These spats appear to be part of an army uniform and may have been worn by a member of an Australian Lighthorse unit. The Victorian Mounted Rifles was established in 1885 by Colonel Tom Price who lived in his retirement years in Warrnambool. Many members of the G Company Mounted Rifles from Warrnambool and district enlisted in World War One and served with distinction in the Victorian Lighthorse units which evolved from the Mounted Rifles units. These spats are retained as they are possibly part of the uniform of an Australian Lighthorse soldier early in the 20th century and may have local provenance.These are two spats or leggings made of stiffened brown leather shaped to fit the lower calf of the leg. They have leather straps and metal buckles at the top end. australian lighthorse regiments, spats, history of warrnambool

This book belonged to Charles Rogers. Captain Charles Rogers was an Australian Army officer in the 4th Lighthorse Regiment. He was part of the mounted Guard of Honour during the visit of the Duke of Gloucester in 1934. The visit was part of Victoria’s centenary celebrations and the duke officially opened the Melbourne Shrine of Remembrance. Charles Rogers was well-known as a Warrnambool resident in the 1930s, 40s and 50s and was often seen on horseback leading parade and celebrations in the city. He as a long-serving Warrnambool Agricultural Show official as a judge of equine events. He died in 1961. This book is of interest, firstly as an example of a military handbook for cavalry officers and secondly because it belonged to Captain Charles Rogers, an army officer (Lighthorse regiment) who was a well-known resident of Warrnambool in the early to mid 20th century. This is a hard cover book of 198 pages. It has a yellow cover with black printing on the spine. Most of the pages are white, with several pink pages at the beginning and the end. The book has 13 chapters and an index. The cover is slightly worn.‘C.A.Rogers’captain charles rogers, warrnambool, military handbooks

This is a small book of 73 pages. It has a buff-coloured cover with black printing on the front cover. The pages contain printed text with one illustration. The pages are bound with two staplesnon-fictionAustralian Military Forces Book on Horse Managementaustralian military mounted units, horse management, lighthorse, australian lighthorse

Telling of the deeds of the Australian Light Horsemen, Campaigns of the 4th Lighthorse Regiment - Middle East, Palestine. Australian Cavalry operations and Military History of Beersheba ( Israel). World War 1 1914-1918 339 pages - B/W Photos - slight water damage

During the inter-war years, the 8th Light Horse was re-raised as a part-time unit based in the Indi region of northern Victoria. It was later converted to a divisional cavalry regiment during the Second World War but was disbanded in 1944 without having been deployed overseas.During the inter-war years, the 8th Light Horse was re-raised as a part-time unit based in the Indi region of northern Victoria. It was later converted to a divisional cavalry regiment during the Second World War but was disbanded in 1944 without having been deployed overseas.Square gold badge with grey enamel in the middle. 8th Light Horse patch colours of yellow and blue, in the centre with gold writing underneath.On front: 8th Cav Regiment, under the 8th Lighthorse colour patch On back: Nicholaustralia, light horse, 8th cav regiment, 8th light horse regiment

The 8th Light Horse was initially raised from companies of the colonial Victorian Mounted Rifles located in North-east Victoria following Federation. In 1912 a major reorganisation of the Australian military forces resulted in the regiment being renumbered 16th Light Horse. The Regiment was disbanded in 1919 but soon after was re-raised as the 8th (Indi) Light Horse in the Citizen Military Forces, with the territorial title Indi Light Horse. The Indi Light Horse consisted of 3 squadrons. A squadron consisted of troops in Corryong, Walwa, Tallangatta, Eskdale and Wodonga. After an extensive recruiting campaign in January 1939 a new troop was raised in Bethanga, Victoria. In December 1941, the regiment converted from horse to mechanised, initially as 8th Reconnaissance Battalion then in July 1942 it became 8th Cavalry Regiment and served in Northern Territory. As Japanese threat to the mainland declined the regiment was disbanded.This article is significant because it depicts horses being loaded at the Wodonga Railway Station to despatch to the training camp at Broadmeadows. Two black and white images from the Border Morning Mail Friday March 10, 1939. One image shows horses being loaded on to trains in Wodonga to be sent to the base at Broadmeadows, Victoria. The second image depicts two leaders of the 8th Light Horse Regiment.Caption with Photo 1 WODONGA AND DISTRICT SOLDIERS OF THE KING Top: Wodonga railway station presented busy scenes on Monday when the lighthorsemen and their mounts took possession of it. Bottom- Although the men were jubilant at boarding the train for Broadmeadows the horses did not like the idea. This horse was no exception. Photo 2 TWO LIGHTHORSE LEADERS Lieutenant L. W. Welesmith, Tallangatta (left), discussing the entraining of horses for Broadmeadows at Wodonga, with Lieutenant J. A. Mc-Geoch (Wodonga), before the departure of the 8th Light Horse troop.australian light horse, peter frawley, light horse wodonga