Officer's service dress tunic : Lieutenant Colonel A J Stead, Royal Australian Artillery

Places
Accession Number REL33424.001
Collection type Heraldry
Object type Uniform
Physical description Cotton, Gilded brass, Wool barathea
Maker Cookson & Co Pty Ltd
Place made Australia
Date made c 1970
Conflict Period 1970-1979
Description

Officer's lined khaki wool barathea service dress tunic with gilded brass Artillery buttons, Artillery collar badges, rank insignia on shoulder straps for Lieutenant Colonel with a gilt 'R' (Reserve), and a white Artillery lanyard on the right shoulder. The tunic is complete with a self fabric belt.

History / Summary

Associated with the service of Lieutenant Colonel Allan James Stead, Royal Australian Artillery. Stead, born at Murraytown, South Australia (SA) on 9 December 1917, joined the Militia (artillery, service number SP4531) in 1938 and enlisted on 4 November 1939 at Keswick, SA. He was posted, with the service number SX1217, to 2/3 Field Regiment, seeing overseas service in Egypt, Libya, Greece and Crete before returning to Australia in 1943 with the rank of Warrant Officer Class 2 to take up a posting at the Artillery Proof Range at Port Wakefield, SA, where he stayed until 1953. Stead was commissioned after the war and assigned the service number 498. He later saw service with the 13th and 4th Field Regiments, and served as an administrative officer at Headquarters, Australia Force Vietnam from 15 July 1968 to 30 July 1969. He retired from army service in 1973.