Military Bugle : Private T W White, 5 Machine Gun Battalion, AIF

Standard B flat military bugle of soldered construction, with copper body and tubes, brass bell, joining section, rear sleeve, chain loop plate and mouthpiece extension tube. Green cord and tassels wrapped round lower tubes. A separate nickel-plated brass mouthpiece with decorative mouldings stamped 'London' is present, but is a poor and tight fit into the tube and may not be original. The upper bell is impressed '[broad arrow symbol] 52' (both hand engraved) Henry Potter & Co 56 West St Charing [cross symbol] Road London 1909'. The bugle displays the signs of having been regularly polished.

Bugle used by 293 Private Thomas Wilson White, 5 Machine Gun Battalion AIF. White, a 27 year old dredge hand, born 3 November 1888 at Forbes, NSW, was living in East Melbourne when he enlisted on 9 July 1915. He embarked for overseas service aboard the transport Port Lincoln, which left Melbourne on 4 May 1916.

Travelling via Alexandria, he served in England with 15 Training Battalion at Lark Hill and Perham Downs and appears to have remained as an instructor there for the duration of the war. He was appointed Acting Lance Corporal on 30 November 1917, reverting to private on 4 December 1918, the day he left for France to join 5 Machine Gun Battalion. He remained in France until 1 April 1919, possibly serving in the Army of Occupation, before returning to Australia aboard the Orontes the following month. He arrived in Melbourne on 28 June 1919 but was not discharged from service until 26 December.

On 19 July 1941, by now living in Kingston in Canberra, ACT, White volunteered for service in the Second World War. He served as a corporal with 13 Garrison Battalion until his discharge on 13 August 1943. The 'Canberra Times' noted on 14 November 1941 that members of this battalion's E Company 'are drawn exclusively from ACT' and were commanded by Captain W F Jones, MC.

White stated that he used this bugle on 'a number of ceremonial occasions'.