1st Royal New South Wales Lancers The 1st Royal New South Wales Lancers was an Australian Army light cavalry ( reconnaissance ) regiment . Its complicated lineage includes the New South Wales Lancers which were first formed as a colonial unit in 1885 , and subsequently saw action in the Second Boer War , and later during First World War at Gallipoli and Palestine as the 1st Light Horse Regiment . The unit subsequently served during the Second World War as the 1st Armoured Regiment equipped with Matilda tank s , fighting the Japanese in New Guinea and Borneo . The Lancers were reformed after the war in 1948 as a reserve formation in the Citizens Military Forces known as the 1st Armoured Regiment ( Royal New South Wales Lancers ) . In 1949 the regiment was renamed the 1st Royal New South Wales Lancers however , in order to reallocate the former name to the tank regiment that was to be established in the new Australian Regular Army . In 1956 the 1st Royal New South Wales Lancers was merged with the 15th Northern River Lancers to create the 1st / 15th Royal New South Wales Lancers , a unit which continues to serve today in the Australian Army Reserve . History . First World War and inter - war years . In August 1914 , following the outbreak of the First World War , the 1st Light Horse Regiment was formed at Rosebury Park in Sydney , as part of the raising of a 20 , 000 - man expeditionary force known as the Australian Imperial Force ( AIF ) . The new regiment was raised mainly from volunteers of the 7th Australian Light Horse ( New South Wales Lancers ) , an existing militia unit based in Sydney and on the New South Wales south coast . The unit ' s complicated lineage included the New South Wales Lancers , which had been first formed as a colonial unit in 1885 and had later served in the Second Boer War . In South Africa the Lancers had contributed a squadron that had served under John French in Lord Roberts ' army , and participated in a counter - invasion of the Orange Free State that eventually lifted the Siege of Kimberley in 1900 . Upon establishment , the men from the 7th ALH formed the bulk of Regimental Headquarters , and A and B Squadrons , while AIF volunteers made up the remainder of the new unit . Among them were veterans of the New South Wales Lancers who had fought in South Africa . Sailing from Sydney on 19 October , the 1st Light Horse disembarked in Egypt on 8 December 1914 and later went on to fight in Gallipoli and Palestine against Turkish forces as part of the 1st Light Horse Brigade until the war ended in 1918 . Serving in the part - time Citizens Force ( later known as the " Militia " ) after the war , the Lancers were designated as successors to the 1st Light Horse Regiment , and they consequently inherited the former unit ' s battle honours . The regiment continued as the 1st Light Horse Regiment until 1929 , its ranks augmented with conscripts . In 1929 universal service ended , and the unit was linked with the 21st Light Horse to become the 1st / 21st Light Horse ( New South Wales Lancers ) in the wake of the Great Depression . In 1935 , the regiment received the prefix " Royal " , while the 1st and 21st Light Horse were uncoupled the following year . The unit was subsequently converted into a motorised machine - gun regiment , and was renamed the 1st Light Horse ( Machine Gun ) Regiment ( Royal New South Wales Lancers ) . Second World War . At the start of the Second World War , due to the limitations of the " Defence Act ( 1903 ) " , which prevented the government from sending the Militia to fight outside Australian territory , it was decided to raise an all volunteer force to serve overseas . This force was known as the Second Australian Imperial Force ( 2nd AIF ) , and many of the 1st Light Horse ( Machine Gun ) Regiment ' s members volunteered . Assigned to the 2 / 2nd Machine Gun Battalion , they took part in the fighting in the Mediterranean theatre . Originally converted from the 1st Armoured Car Regiment on 5 January 1940 , in December 1941 the regiment became the 1st Machine Gun Regiment and was given its first operational role securing the northern Newcastle beaches as part of the Newcastle Covering Force . In March 1942 the regiment was again renamed , being converted to the 1st Motor Regiment . This change was short lived however , and it was changed again in May to the 1st Tank Battalion , becoming part of the 3rd Army Tank Brigade , equipped with Matilda tank s . In 1943 the unit became part of the 4th Armoured Brigade and was designated as an AIF unit , thus allowing it to be deployed to any theatre of the conflict . Later , after completing training in Caboolture , Queensland it deployed to New Guinea in August 1943 where it supported the 9th Division fighting the Japanese 20th Division around Lae , on the Huon Peninsula and around Finschhafen , Sattelberg and Lakona . The unit was then withdrawn to Australia in mid - 1944 . During the fighting the tanks had performed well , and despite the difficult jungle terrain , the suitability of the Matilda for such operations had been proven with the Australians effectively employing combined arms tactics against which the Japanese had no effective response . On 1 June 1944 the unit was renamed the 1st Armoured Regiment . The unit then spent the next year in training , and during this time it was based at Southport , Queensland . In May 1945 it took part in the amphibious landings at Balikpapan in support of the 7th Division , being involved in one of the final Australian campaigns of the war in Borneo . Landing with the infantry , the tanks — including newly modified Matilda Frog flamethrower tanks — mainly operated in small detachments in close support of the troops , even though the terrain offered the opportunity for more mobile tactics to be employed . Although the Australians were ultimately successful , casualties among the infantry were heavy and during this time the regiment was involved in some hard fighting , with the Japanese able to make effective use of strong natural defences in conjunction with minefield s and anti - tank ditches in order to compensate for their lack of anti - tank guns . With the fighting coming to a conclusion however , tank operations ceased on 24 July . In total , casualties suffered by the regiment during the war included 14 dead . Post - war era . Following the end of the war the Australian Army was demobilised . In 1948 , the Citizens Military Forces ( CMF ) was re - raised , albeit on a reduced establishment of two division s . As a part of this force , the regiment was reconstituted as a reserve formation on 1 April 1948 , adopting the designation of the 1st Armoured Regiment ( Royal New South Wales Lancers ) , in recognition of its previous history . During this time the regiment continued to operate Matilda tanks and was based at Lancer Barracks in Parramatta , in New South Wales . However , in 1949 the regiment was renamed the 1st Royal New South Wales Lancers and its battle honours and history were perpetuated by this unit , in order to reallocate the former name to the tank regiment that was to be established in the new Australian Regular Army . Later , in 1956 the 1st Royal New South Wales Lancers merged with the 15th Northern River Lancers to form the 1st / 15th Royal New South Wales Lancers , equipped with a small number of Centurion tank s . This unit continues to serve today as a part - time unit in the Australian Army Reserve .