Pair collar badges : Royal Australian Artillery

Pair of Royal Australian Artillery collar badges, each featuring a voided 'RAA' above scrolls with the words, 'QUO FAS ET GLORIA DUCUNT' [Where right and glory lead us] and surmounted by a King's crown. There are two lugs on the reverse of each badge.

The Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery, normally referred to as the Royal Australian Artillery (RAA), is descended from the original pre federation colonial artillery units. Australia's first guns were landed from HMS Sirius and a small earthen redoubt built, near the present day Macquarie Place, to command the approaches to Sydney Cove. The deployment of these guns represents the origins of artillery in Australia. These and subsequent defences, as well as field guns, were operated by marines and the soldiers of infantry regiments stationed in Australia. The first Royal Artillery unit arrived in Australia in 1856 and began a succession of gunner units which ended with the withdrawal of the Imperial forces in 1870 resulting in the raising of 'A' Field Battery, NSW Artillery in 1871. The First World War saw the raising of 60 field, 20 howitzer and two siege batteries along with the heavy and medium trench mortar batteries. During the Second World War, the RAA raised some 50 regiments of anti-tank, anti-aircraft, field, medium and coastal units with all units engaged in combat throughout the war. Prior to the Second World War specialist coastal artillery units were established at strategic locations around the Australian coastline, however these were progressively phased out by the 1950s. The Australian Regular Army came into being in 1947, prior to this artillery units were predominately militia based. The one permanent artillery unit was 'A' Field Battery. Until 19 September 1962 the Australian Artillery was referred to as the 'Royal Australian Artillery', however on this date HM Queen Elizabeth II granted the RAA the title of the 'Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery'. The Regiment today consists of Regular and Reserve units.