At the outbreak of World War I, the British Indian Army had a severe shortage of wireless equipment and trained operators.
On 27 December 1915, the Australian government received a request for a troop of wireless signallers (approximately 50 soldiers) to be sent to Mesopotamia.
The operators were raised from the Marconi School of Wireless in Sydney and the Broadmeadows depot in Victoria, while the drivers, who made up half of the unit, were raised from the Army Service Corps at Moore Park in Sydney.
The troop, which became known as the 1st Australian Pack Wireless Signal Troop, sailed from Melbourne on 5 February 1916 and after stops at Bombay and Columbo, arrived in Basra on 19 March 1916.
The New Zealand government sent an equivalent unit which, together with the Australians, formed "C" Troop of the 1st Wireless Squadron.
At the outbreak of World War I, the British Indian Army had a severe shortage of wireless equipment and trained operators. On 27 December 1915, the Australian government received a request for a troop of wireless signallers (approximately 50 soldiers) to be sent to Mesopotamia. The operators were raised from the Marconi School of Wireless in Sydney and the Broadmeadows depot in Victoria, while the drivers, who made up half of the unit, were raised from the Army Service Corps at Moore Park in Sydney. The troop, which became known as the 1st Australian Pack Wireless Signal Troop, sailed from Melbourne on 5 February 1916 and after stops at Bombay and Columbo, arrived in Basra on 19 March 1916. The New Zealand government sent an equivalent unit which, together with the Australians, formed "C" Troop of the 1st Wireless Squadron.
1st Australian Wireless Signal Squadron