Short sleeved Aertex shirt : Major J H Lewis, Headquarters Australian Army Force Far East Land Forces

Short sleeved jungle green 'Aertex' cotton shirt. The shirt was originally closed by four brown plastic buttons, but the third button from the top is now missing. There is no provision for a fastening at the collar. Shoulder straps are secured by brown plastic buttons, and carry green cotton slides with the embroidered rank crowns of a major in green and brown cotton. The sleeves, which have 53 mm cuffs, each carry a cloth formation patch below the shoulder. On the right is a printed cotton patch featuring a winged crown on a light and dark blue background, the badge of HQ Far East Land Forces (FARELF). The left sleeve carries an embroidered 'AUSTRALIAN MILITARY FORCES' Rising Sun badge in gold, red and black cotton on an olive green background. There are two pleated patch breast pockets, each with a three pointed flap secured by a brown plastic button and a pair of chromed press-studs. Above the left hand pocket is pinned a ribbon bar with two rows, the upper row having the ribbons of the 1939-45 Star and the Pacific Star, the lower the British War Medal 1939-1945, the Australia Service Medal, the Korea Medal and the United Nations Korea Service Medal.

John Henry Lewis was born in Sydney, NSW, in March 1924. He enlisted in the AIF in June 1943, receiving the service number NX171846, and was commissioned as a lieutenant in November 1946. He transferred to the Interim Army with the service number 2/37568 when the AIF was disbanded in 1947. In November 1952 he was posted to 2 Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment, as captain and second in command of C Company, and in March 1953 the unit embarked for service in Korea. Lewis served with 2 RAR for the remainder of the Korean War, and was adjutant of the unit from November 1953 until September 1954, by which time it had returned to Australia. After a period as adjutant of the Sydney University Regiment, he attended Staff College, graduating in December 1958 with the rank of major. A variety of staff postings followed, and in the early 1960s, he served at the Jungle Training Centre, Canungra. In 1963 he was posted to Headquarters, Far East Land Forces (FARELF) as Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General (DAQMG), and in 1966 he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his services. John Lewis retired from the Australian Army in 1973 with the rank of lieutenant colonel.