2nd Light Horse Regiment (Queensland)  [1st Light Horse Brigade] Served in Egypt, Gallipoli, Western Desert, Sinai, Palestine Formed Queensland August 1914 for 1st Light Horse Brigade.
Badges displayed either unofficial or CMF.

1472 Trooper A.C. Wooster, 2nd Light Horse Regiment, Killed in Action 17-11-02.

171 Private William Harold Kenny an original member of the 2nd Light Horse Regiment. Kenny was also an original member of the Military Mounted Police (MMP), he joined that unit in March of 1915, and served as MMP on Gallipoli, and then transferred into the newly formed ANZAC Provost Corps, which was later renamed the Australian Provost Crops, in which he served until he returned to Australia on 24 September 1918. He was a bodyguard to General Birdwood on Gallipoli and later in France. He was awarded the DCM and French Medaille Militaire and at the end of the war held the rank of Warrant Officer Class 2. He is the brother of Sister Elizabeth Kenny of polio fame and a member of the Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS).

• Departed Brisbane on Star of England 24 September 1914.

  • 1st Reinforcements departed Sydney on Boorara 20 December 1914, 

  • 2nd Reinforcements departed Brisbane on Itria 9 February 1915, 

  • 3rd Reinforcements departed Brisbane on Itria 9 February 1915, 

  • 4th Reinforcements departed Brisbane on Star of England 8 April 1915, 

  • 5th Reinforcements departed Newcastle on Malukuta 19 May 1915, 

  • 6th Reinforcements departed Brisbane on Medic 2 June 1915, 

  • 7th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Shropshire 20 August 1915, 

  • 8th Reinforcements departed Brisbane on Kyarra 16 August 1915, 

  • 9th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Ayrshire 1 September 1915, 

  • 10th Reinforcements departed Brisbane on Warilda 5 October 1915, 

  • 11th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Mashobra 4 October 1915, 

  • 12th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Suffolk 30 November 1915, 

  • 13th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Boonah 22 January 1916, 

  • 14th Reinforcements departed Brisbane on Wandilla 31 January 1916, 

  • 15th Reinforcements departed Brisbane on Commonwealth 28 March 1916, 

  • 16th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Star of Victoria 31 March 1916, 

  • 17th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Karroo 5 May 1916, 

  • 18th Reinforcements departed Brisbane on Seang Choon 4 May 1916, 

  • 19th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Mongolia 8 July 1916, 

  • 20th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Malwa 22 July 1916, 

  • 21st Reinforcements departed Sydney on Mooltan 19 August 1916, 

  • 22nd Reinforcements departed Brisbane on Barunga 26 October 1916, 

  • 23rd Reinforcements departed Melbourne on Boorara 10 May 1917, 

  • 24th Reinforcements departed Brisbane on Hymettus 3 February 1917, 

  • 25th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Karmala 3 February 1917, 

  • 26th Reinforcements departed Melbourne on Boorara 10 May 1917, 

  • 27th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Port Sydney on 9 May 1917, 

  • 28th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Ulysses 9 May 1917, 

  • 29th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Kyarra 3 September 1917, 

  • 30th Reinforcements departed Sydney on Ulysses 19 December 1917.

Battle Honours:  

2nd Light Horse Regiment

The 2nd Light Horse Regiment was raised at Enoggera in Queensland on 18 August 1914. Its recruits came mainly from Queensland but some hailed from the northern rivers district of New South Wales. The 2nd was one of three regiments of the 1st Light Horse Brigade – the first Australian mounted formation raised by Australia during the First World War. The regiment sailed from Brisbane on 25 September and disembarked in Egypt on 9 December.

The 2nd Light Horse Regiment deployed to Gallipoli without its horses and landed there on 12 May 1915, joining the New Zealand and Australian Division. It played a defensive role for most of the campaign but did attack the Turkish trenches opposite Quinn’s Post, one of the most contested positions along the ANZAC Line. The first assault wave was mown down and fortunately the officer commanding the attack had the wisdom and courage to call it off. The 2nd was withdrawn from the front line in September and left the peninsula on 18 December.

Back in Egypt, the 2nd Light Horse joined the ANZAC Mounted Division. Between January and May 1916, the regiment was deployed to protect the Nile valley from bands of pro-Turkish Senussi Arabs. On 18 May, as part of its parent brigade, it joined the forces defending the Suez Canal. The 1st Light Horse Brigade played a significant role in turning back the Turkish advance on the canal at the battle of Romani on 4 August. In ensuing days the regiments of the brigade participated in the immediate follow-up of the defeated Turks, but were soon withdrawn to rest.

The 2nd Light Horse Regiment rejoined the Allied advance across the Sinai in November and was subsequently involved in the fighting to secure the Turkish outposts on the Palestine frontier – Maghdaba on 23 December 1916 and Rafa on 9 January 1917. A stint of protective duty along the line of communications through the Sinai followed. The 2nd’s next major engagement was the abortive second battle of Gaza on 19 April. Gaza finally fell on 7 November, after a wide outflanking move via Beersheba, in which the 1st Light Horse Brigade played a part.

With the capture of Gaza, the Turkish position in southern Palestine collapsed. The 2nd Light Horse Regiment participated in the advance to Jaffa that followed, and was then committed to operations to clear and occupy the west bank of the Jordan River. It was involved in the Amman (24–27 February) and Es Salt (30 April–4 May) raids and the repulse of a major German and Turkish attack on 14 July 1918.

The final British offensive of the campaign was launched along the Mediterranean coast on 19 September 1918, with the ANZAC Mounted Division taking part in a subsidiary effort east of the Jordan aimed at Amman. Turkey surrendered on 30 October 1918. The 2nd Light Horse Regiment sailed for Australia on 13 March 1919 without their horses, which were either shot or transferred to Indian cavalry units.

• 203 killed, 472 wounded

• Decorations

  • 1 CMG
  • 8 DSO
  • 10 MC
  • 6 DCM
  • 15 MM
  • 1 MSM
  • 34 MID
  • 3 foreign awards