I’ve been sorting through the photos on the website and came across some Parade Cards from Don Taylor’s time in the Regiment.
Many will remember Don who unfortunately passed away a few years ago. He spent much of his time at 23 Bty in Baxter. He was my GPO when I was a fresh-faced young 2LT into the Bty. The Parade Cards cover his time in the regiment from 84/85 at 2/15 through 91/92 at 2/10 (I recall he had a non-corps posting in the middle).
The following table summarises the details on the Parade Cards.
| Dates | Unit | CO | RHQ | Sub Units listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul84-Jun85 | 2/15 Fd | LTCOL Murphy | Batman Ave | TST, HQ Bty (Batman Ave) 3 Bty (Batman Ave) 2 Bty (Dandenong) 23 Bty (Baxter) |
| Jul85-Jun86 | 2/15 Fd | LTCOL Morkham | Batman Ave | TST, HQ Bty (Batman Ave) 3 Bty (Batman Ave) 2 Bty (Dandenong) 23 Bty (Baxter) |
| Jul86-Jun87 | 2/15 Fd | LTCOL Morkham | Batman Ave | TST, HQ Bty (Batman Ave) 3 Bty (Batman Ave) 2 Bty (Dandenong) 23 Bty (Baxter) |
| Jul87-Jun88 | 2/15 Fd | LTCOL Buckridge | Batman Ave | TST, HQ Bty (Batman Ave) 2 Bty (Dandenong) 23 Bty (Baxter) |
| Jul88-Jun89 | 2/15 Fd | LTCOL Buckridge | Batman Ave | HQ Bty (Batman Ave)* 2 Bty (Dandenong) 23 Bty (Baxter) |
| Jul91-Jun92 | 2/10 Mdm | LTCOL Forster | Batman Ave (to 14 Dec) Chapel St (from 15 Dec) | Only lists RHQ |
I can’t recall the reason but it seemed a bit bizarre to have the parade cards follow the financial year and not the calendar year. CO’s and Cadre Staff normally changed with the new year.
The Parade Cards give another view of history.
From memory LTCOL John Morkham was CO 1986-1987 (he was CO when I arrived in early 1996). Then LTCOL Mike Buckridge followed him in 1988-1989. I think it was LTCOL Carl Wood following him. Then LTCOL David Forster (ARA) was brought in during 1991 to drive the amalgamation with 10 Mdm Regt to create 2/10 Mdm.
3 Bty (MELBOURNE BATTERY) was listed up until the 87-88 Parade Card, so it must have been officially wound down over the 86-87 period. It was certainly in operation when I joined (I recall L5’s at Batman Ave as a new officer). Interesting to see the other gun batteries listed as DANDENONG BATTERY and FRANKSTON BATTERY – I’m sure that was just for easy identification, not for historical significance. The other point is that TST dropped off the list of sub-units for the 88-89 Parade Card, but we know TST didn’t go.
The last entry was when the batteries and regiments amalgamated. 2 Bty (Dandenong) merged with 23 Bty (Baxter) and for some time operated 22 Bty out of both depots. Similarly 37 Bty (Geelong) merged with 39 Bty (Colac) into 38 Bty, but continued to operate out of both depots. Chapel St became the RHQ for the new 2/10 Mdm Regt after we moved out of Batman Ave (the amalgamation parade was held at Batman Ave on the hardstanding between the Artillery and Engineer buildings).
Here are the images of the parade cards.
