White tropical helmet : Private N S Eglinton, Australian Army Womens Medical Service

Tropical helmet with puggaree. The helmet is covered in cotton with a white finish. A buckled leather chin strap is fastened across the front of the brim. The inside of the helmet is lined with green cotton and has a leather sweatband. The inside of the crown is lined with a manufacturer's label printed on paper and covered with clear plastic. This label reads 'CHARLES BIRKS & CO. LTD. ADELAIDE. /Real Pith Hat/ MADE IN INDIA'.

Worn by SFX15101 Private Nancy Stewart Eglinton. Eglinton was born in Adelaide, South Australia in January 1918 and enlisted in the Voluntary Aid Detachment on 10 November 1941. In 1942 Eglinton, with the majority of VADs, was transferred to the newly formed Australian Army Medical Women's Service. During the war she served in Northern Queensland, and possibly in New Guinea towards the end of the war. She served with 128 Australian General Hospital (AGH), 2/6 AGH and when discharged on 26 April 1946 she was serving with 101 AGH, based in Northfield, Adelaide. At the end of war she met and later married S3509 Colin Malcolm McEachern, a telegraphist from the Royal Australian Navy who served as a coast watcher during the war. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal during his service in HMAS Parkes.