Welcome home banner : Able Seaman Marine Technician P Matthews, HMAS Kanimbla

Cotton welcome home banner heavily coated in craft paint so that the fabric is quite rigid. The rectangular shaped banned has a pointed fly. The two angles of the point are edged with black and white lines. The body of the banner is painted in blended shades of black, blue and green. Superimposed on this are large yellow and green letters, edged in black, and then white,'YOU ARE MY HERO'. Above the 'MY' are three red, orange and yellow hearts, also edged in black and white. The back of the banner, showing part of the original white fabric, has a hand drawn design of small red flowers from previous use. It has also been signed in black ink by the subject of the welcome, 'PHIL MATHEWS ABMT HMAS KANIMBLA 17.7.03 LO(heart)E YOU!'. The banner is stapled to a length of wooden dowelling that is painted black where it meets the banner. There is a handle 'grip' at the bottom of the dowelling, made from adhesive maroon synthetic suede.

Welcome home banner prepared for Able Seaman Marine Technician Philip Matthews, RAN, who served aboard HMAS Kanimbla during the war on Iraq, 2003. The amphibious transport HMAS Kanimbla (LPA-51) was acquired by the Royal Australian Navy from the US Navy in 1994 for use as a helicopter support and sea training vessel. During 2003, while participating in Maritime Interception Operations in the Persian Gulf and in the war on Iraq, Kanimbla served as command and control platform for the Australian Task Group. Coalition boarding operations were coordinated from Kanimbla. At one point the ship hosted boarding teams and inflatable boats from three different countries, and a total of 88 sea mines were intercepted.

• Welcome home banner : Able Seaman Marine Technician P Matthews, HMAS Kanimbla