Hello List and Ted Harris especially, I looked up the paperwork and found the reference on C.M. Form A (inter alia) Australian Military Forces "Application for a Commission in the Australian Imperial Force": No. 3 Military Qualifications (previous Military Service, if any to be stated) - Seven years 12th A.I.R. Now did we ever decide what the acronym stands for? Is it ARMY Infantry Reserve, or AUSTRALIAN Infantry Reserve? Either way, all I can tell you is that the 12th was in Tasmania - Launceston area. His seven years' service puts the date back to 1909. My relative states elsewhere that he is "still serving" in this A.I.R. at the point where he is enlisting for service overseas but now it is the A.I.F. he is moving over to. It is not to be confused with the 12th AIF which was initiated at Pontville in 1914. My impression is that A.I.R. is not so much a "unit" Ted, as some voluntary,semi-military outfit where enthusiasts (like my relative) could express themselves. Maybe I'm wrong about the "voluntary". The word "Reserve" suggests some force-to-be-reckoned-with waiting in the wings. And I'll venture that most of the reservists were the front runners when War was declared and the "proper" Army threw open its doors. Crikey, isn't some expert out there coming to our aid over this three-letter problem? Yours, Julie
Hello All A.I.R. stands for Australian Infantry Regiment. There were 98 Infantry Regiments and 23 Light Horse Regiments split up over 224 training areas. The system was designed by Lord Kitchener to overcome the fragmented military system that was in existance at federation. They were originally compulsory trained, at the age of 12, by cadet units and when aged 18 were passed into the "Active" battalions and regiments where they received a short annual training for a further seven years. This system started in 1911. Members of the old militia army had been permitted to complete the three years for which they had enlisted but the only new members allowed into the army from 1911 was the young draft of 18 year old boys. Of the old militia only the officers and non-commissioned officers were allowed to re-engage in the new army. Sources....The Story of ANZAC...C E W Bean Australian Army Badges...J K Cossum Regards........Tom Patterson