Embroidered handkerchief : Lance Corporal F R Symons, 17 Battalion, AIF

White silk chiffon handkerchief edged with white buttonhole stitch along slightly scalloped edges. In each corner there is a large embroidered flower with two stems, each with a new bud. In the centre of the handkerchief are the words 'Egypt 1915' machine embroidered in green cotton. Surrounding this is a circle of leaves and flowers. The flowers are in white, pink and blue and are arranged in a pattern with four leaves separating each blossom.

This handkerchief was a souvenir collected by 2287 Private Frank Robert Symons, a wood machinist from Alexandria, New South Wales. Symons enlisted on 29 July 1915 at the age of 21 and embarked from Sydney aboard HMAT Argyllshire on 30 September 1915 as part of 4 Reinforcements, 17 Battalion. After a brief period in Egypt Symons embarked for the Western Front and was promoted to Lance Corporal in March 1917. On 15 April that year he was killed during the German counter attack at Lagnicourt.