33rd Battalion (Australia)

33rd Battalion (Australia)

The 33rd Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Raised for service during World War I as part of the 1st Australian Imperial Force, the battalion was formed in January 1916 as part of the 9th Brigade of the Australian 3rd Division during an expansion of the AIF. The majority of the battalion's personnel came from the New England region of New South Wales and as a result the 33rd Battalion came to be known unofficially as “New England’s Own”.

The battalion’s first commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel Leslie Morshead. After undertaking initial training in Australia, the battalion sailed to the United Kingdom in May 1916 where they undertook further training. In November 1916 they arrived in France where they served in the trenches along the Western Front until the end of the war, taking part in a number of significant battles including Messines, Passchendaele, Villers-Bretonneux and the Hundred Days Offensive. Following the end of hostilities, the battalion's numbers were slowly reduced as personnel were repatriated to Australia for demobilisation and finally, in May 1919, the battalion was disbanded.

During the course of the war, the 33rd Battalion lost 451 killed men and 2,052 wounded. Two members of the battalion received the Victoria Cross: John Carroll and George Cartwright.