DOCSLIB.ORG

1916 Victoria Crosses, Western Front

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
1916 Victoria Crosses, Western Front 1916 Victoria Crosses – Western Front Private William Jackson VC, 17th Battalion, AIF Bois Grenier, France, 25/26 June 1916 https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P01383.006 Not yet 19 when awarded the Victoria Cross (VC), Private William Jackson was the youngest member of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) to receive the award during the First World War. Enlisting in Hay, New South Wales, in February 1915, he served with the 17th Battalion on Gallipoli before arriving in France in March 1916. Forming part of the 2nd Division, the 17th Battalion was among the first Australian units to file into the trenches of the Western Front after entering the so-called “nursery” sector near the town of Armentières. Throughout May and June the Australians carried out a program of patrolling and trench raiding to gain experience before moving off to the Somme. The 17th Battalion conducted one such raid on the German positions outside Bois-Grenier on the night of 25/26 June 1916. After five minutes in the enemy trenches, in which time the raiding party had killed and captured a number of enemy troops, the men were returning across no man’s land when they were subjected to retaliatory German artillery fire. Jackson got back to the Australian positions safely with a German prisoner in tow, then immediately went back out into no man’s land to assist in bringing in a wounded man. Jackson was himself severely wounded by a German shell that took off his arm, after which he returned to the Australian trenches, sought medical attention, and then went out again to help recover the remaining wounded. Private Jackson was subsequently awarded the Victoria Cross – the first such award given to an Australian on the Western Front. After a lengthy period in hospital in England, he returned to Australia and was discharged from the AIF. He died in Melbourne in 1959. Jackson’s VC was recently donated to the Australian War Memorial, and will soon go on display in the Hall of Valour. Private John Leak VC, 9th Battalion, AIF Pozières, France, 23 July 1916 https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P02939.009 After several weeks in the relatively quiet “nursery” sector near the town of Armentières, troops of I ANZAC were sent south in July 1916 to participate in the British offensive on the Somme. On the night of 22/23 July 1916 troops of the 1st Division succeeded in capturing the town of Pozières, impeding any further progress towards the high ground at Thiepval. Troops of the 9th Battalion were involved in bitter fighting for the area to the east of the village, known as the OG (Old German) lines, where they were locked in a fierce grenade duel with German troops. In the course of the fighting, and under his own initiative, Private John Leak leapt from the trench where he was taking cover, ran forward under heavy German machine-gun fire, lobbed three grenades into an enemy-occupied position, and, after they exploded, jumped in and bayonetted the survivors. He was wiping the blood off his bayonet with his slouch hat when his platoon caught up with him. Originally from England, Leak had migrated to Queensland, where he worked as a teamster in the years before the war. He enlisted in the AIF in January 1915 and served on Gallipoli before arriving in France in March 1916. After his VC exploit at Pozières, Leak was wounded at Mouquet Farm in August 1916 and gassed at Hollebeke in Belgium in March 1918. He returned to Australia in 1919 and died in South Australia in 1972. Leak’s VC is privately held. Lieutenant Arthur Blackburn VC, 10th Battalion, AIF Pozières, France, 23 July 1916 https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/J03069A Having been called to the bar in Adelaide less than a year before the war, Arthur Blackburn enlisted in the AIF in August 1914 and was an original member of the 10th Battalion. He served on Gallipoli, where at the landing on 25 April 1915 he distinguished himself by becoming one of the few Australians to reach Third Ridge, some 2,000 yards inland from Anzac Cove. Commissioned in the field in the week before Lone Pine, he became a platoon commander and remained on the peninsula until the evacuation in December 1915. Blackburn was awarded the Victoria Cross for leading four separate parties of bombers against the OG lines at Pozières. Many of the men in his parties became casualties of the enemy’s machine-gun and artillery fire. By rushing a barricade and bombing the enemy with grenades, Blackburn went on to capture some 300 yards of trench in one of the most formidable German strongholds in the Pozières area. Blackburn was soon promoted to captain, but was thereafter evacuated sick to London and repatriated to Australia, where he was discharged from the AIF. He later served in the Citizens’ Military Forces and went on to command the 2/3rd Machine Gun Battalion in Syria during the Second World War. In February 1942 Blackburn and his men were among the 7th Division troops landing at Java to prevent the Japanese advance along the island. By then a brigadier, Blackburn commanded the formation “Blackforce”, but was compelled to surrender on 12 March 1942. Blackburn spent the remainder of the Second World War as a prisoner of the Japanese, enduring the privations of captivity in Singapore, Japan, Korea, and Manchuria. After his release from captivity and return to Australia, Blackburn went on to have a long and successful career in the public service. He was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1954, and died in November 1960. Blackburn’s VC is currently on display in the Hall of Valour at the Australian War Memorial. Private Thomas Cooke VC, 8th Battalion, AIF Pozières, France, 24–25 July 1916 (posthumous) https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/A02649 Originally from New Zealand, Thomas Cooke settled in Melbourne with his wife and two children in 1912. He worked as a builder in the years before the war, and after enlisting in February 1915 served briefly on Gallipoli with the 24th Battalion. He was later transferred to the 8th Battalion, before travelling to France and the Western Front. Cooke formed part of a Lewis gun team manning an isolated outpost during the bitter fighting at Pozières. The team came under a spate of heavy German fire, after which Cooke was the only man left alive and without serious wounds. Against all odds, Cooke remained at his position, firing his Lewis gun against repeated German counter-attacks, until he was finally killed. His body was never recovered from the battlefield, and as such his name is listed on the Australian National Memorial to the Missing at Villers- Bretonneux, alongside the 10,700 Australians killed in France who have no known grave. Cooke’s VC is currently held by the New Zealand Army Museum at Waiouru, New Zealand. Sergeant Claud Castleton VC, 5th Machine Gun Company, AIF Pozières, France, 28 July 1916 (posthumous) https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/H06769 The Australians suffered more than 5,200 casualties in just three days of fighting at Pozières. The 2nd Division took over the sector on 27 July, and the following evening launched a costly and unsuccessful assault on the German-occupied defences to the east of the village. Assaulting troops of the 5th Brigade (comprising the 17th, 18th, and 20th Battalions) were caught in the open by devastating German machine-gun fire, and their attack was temporarily driven back. Many of the wounded lay out in the open or sought shelter in nearby shell holes. Sergeant Claud Castleton went out repeatedly under heavy machine-gun fire to retrieve the wounded. He was on his third journey back to the Australian lines, a wounded man on his back, when he was shot and killed. Originally from England, Castleton was a school teacher who arrived in Australia in 1912 and travelled the country extensively. He was in Port Moresby when war broke out, and after volunteering his services was placed in command of Papuan troops for coastal defence duties. He returned to Australia in March 1915, enlisted in the AIF, and served on Gallipoli with the 18th Battalion from August to the evacuation in December. He transferred to the newly raised 5th Machine Gun Company and sailed for France in March 1916. Castleton’s body was recovered from the Pozières battlefield and today rests in the Pozières British Cemetery at Ovillers-la-Boisselle. Castleton’s VC is on display in the Hall of Valour at the Australian War Memorial. Private Martin O’Meara VC, 16th Battalion, AIF Pozières, France, 9–12 August 1916 https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P02939.010 Australian troops captured the OG lines in early August, after which the focus of operations in the area shifted north in an effort to drive towards the high ground at Thiepval. The German defences at Mouquet Farm impeded any Australian progress and became the scene of heavy fighting over the next three weeks. By the time it was over the 2nd Division had suffered 6,500 casualties in just 12 days in the line. The 4th Division filed in to the trenches at Pozières on 4 August and was heavily involved in the bitter fighting in the approaches to Mouquet Farm. For four days, Private Martin O’Meara, a regimental stretcher-bearer of the 16th Battalion, carried urgently required water, ammunition, and grenades up to the front line, and on each return trip brought back the wounded – all the while under sustained German machine-gun and artillery fire.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Issue 75 October 2016
    The Official Newsletter of the 9th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment Association (Qld) National Patron: His Excellency General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK, MC (Rtd) NINER NEWS Issue 75 October 2016 49th Anniversary Memorial Service and Birthday Celebrations, Brisbane, Sunday, 13 November 2016 See full details on page 2 Remembrance Day Friday, 11 November 2016 See background of the poster on page 7 9 RAR ASSOCIATION (QLD) Bulletin Board 49th Anniversary Memorial Service and Birthday Celebrations, Brisbane Sunday 13 November 2016 The Memorial Service will be conducted within the Contemplation Building, The RAR National Memorial Walk at the Gallipoli Barracks, Enoggera, Brisbane. The 8th/9th Battalion will be providing support to our Association for the Service including the guest speaker. Padre Peter Devenish-Meares will attend and guide us through the service. The Service will commence at 11.30am and will honour the 35 who were killed in South Vietnam and the 5 who were killed whilst on non-operational duties in the period 1970-73. Everyone is welcome to lay a personal wreath or tribute. Those who have died subsequently will also be remembered. Following the Service will be the:- Tankard Ceremony amongst the trees, cutting the cake and then a light lunch will be provided. (Some drinks will be on sale but otherwise BYO.) * * * * * * * * * Morning tea will be available at Diggers Rest, NMW from 10.00am. IMPORTANT NOTICE Due to the security restrictions at Gallipoli Barrack, we have arranged for modified access to apply for our Service. If you are planning to attend you need to provide us with the following details so that a list can be compiled and be given to the security personnel at the Lloyd Street Entrance.
    [Show full text]
  • Allora Sports Club
    Issue No. 3343 The AlloraPublished by Dairy Brokers Australia Advertiser Pty. Ltd., at the Office, 53 Herbert Street, Allora, Q. 4362 “Since 1935” Issued Weekly as an Advertising Medium to the people of Allora and surrounding Districts. Your FREE Local Ph 07 4666 3128 - E-Mail [email protected] - Web www.alloraadvertiser.com THURSDAY, 7th MAY 2015 Respite Coordinator Ellen Woods is presented with a $1200 donation by Thank you Allora! Ken Gillam from the sale of 2015 Allora Calendars. It is with great pride that the Ken Gillam family and the Allora Advertiser donate $1200 to Allora Clifton Blue Care from the Leading Independent Agbusiness sale of the 2015 Allora Calendar. The calendar was designed and printed by the Allora Advertiser to commemorate the 80th birthday of Gwen Gillam, a very talented artist. Gwen is renowned for her structural pen & ink drawings and Colin Newport provided historic details for the sketches of the buildings presented. Oats, Barley & Wheat A big thank you to the businesses who sold the calendars and Available now at Pursehouse Allora to the Allora community for supporting the project to honour Gwen Gillam. Avoid disappointment call (07) 4666 2800 10 Forest Plains Rd, Allora QLD Mothers Day Long Lunch www.pursehouse.net.au ALLORA SPORTS CLUB ALL WELCOME TO… Sunday 10th May 2015 Commences 11.00am with lunch served from 12 noon Allora QCWA International Afternoon: ~ Three Course Meal ~ "English Midlands" FRIDAY, 8th MAY 2015 Uniting Church Hall, Warwick St, Allora, 1.30pm with a complimentary glass of champagne for all Mums DELICIOUS AFTERNOON TEA Entertainment provided by Norma O’Hara Murphy • Concert - St.
    [Show full text]
  • Your Virtual Visit
    YOUR VIRTUAL VISIT - 61 TO THE AUSTRALIAN ARMY MUSEUM OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA Throughout 2021, the Virtual Visit series will be continuing to present interesting features from the collection and their background stories. The Australian Army Museum of Western Australia is now open four days per week, Wednesday through Friday plus Sunday. Current COVID19 protocols including contact tracing will apply. Battle of the Somme - 1 July 1916 The first day of fighting of the Battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916 was the costliest in British military history. Of 57,470 casualties, there were 19,240 killed. The Battle continued for 141 days resulting in an estimated 420,000 British casualties, 200,000 French and 500,000 German. The Somme, like Verdun for the French, has assumed a prominent place in the popular memory of British military history. For many, it has come to represent the loss and apparent futility of the War and war. The reality of almost 20,000 deaths on one day, in one coordinated assault is difficult to imagine. If however, 20,000 soldiers were to march in single file from Blackboy Hill Camp to the Western Australian State War Memorial, the first digger would be arriving at the Memorial before the last stepped off from Blackboy Hill. The Australian experience of the Battle of the Somme is best encapsulated by the portion designated the Battle of Pozières (23 July – 3 September 1916). The costly fighting of that segment ended with British possession of the plateau north and east of Pozieres, in a position to menace the German bastion of Thiepval.
    [Show full text]
  • A Batt Jan 2010.Pub
    President Ron Bassan’s Report From the President’s event. If this goes ahead it will be a function for all Chair. ‘A’ Bty members not just Vietnam Veterans’. I would like some feedback from the members, so G’day everyone, please let us know what you think of this proposal? On behalf of the Committee and There are still ten stragglers who have not paid their myself, I would like to wish subs for 2009/10, I will not name them as they know everyone a very happy New Year who they are, so please hurry up and and I hope you all stay well and pay as 2010/11 subs will soon be prosper. due. The Annual General Meeting I had a recent email from Lyn Worboys was a huge success; we are informing us that Joe Rouse has not getting new faces come along and been very well lately. He has been in enjoy themselves. We had several people travel and out of hospital with a few very long distances to be at the Reunion, Max Ptolomey, serious problems. He's not on the John Wilkinson, Rex Martin, Terry Jobson, David internet but his phone number is Harris, Reg Etienne, Don Green, Tom Caldwell, 0244439500. If any of Joe's old army mates are down his way he would be Mike Pitman and Harry Cook to name a few. more than happy to see them At our AGM, one of our long standing Committee Joe Rouse relaxing at the Garrison Club I have had a very nice letter from the Members (Ray Alcorn) stood down and was new Battery Commander of 'A' Field replaced by one of the national service men who Battery RRAA, he is; Major Nathan Laughton and the came to Malaysia in 1966 to serve with the Battery.
    [Show full text]
  • Heroic Rescue for Downed Aircrew in Korea
    Slipstream Volume 30 No. 3 SEPTEMBER 2019 Heroic Rescue For Downed Aircrew in Korea Sub-Lieutenant MacMillan and Observer 1 (CPO) Hancox (with the Owen sub-machine gun) dash for the rescue helicopter after being shot down in their Firefly over North Korea (Painting by David Marshall hanging in the Fleet Air Arm Museum) Rescue as reported by SBLT MacMillan to running in on the target. We were to carry out a low-level run, endeavouring to place our bombs, At 1500 on Friday 26 October 1951, 26 Flight, fused for a 25-second delay, into the mouth of the consisting of five Fireflies, was catapulted off tunnel. On the run-in I was positioned about 300 HMAS Sydney to attack a railway tunnel, north- yards (275 m) astern, and just below my section east of Chaeryong. On approaching the target leader, who was strafing the tunnel entrance as an the flight split into two sections; 26 Leader and 2 were going to attack from the north. The first section went in, made their attack and Published by the Fleet Air Arm Association of Australia Editor: Paul Shiels Ph: 0481 302 760 pulled away. At this time my section leader and I Email: [email protected] commenced a steep diving turn to port, preparatory Print Post Approved—PP100002097 anti—flak precaution. It was just prior to releas- ing my bombs that I saw what I thought to be ammunition links from my leader’s air- craft passing over my canopy. This was later ascer- tained to have been tracer from a flak posi- tion situated near the entrance to the tunnel.
    [Show full text]
  • What's in a Number
    What’s In A Number? The Personal Numbering System of the Australian Army by 2151240i The first thing a soldier generally learns, on the very first day of enlistment, is his or her personal number. Those readers with Army service (probably Navy and Air Force as well) will surely remember their first day of service as they, and everyone else around them, spent the day mumbling a string of digits to themselves as they strove to commit that magic number to memory. And woes betide the individual if that number was NOT committed to permanent memory by the end of the day. Readers will doubtless recall the various dodges utilised by those with a less than perfect memory in an effort to avoid the wrath of their instructors. Numbers would be written inside sleeve cuffs, inside the crown of the bush hat, on the back of the wrist, on the palm of the hand. Having your brew mug in your hand when pounced on by a predatory corporal intent on catching you out in the commission of that most unpardonable of military sins, not being able to remember your number, was always a life saver. Since your number was required to be written on your mug in permanent marker, in nice big digits, the mug was always good for a quick desperate glance! Relevance of Service Numbers The question that can legitimately be asked, of course, is what is the relevance of service numbers to military historians? Well, first of all, the service number is one way of positively identifying a particular soldier when carrying out research.
    [Show full text]
  • The Battle of the Somme
    THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME FIRST PHASE BY JOHN BUCHAN THOMAS NELSON ft SONS, LTD., 35 & 36, PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON, E.C. EDINBURGH. NEW VORK. 4 PARIS. 1922 — THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME.* CHAPTER I. PRELIMINARIES. ROM Arras southward the Western battle- front leaves the coalpits and sour fields F of the Artois and enters the pleasant region of Picardy. The great crook of the upper Somme and the tributary vale of the Ancre intersect a rolling tableland, dotted with little towns and furrowed by a hundred shallop chalk streams. Nowhere does the land rise higher than 500 feet, but a trivial swell—such is the nature of the landscape jxfay carry the eye for thirty miles. There are few detached farms, for it is a country of peasant cultivators who cluster in villages. Not a hedge breaks the long roll of eomlands, and till the higher ground is reached the lines of tall poplars flanking the great Roman highroads are the chief landmarks. At the lift of country between Somme and Ancre copses patch tlje slopes, and the BATTLE OF THE SOMME. sometimes a church spire is seen above the trees winds iron) some woodland hamlet* The Somme faithfully in a broad valley between chalk bluffs, •dogged by a canal—a curious river which strains, “ like; the Oxus, through matted rushy isles,” and is sometimes a lake and sometimes an expanse of swamp, The Ancre is such a stream as may be found in Wiltshire, with good trout in, its pools. On a hot midsummer day the slopes are ablaze with yellow mustard, red poppies and blue cornflowers ; and to one coming from the lush flats of Flanders, or the “ black country ” of the Pas dc Calais, or the dreary levels of Champagne, or the strange melancholy Verdun hills, this land wears a habitable and cheerful air, as if remote from the oppression of war.
    [Show full text]
  • A Technical, Administrative and Bureaucratic Analysis of the Victoria Cross and the AIF on the Western Front, 1916-1918
    i Behind the Valour: A technical, administrative and bureaucratic analysis of the Victoria Cross and the AIF on the Western Front, 1916-1918 Victoria D’Alton Student Number 3183439 Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts University of New South Wales Australian Defence Force Academy 22 October 2010 ii Originality Statement I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project’s design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged. Victoria D’Alton UNSW Student Number 3183439 22 October 2010 iii For my friend, Lieutenant Paul Kimlin, RAN O156024 1 January 1976 – 2 April 2005 ‘For many are called, but few are chosen.’ Matthew 22:14 iv Abstract This thesis focuses on the how and why the Victoria Cross came to be awarded to 53 soldiers of the AIF on the Western Front from 1916 to 1918. It examines the technical, administrative and bureaucratic history of Australia’s relationship with the Victoria Cross in this significant time and place.
    [Show full text]
  • Joseph Rowen
    Premier’s ANZAC Spirit School Prize Entry Private Joseph Rowen AIF Burial Ground Flers, France. Private Rowen’s unit fought at Flers in 1916. By Alice O’Connell Loreto College Emerging out of the Gallipoli Campaign of 1915, the ANZAC Legend and Spirit continues to inspire and characterise Australians today. I believe that the ANZAC Spirit acknowledges the bravery of young soldiers, enlisting for a battle they knew little about, across the other side of the world. The ANZAC Spirit epitomises the courage of Australians in protecting the sovereign rights and freedoms of other nations and peoples, demonstrating ‘others before self’. Whilst my great, great uncle Private Joseph Rowen demonstrated a love of freedom and patriotism for his country, his war records do not reflect the recognisable ANZAC qualities of courage, sacrifice and unwavering persistence. However, his experiences reveal the untold story of how a young soldier lived the harsh realities of war on the Western Front, deepening our understanding of the ANZAC Spirit. According to my grandmother, Joseph Rowen’s niece, he was an adventurous and gregarious character, who ran a “Two-Up School”, behind his cafe in Broken Hill. He was born in the small town of Clare in the mid-north of South Australia (Figure One). At the time of his enlistment he was working as a labourer and living at 12 Barnard Street, North Adelaide (Figure Two) with his widowed mother, Harriet Rowen. His father had died when Joseph was very young, hence, as my grandmother concluded, Figure One - Details from Joseph Rowen’s there was no one to discipline him, or give him guidance, despite enlistment record.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter Xv 1916-Pozi&Res, and Mcuquet Farm
    CHAPTER XV 1916-POZI&RES, AND MCUQUET FARM THEfight at Fronielles was a short, sharp incident- G.H.Q., most unwisely, reported it as “some important raids” (140 Germans had been captured), and thereby, as often happened in that war, deceived its own people, not the Germans; and shook the faith of its soldiers in the British communiqub-faith which might have been of great value. The battle put out of offensive action for many months the 5th Australian Division. But of all the great battles of the next two and a half years, the fight that now lay a few days ahead of the ist, 2nd and 4th Divisions, then just marching up to the Somme Battle, was in several ways the hardest experienced by the First A.I.F. This narrative left the British and French armies of the Somme at the stage at which the great first and second blows, struck on July 1st and 14th, though driving fairly deep into the German line, had still not led to the break- through for which General Haig hoped, and the small intermediate attacks, to round off the positions first gained, had achieved slow progress at great cost. A closely similar result was occurring in the small attacks following the 4th Army’s second stroke, of July 14th; it was being followed by difficult operations in which the qth (Scot- tish) Division, including the South .African Infantry Brigade, had taken-and was fighting to hold-Delville Wood, on the 4th Army’s centre, xhile that army’s left had tried to seize Pozikres village which protected the Germans’ still unbroken flank at Thiepval farther north.
    [Show full text]
  • Issue 74 July 2016
    The Official Newsletter of the 9th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment Association (Qld) National Patron: His Excellency General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK, MC (Rtd) N I N E R N E W S Issue 74 July 2016 ANZAC Day Parade, Brisbane, 2016 See more photos on page 5. 9 RAR ASSOCIATION (QLD) Bulletin Board Repatriation Ceremony held for Memorial Plaque being added to a Australian servicemen who died Vietnam Memorial Cross in Mackay in Vietnam War to honour Trevor Black. On 2 June 2016, at RAAF Base Richmond, the When the memorial wall was first put together in Governor-General, the Honourable Sir Peter Jubilee Park, it only held the names of four Cosgrove AK MC (Retd), as Commander-in-Chief Mackay soldiers killed in action in Vietnam. It and Chief Mourner, and Lady Cosgrove attended a wasn't until Mackay historian Berenice Wright Repatriation Ceremony and Memorial Service for was researching a book about Victoria Park State 33 Australians repatriated from Terendak Military School she came across these other two soldiers. Cemetery, Malaysia, and Kranji War Cemetery, Once the oversight was recognised, the RSL Sub Singapore. branch worked to secure the plaques to go onto the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Cross. The RSL This very moving service was attended by family was in constant contact with Beverley Douthett and guests and televised nationally. The next day (Trevor’s sister). A ceremony was held at on 3 June, along with dignitaries and families, a Jubilee Park where a plaque bearing Trevor number of members of 9 RAR attended the re- Black's name was unveiled.
    [Show full text]
  • Invictus 2017 Games Celebrating Veterans’ Fighting Spirit
    QUEENSLAND REMEMBERING AUSTRALIANS POPPY ON THE WESTERN FRONT SERVICES NOVEMBER 11, 2017 MARKS THE 99TH PROVIDE ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMISTICE THAT ENDED WWI A FITTING FAREWELL EDITION 05, 2017 ALL CREATURES RSL GREAT AND SMALL WWI’S WAR ANIMALS NEWS RECOGNISED AT POZIERES INVICTUS 2017 GAMES CELEBRATING VETERANS’ FIGHTING SPIRIT THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE RETURNED & SERVICES LEAGUE OF AUSTRALIA (QUEENSLAND BRANCH) Honour our courageous heroes with two heirloom editions 100TH ANNIVERSARY WWI COMMEMORATIVE WATCH On the 28th July 1914, the threat of oppression loomed with the declaration of war – a war that was to become the first global conflict in history, touching people from every nation for decades to come... A prestigious centenary edition proves a striking tribute to the courageous heroes who sought to defend liberty itself – Lest We Forget. Honour their incredible acts with this first-of-a-kind, exclusive to The Bradford Exchange. Surrounded by a rich gold- plated casing and complemented by a genuine leather strap, the champagne-toned dial of this unique heirloom timepiece showcases a handsome tribute to the landmark anniversary of WWI, in addition to laurel leaves of victory, precision chronograph dials with stop-start function and Roman numerals. The reverse of this precision quartz movement edition is expertly etched with WWI battle names where Australian and New Zealand forces served in addition to the poignant sentiment 'Lest We Forget – We Will Remember Them', signifying our eternal gratitude and enduring pride for each hero. Arrives in a custom- Available for a Limited Time Only. Act Now! gift box Accompanied by a numbered Certificate of Authenticity, this heirloom edition will be issued in a strictly limited release.
    [Show full text]