The distinguished reputation of Australian horses in the Sinai and Palestine campaigns was in no small part due to the work of the remount units, which were responsible for their training. When the Light Horse left for Gallipoli in 1915, they left behind detachments to take care of the horses. To free these men to rejoin their regiments, two remount units were formed in September 1915, each of four squadrons. The maximum age for enlistment was set at 50, and the units contained a high proportion of Boer War veterans and expert horsemen. By the time they arrived in Egypt however, the evacuation of Gallipoli was imminent. Accordingly, at the end of March 1916 the units were reduced by half, each contributing two squadrons to a single remount unit. Later in the year, the unit was further reduced to two squadrons, and became the Remount Depot. Although based in Egypt, in late 1917 the depot delivered remounts to the Palestine front by driving them across the Sinai Overlanders-style in order to save scarce rail transport, and so is credited with participation in the Palestine campaign.
1st Remount Unit (Victoria, South
Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania)
Formed Melbourne 21 September 1915. Departed Melbourne Orsova 12 November 1915. Consolidated with 2nd
Remount Unit 1 April 1916. Redesignated Remount Depot 2 October 1916
Egypt
2nd Remount Unit (Queensland and New
South Wales)
Formed Sydney September 1915. Departed Sydney Orsova
10 November 1915. Disbanded 1 April 1916.
Egypt
Remount Depot
Formed 2 October 1916 from 1st Remount Unit
Egypt, Palestine
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Page created by Ross
Mallett
ross@metva.com.au
Last update 08 October 2000