Australian WW2 medal

[Jerry T]

Hello,

I seem to remember vaguely reading that the prefix to the serial number of a soldier indicates the recipient's home state by means of a prefix letter. I have a medal named to VX 25935; would this means he came from Victoria?

Can anyone confirm this?

Thank you in advance.

Jerry

[Tony]

Hello Jerry and welcome to the forum.

Yes spot on, here are all the states:

NX1234 for New South Wales

VX1234 for Victoria

QX1234 for Queensland
SX1234 for South Australia
WX1234 for Western Australia
TX1234 for Tasmania

Is this him? http://naa12.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=6227300

Tony

[cat]

Hi Jerry,

The "X" in the serial number denotes a member of the 2nd Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.).

[Jerry T]

Hello,

Thank you both very much. And, yes, indeed this was the person.

Jerry

[Medaller]

And just to go a little further for information purposes......

In Australia at the start of WW 2, Australia's main defence force was the AMF (Australian Military Forces, known unofficially as the militia). The AMF were limited in that by law they were only allowed to serve in Australia or its territories (the militia or "chockos*" as they were called by AIF (Australian Imperial Forces) soldiers are famous for their battles with the Japanese on the Kokoda Track as New Guinea was an Australian territory at the time). The AIF was created to serve overseas as professional soldiers.

AMF soldiers had similar serial numbers to the AIF but minus the X. Many AMF soldiers joined the AIF in the field.

* AIF soldiers called AMF soldiers "chockos" as an abbreviation for chocolate soldiers.....they believed they would melt in the heat of battle. This was certainly proved wrong

[Jerry T]

Interesting,

Was the AMF then a reserve force? or was it a conscript army during WW2? I admit to being woefully uninformed about Australian military history. (It is hard enough keeping track of the Canadian forces where it seems that practically every town had its own regiment with a bewildering array of badges, patches and uniforms.)

I assume these 2 units were subsequently united to form the Australian Defense Force?

Thank you for the information. (always ready to learn something)

Jerry

[Tony]

I haven't heard the term chockos for a while, thanks for reminding me. Weren't they something like a territorial army or reservists? I'm not really sure which.

Didn't the AIF stay the AIF during WWII? I thought the ADF (Australian Defence Force) was formed after 1945.

Wasn't Mervyn in the ADF? Hopefully he'll see this and be able to give some answers.

Tony

[Bob Lyons]

Hope this helps, from the internet...

Bob

The Australian Imperial Force (AIF) was the name given to all-volunteer Australian Army forces dispatched to fight overseas during World War I and World War II.

• First Australian Imperial Force (1914–18)
• Second Australian Imperial Force (1939–45)

Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the Commonwealth Military Forces were formed with a small regular army and a larger component of reservists in the Citizens Military Force (CMF). The CMF could not be deployed overseas, so the AIFs were formed in 1914 and 1939 respectively to provide troops for overseas service.

The two AIFs are distinguished by referring to the World War I contingent as the "1st AIF", and the World War II contingent as the "2nd AIF". During World War I, the Australian Flying Corps, the precursor of the Royal Australian Air Force, was part of the 1st AIF.

Members of the First AIF went on to serve in the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War from 1917 to 1920 and many Australian First World War Memorials are to the Great War of 1914 to 1919 in recognition of this service.

The modern regular Australian Army was established in 1947 and its soldiers can be deployed anywhere in the world. Theatres where they have served include Korea, Malaya, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, various Pacific nations, Afghanistan and Iraq.

[Jerry T]

Hi,

Interesting.

I would assume that members of the Citizen Military Force could to transfer to the AIF if they wanted too? Or would they have to resign from one and then enlist in the other?

Jerry

[Medaller]

Hi,

Interesting.

I would assume that members of the Citizen Military Force could to transfer to the AIF if they wanted too? Or would they have to resign from one and then enlist in the other?

Jerry

In WW2, many militia men (CMF) transferred to the AIF, some records state as to where joined AIF from CMF as " transferred in the field ".

Many of these would have been in New Guinea, where both the CMF and AIF fought together on the Kokoda Track (New Guinea was as far as the CMF were allowed to go as New Guinea was then an Australian territory). AIF troops were far better trained and equipped than militia troops, some militia troops fighting the Japanese at Kokoda only fired a rifle for the first time on the troopship or at New Guinea. Some from the CMF 53rd battalion were only 18 and were conscripted on to the troopship without getting to say goodbye to family. They thought they were going to Darwin but the ship went to Port Moresby.

When transferring you would lose your militia number and be issued with an AIF number.

Edited May 7, 2013 by Medaller

[Mervyn Mitton]

Very interesting - I thought the Defence Force was soon after the War but had forgotten dates. I was never a Regular - I did my

National Service in the Sydney Light Anti-aircraft regt. - 40mm Bofors. When I returned from Sth. Africa in 1960 I joined the CMF

in the Queensland Regt.. I didn't do much with them as I was off to Thailand for 3 1/2 years. Strangely, I'm told that I'm probably

entitled to two medals - Aust. was one of the few Countries to allow them for NS. I wouldn't have the 'cheek' to even ask about them. Mervyn

[Michael Johnson]

_{He was a Sergeant in the 2/24 Infantry: http://www.ww2roll.gov.au/Veteran.aspx?ServiceId=A&VeteranId=437685. He was killed in action July 23, 1942.}

_{An excellent website here: http://2-24.battalion.org.au/rolls/roll.html}

_Michael

[Bob Lyons]

Mervyn,

You would be entitled to the National Service Medal, and the Australian Defence Medal I think. You should apply for them,

they will give you a nice little reminder of your time here in Oz way back when....

Cheers

Bob

Very interesting - I thought the Defence Force was soon after the War but had forgotten dates. I was never a Regular - I did my

National Service in the Sydney Light Anti-aircraft regt. - 40mm Bofors. When I returned from Sth. Africa in 1960 I joined the CMF

in the Queensland Regt.. I didn't do much with them as I was off to Thailand for 3 1/2 years. Strangely, I'm told that I'm probably

entitled to two medals - Aust. was one of the few Countries to allow them for NS. I wouldn't have the 'cheek' to even ask about them. Mervyn

[Medaller]

_{He was a Sergeant in the 2/24 Infantry: http://www.ww2roll.gov.au/Veteran.aspx?ServiceId=A&VeteranId=437685. He was killed in action July 23, 1942.}

_{An excellent website here: http://2-24.battalion.org.au/rolls/roll.html}

_Michael

Looks like I got a bit excited and forgot about the original question

He was killed in Alamein against the Germans. Although the 2/24 got a bit mauled, they inflicted worse on the germans with a conservative estimate of 250 german casualties.

[Medaller]

Mervyn,

You would be entitled to the National Service Medal, and the Australian Defence Medal I think. You should apply for them,

they will give you a nice little reminder of your time here in Oz way back when....

Cheers

Bob

Absolutely, Mervyn should apply and get them. Its never too late. One of my grandfathers claimed his ww2 medals in 2006 and the other in the mid 90's.

Over 100 years late combined