Formation Sign : Southern Command (Victoria)

Machine woven cotton formation sign of Southern Command (Victoria). The badge is a pale blue-grey square overlaid with a dark blue shield surmounted by a Queen's crown. The shield contains the white stars of the Southern Cross, this being the state badge of Victoria as it appears in the second segment of the Australian Coat-of-Arms.

Introduced to the Australian Army in 1950, and adopted from British Army practice, formation signs were intended to be worn on each sleeve in conjunction with embroidered shoulder titles. This combination, which replaced the traditional Australian system of colour patches, enabled an observer to determine both the wearer's parent formation, and their corps or unit within that formation. The use of formation signs within Australia was discontinued in about 1960, with the introduction of the new, American based 'Pentropic' system of military organisation. Australian units serving overseas, however, continued to wear them for many years. A number of formation signs featured the King's (Tudor) crown. After the death of King George VI in February 1952, and the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in June 1953, this was gradually replaced by the Queen's (Windsor) crown, most formation signs having been updated by the end of 1954. Insignia for the various commands were generally taken from the badges of the states, as portrayed on the Australian Coat-of-Arms, that of Southern Command being Victoria.