About This Unit
When the AIF reached France, plans were made to raise the 6th Division. The establishment was raised in April 1917 and men began to be posted in, but the plan was abandoned after the casualties sustained at Bullecourt, then Messines, in May-June 1917, when it was realised reinforcements would barely be adequate to sustain five Divisions let alone a sixth, without Conscription. The defeat of the Conscription Bill by Referendum back in Australia sealed the fate of the 6th Division.
The 6th Division structure comprised the 16th and 17th Brigades and were comprised thus:
16th Brigade - 61st, 62nd,63rd and 65th Battalions
17th Brigade - 66th, 67th, 69th and 70th Battalions
The 6th Division and its subordinate Brigades and units never saw combat and were disbanded in September / October 1917.
Its personnel were quickly posted to either training units in the UK or off to the Front which was at that stage in Belgium.
Updated June 2021