No 34 Mk III (L) Hand Grenade : Sergeant A E Green, 9 Battalion AIF

No 34 Mk III (L) fragmentation egg hand grenade made from cast steel. Markings - JG & CO LTD, 1917.

Collected by Sergeant Albert Edward Green, 25 Battalion. A 28 year old farmer from Lismore, NSW, he enlisted in the AIF on 22 July 1915. He was assigned to the 6th reinforcements of 25 Battalion, with the service number 2682. After basic training he sailed from Brisbane for service overseas aboard HMAT Seang Lee on 21 October 1915. Green continued his training in Egypt and transferred to 9 Battalion, AIF on 28 February 1916, changing his service number to 2682A, before the battalion sailed to France for service on the Western Front. He was awarded the Military Medal on 25 February 1917 during the fierce fighting which caused the German retreat from the Hindenberg Line. In September 1917 Green undertook specialist training in England and qualified as a bomb (grenade) instructor, and in marksmanship. He was attached to a training battalion as an instructor for a number of months before rejoining 9 Battalion. In October 1917 he was promoted to sergeant. In July 1918 he suffered accidental gunshot wounds to both hands and subsequently had the tips of the middle and fourth fingers on his left hand amputated. He saw no further active service and was allowed extended leave in England. In November 1919 he married Margaret Annie Waterman before returning to Australia the following month.

This grenade may have been used by Green in his role as an instructor. The No 34 Mk III (L) fragmentation egg hand grenade was a lightweight grenade developed by the British in response to the introduction of the German 'egg' hand grenades. Their light weight allowed a number to be carried and easily thrown.