 Like most 2nd AIF units , the 2 / 4th drew its cadre staff of officers and senior non @-@ commissioned officers ( NCOs ) from volunteers from local Militia units . These were augmented by partially trained Other <unk> ( <unk> ) from the three local recruit training depots ; the first batch of these , numbering 394 men , arrived at Northam on 27 November and a further 262 marched in on 4 December . As the battalion was brought up to its authorised strength of around 800 men , personnel were formed into four machine gun companies , ' A ' to ' D ' , under a headquarters company consisting of several specialist platoons — including signals and anti @-@ aircraft platoons — and battalion headquarters . There were no platoon commanders until a contingent arrived from the regional Officer Training Units . Initially training was hampered by a lack of equipment — only 12 of 48 Vickers machine guns assigned to the battalion were available — so at the start the focus was on individual rather than collective training . As more stores arrived , training accelerated with the help of experienced Militia NCOs and First World War veterans , who were brought in to share their experiences with the new troops . Just before Christmas and New Year 's leave , the battalion received its distinctive Unit Colour <unk> : a black and gold triangle . 
