the small patches of colors or tartan worn on the puggarees of the pith helmets of members of a number of British Army units during the Second Boer War, the South African War of 1899–1902. While some modern Australian color patches are recent creations, many date back to World War I.

The first approval for the use of distinctive unit colors for Australian army units came from Major General William Throsby Bridges for the 1st Division to fly flags to denote unit areas and lines in Egypt during World War I. C.E.W. Bean made the first reference to unit color patches to be worn on the uniform, when he described Major General Bridges issuing 1st Australian Divisional Order No. 562 dated 8 March 1915, ordering that patches be worn, describing how they would look and ordering that they were to be worn on the uniform sleeve 1 inch (25 mm) below the shoulder. As this was an extension of the order for the posting of the color flags to denote headquarters and unit lines, these flags were used as the basic design for 1st Division uniform color patches.

In total over 300 individual patches were eventually authorized for Australian units during World War 1.

All flashes are in wonderful condition with full colors and solid stitching. Each patch is easily discernible making for easy identification. The original key is in fantastic condition with wear along the edges and the creases.

A lovely set ready for further research and display.

Australia’s involvement in the First World War began when Britain and Germany went to war on 4 August 1914, and both Prime Minister Joseph Cook and Opposition Leader Andrew Fisher, who were in the midst of an election campaign, pledged full support for Britain. The outbreak of war was greeted in Australia, as in many other places, with great enthusiasm.

The first significant Australian action of the war was the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force’s (ANMEF) landing on Rabaul on 11 September 1914. The ANMEF took possession of German New Guinea at Toma on 17 September 1914 and of the neighbouring islands of the Bismarck Archipelago in October 1914. On 9 November 1914 the Royal Australian Navy made a major contribution when HMAS Sydney destroyed the German raider SMS Emden.

On 25 April 1915 members of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) landed on Gallipoli in Turkey with troops from New Zealand, Britain, and France. This began a campaign that ended with an evacuation of allied troops beginning in December 1915. The next year Australian forces fought campaigns on the Western Front and in the Middle East.

Throughout 1916 and 1917 losses on the Western Front were heavy and gains were small. In 1918 the Australians reached the peak of their fighting performance in the battle of Hamel on 4 July. From 8 August they then took part in a series of decisive advances until they were relieved in early October. Germany surrendered on 11 November.

The Middle East campaign began in 1916 with Australian troops taking part in the defence of the Suez Canal and the allied re-conquest of the Sinai Desert. In the following year Australian and other allied troops advanced into Palestine and captured Gaza and Jerusalem; by 1918 they had occupied Lebanon and Syria and on 30 October 1918 Turkey sued for peace.

For Australia, the First World War remains the costliest conflict in terms of deaths and casualties. From a population of fewer than five million, 416,809 men enlisted, of whom more than 60,000 were killed and 156,000 wounded, gassed, or taken prisoner.