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Friends of 2/14th Australian Field Regiment 8th Division AIF
The 2/14th Australian Field Regiment was formed in 1940 as a field artillery support unit for the 23rd Brigade, 8th Division A.I.F. The men of the 2/14th experienced the first 50 of the 64 air raids on Darwin (1942/43) and later served and saw action in New Guinea and New Britain from December 1942 until December 1943.
Some 700 ordinary Australian men came together in 1940 at Puckapunyal to form one of the major units of the Australian 8th Division. They pooled their talents, skills and intelligence to build a regiment fit in all respects for operational service. They also achieved, although many would not have recognised it at the time, an exceedingly strong regimental spirit which was to stand them in good stead in adventures which lay ahead.
Firstly was their long and arduous service in Darwin under a perceived threat of Japanese invasion and enduring some 50 air raids. The loss of their companion units in the 8th Division in 1942 as the Japanese successively captured Malaya, Singapore, Ambon, Timor and New Britain was sorely felt by the Regiment, the sole remaining major combat unit of the Division. To mark this sad circumstance a perpendicular “break” was inserted in their colour patch to signify The Broken Eighth. After re-equipment and training in NSW and Queensland, the Regiment embarked for New Guinea and operations with 5th Australian Division along the north coast of the Huon Peninsula to Alexishafen, then to Jacquinot Bay where the task was to isolate the very large force of Japanese in the Gazelle Peninsula.
The Regiment again showed its reliability and ability in some sharp actions in the Open Bay and Wide Bay areas. The cessation of hostilities led to a period of garrison duty in Rabaul where, for the last time, the Regiment demonstrated its amazing “can do” attitude so carefully nurtured from those far off days in 1940. During December 1945, members of the Regiment returned to Australia and in January 1946 the Regiment was officially disbanded.
For further information and photographs, visit the Friends of the 2/14th Field Regiment website by clicking on the house symbol at top of the page.
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