41st Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment
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The 41st Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment (41 RNSWR), is an Army General Reserve Infantry Battalion and is a part of 8 Brigade.
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[edit] Battalion History
Soldiers from the Battalion have served in almost every conflict that Australians have served in. From World War One to East Timor and the Soloman Islands, the Battalion has fought as a unit or provided reinforcement soldiers to support Australian Defence Force Operations.
[edit] Unit Motto
"Mors Ante Pudorem" which means "Death before Dishonour". This motto has been adopted by the 41st as no member has ever surrendered to enemy forces since the unit's formation in 1917[citation needed]. The Battalion was raised in 1917 and fought in some of the most important and bloody battles of the first world war.
During World War II, soldiers drawn from the Battalion fought in all theatres of the conflict.
[edit] Recent Roles
In more recent times soldiers of the 41st have served in INTERFET in East Timor, with the Peace Monitoring Groups in Bogainville and as part of the Operational Search Battalion at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000. They have been part of numerous deployments to Malaysia under the guise of Rifle Company Butterworth and as a part of Operation Anode/RAMSI deploying to the Soloman Islands.
[edit] Scottish Background
The Battalion has strong links to its Scottish ancestry. The Battalion was formerly known as the 41st Battalion The Byron Scottish Regiment. This is due to the large number of Scots who settled in the north of the State in areas such as Grafton, Byron Bay and Maclean.
They maintain links to the Argyle and Sutherland Regiment and wear the Kilt of the Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders on ceremonial occasions.
[edit] Locations
The Battalion has depots located all along the Northern NSW coast, including depots in:
Tweed Heads (1 Platoon A Company)
Murwillumbah (Assault Pioneer Platoon & Headquarters A Company)
Lismore (Battalion Headquarters, Admin Company, 2 Platoon A Company, Signals Platoon)
Casino (3 Platoon A Company & Reconnaissance Section)
Grafton (8 Platoon C Company)
Coffs Harbour (Headquarters C Company, 7 Platoon & DFSW Platoon)
Kempsey (12 Platoon D Company)
Port Macquarie (11 Platoon D Company)
Taree (Headquarters D Company, 10 Platoon & Mortar Platoon)
[edit] Famous Members of 41 RNSWR
Lance Corporal GORDON Bernard Sidney 41st Battalion, 11th Brigade, 3rd Division For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty on 26th-27th August, 1918, east of Bray. He led his section through heavy shell-fire to the objective which he consolidated. Single-handed he attacked an enemy machine-gun which was enfilading, the company on his right, killed the men on the gun and captured the post, which contained one officer and ten men. He then cleaned up a trench, capturing twenty-nine prisoners and two machine-guns. In cleaning up further trenches he captured twenty-two prisoners, including one officer, and three machine-guns. Practically unaided, he captured, in the course of these operations, two officers and sixty-one other ranks, together with six machine-guns, and displayed throughout a wonderful example of fearless initiative. (London Gazette: 26th December 1918.)
