8th/7th Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment

The 8th/7th Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment (8/7 RVR) is an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It is one of two battalions that make up the Royal Victoria Regiment (RVR), along with its sister unit the 5th/6th Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment. Its history is traced back to 1854, with the battalion existing and maintaining an unbroken record of service ever since, albeit in varying forms and under various names. The present day unit traces its lineage from a number of previous units, including 8th Battalion (City of Ballarat Regiment), 59th Battalion (The Hume Regiment), 7th Battalion (The North and West Murray Regiment), and the 38th Battalion (The Northern Victoria Regiment). Today the battalion is part of the 4th Brigade and is responsible for most of the rural areas of Victoria. The battalion has served Victorian communities in Operation Bushfire Assist 19/20, and Operation COVID-19 Assist. The battalion maintains an affiliation with the 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, with whom many members of 8/7 RVR have undertaken periods of full-time service in recent times.

History
The Ballarat phase of the battalion's history was formed as the Ballarat Volunteer Rifle Regiment on 9 August 1858 as a result of the Crimean War, coupled with the withdrawal of the British Army in 1857.

When war broke out in 1914, the 8th Battalion was recruited from the Ballarat and Ararat areas and the 7th Battalion from the North Western and Murray areas. Both battalions became well known and respected for their actions in the Gallipoli campaign and later in France, earning numerous Campaign and Battle honours, some of which are emblazoned on the Royal Victorian Regiment's Colours, with the remainder being held in trust by the Regimental council.

After World War I, further restructuring took place in the Ballarat and North-Western Regions. At the outbreak of World War II in 1939, both the 8th and 7th Battalions were again raised, and the two battalions served alongside by side during the most significant campaigns and battles of that war.

Following World War II, the 8th and 7th Battalions were amalgamated to form the 8th/7th Battalion, the North Western Victorian Regiment. The battalion retained its name until 1960, when Pentropic Divisions were formed and the battalion became 2RVR, absorbing the 8th/7th, 38th and 59th Battalions.

On 14 November 1987, the battalion was officially retitled the 8th/7th Battalion, The Royal Victoria Regiment. It has adopted the white (8th Battalion) and brown (7th Battalion) lanyard and wears the 8th Battalion colour patch (rectangle white over red). The Battalion Flag consists of the regimental badge on a diagonally split background of brown above white.

Lineage
In the years between its formation and the outbreak of War in 1914, the battalion went through a series of name changes as follows:
 * 1854 – Earliest units of the RVR formed (Melbourne Volunteer Rifle Regt.)
 * 1858 – Ballarat Volunteer Rifle Regiment (in 1863 Ballarat Volunteer Rangers)
 * 1884 – 3rd (Ballarat) Battalion, Victorian Rifles
 * 1892 – 1st Battalion, 3rd Victorian Regiment
 * 1898 – 3rd Battalion, Victoria Infantry Brigade
 * 1901 – 3rd Battalion Infantry Brigade
 * 1903 – 7th Australian Infantry Regiment
 * 1908 – 1st Battalion 7th Australian Infantry Regiment
 * 1912 – 70th Infantry (Ballarat Regiment) including Geelong & Queenscliff
 * 1912 – 71st (City of Ballarat) Infantry including Warrnambool

Further to the north the following evolution was taking place (encompassing the Bendigo/Castlemaine and Murray river areas):
 * 1858 – Bendigo Rifle Regiment
 * 1860 – Bendigo Volunteer Rifle Corps
 * 1863 – Castlemaine Volunteer Rifle Corps
 * 1863 – Mount Alexander Battalion
 * 1872 – Mount Alexnder Battalion Rifles
 * 1884 – 4th Battalion, Victorian Rifles
 * 1887 – 4th (Mount Alexander Battalion), Victorian Rifles
 * 1892 – 2nd Battalion, 3rd Victorian Regiment
 * 1896 – 4th Battalion, Victorian Infantry Brigade
 * 1901 – 4th Battalion, Victorian Infantry Brigade
 * 1903 – 8th Australian Infantry Regiment
 * 1908 – 1st Battalion, 8th Australian Infantry Regiment (Castlemaine)
 * 1908 – 2nd Battalion, 8th Australian Infantry Regiment (Bendigo)
 * 1912 – 66th (Mount Alexander) Infantry
 * 1912 – 67th (Bendigo) Infantry

Nore that the Territorial Titles for the 66th, 67th, 70th and 71st Infantry were added in 1913.

Structure
The 8th/7th battalion is composed of three rifle companies as well as a support company. Each rifle company comprises three platoons, themselves containing three sections (nine soldiers). The battalion's current Commanding Officer is Lieutenant Colonel Derek Sonogan.

Activities and equipment
The battalion usually parades on Tuesday nights (7:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m.) from early February until mid December, with one training weekend per month and at least one two-week training exercise taking place each year. There are several other training periods per year, including sub-unit (company) based exercises and a range week during which the battalion undertakes weapon training. This complements the 4th Brigade's contribution to larger exercises, enabling training in combined arms tactics with access to the Brigade's full suite of resources.

The battalion is light infantry based, and as such uses all the weapon platforms commonly found within an Australian infantry battalion, including the EF88 Austeyr rifle (5.56 mm), F89 Minimi machine gun (5.56 mm), MAG 58 machine gun (7.62 mm), M18A1 Claymore anti-personnel device, F1 grenade, M72 Short Range Anti-Armour Weapon (66 mm), and 84 mm Carl Gustav rocket launcher.

Locations
8/7 RVR is located in the state of Victoria, with the battalion and its companies headquartered at:
 * Battalion Headquarters (BHQ), Ranger Barracks, Sturt Street, Ballarat
 * Alpha Company Headquarters (A Coy), Newland Barracks, Myers Street, Geelong
 * Bravo Company Headquarters (B Coy), Sunshine Barracks, Duke Street, Sunshine
 * Charlie Company Headquarters (C Coy), Passchendaele Barracks, Atlas Road, Bendigo (Junortoun)

The battalion also has regional depots located at:
 * Somme Barracks, Sobroan Street, Shepparton
 * Bobdubi Barracks (disbanded), Ogilvie Avenue, Echuca
 * RAAF Williams, Kidbrook Road, Laverton
 * Kiarivu Barracks, San Mateo Avenue, Mildura
 * Messines Barracks, Gray Street, Swan Hill
 * Tel el Eisa Barracks, Pertobe Road, Warrnambool
 * Monegeetta Proving Ground, Melbourne-Lancefield Road, Monegeetta

Battle honours
The Royal Victoria Regiment has the enviable honour of having inherited the most battle honours of any other Infantry Regiment of the Australian Defence Force. 8/7 RVR currently holds the following battle honours:


 * Boer War: South Africa 1899–1902.
 * World War I: Landing at Anzac Cove, Somme 1916–1918, Bullecourt, Ypres 1917, Polygon Wood, Amiens, Albert 1918, Mont St Quentin, Hindenburg Line.
 * World War II: Bardia 1941, Capture of Tobruk, El Alamein, Greece 1941, South West Pacific 1942–1945, Bobdubi, Finisterres, Hari River, Borneo.

Alliances

 * 🇬🇧 – The Staffordshire Regiment;
 * 🇨🇦 – The Royal Regiment of Canada.