Next of kin plaque: Private Arthur William Wilkins, 11 Battalion, AIF

Place Europe: France, Picardie, Somme, Albert Bapaume Area, Pozieres Area, Pozieres
Accession Number REL/17579
Collection type Heraldry
Object type Heraldry
Physical description Bronze
Place made United Kingdom: England, Greater London, London
Date made c 1922
Conflict First World War, 1914-1918
Description

Bronze next of kin plaque, showing on the obverse, Britannia holding a laurel wreath, the British lion, dolphins, a spray of oak leaves and the words 'HE DIED FOR FREEDOM AND HONOUR' around the edge. Beneath the main figures, the British lion defeats the German eagle. The initials 'ECP', for the designer Edward Carter Preston appear above the lion's right forepaw. A raised rectangle above the lion's head bears the name 'ARTHUR WILLIAM WILKINS'.

History / Summary

Born at Northam, Western Australia, Arthur William Wilkins was employed as a farmhand at Goomalling when he enlisted in the AIF at the age of 27, on 23 June 1915. After initial training he embarked for overseas service from Fremantle aboard HMAT Anchises at the beginning of September.

Assigned as a private, service number 2691, to 16th Platoon, D Company, 11th Battalion, Wilkins briefly joined his battalion on Gallipoli before being evacuated with mumps. After further training in Egypt the battalion moved to France for service on the Western Front. Wilkins was wounded on 25 July 1916 during the battalion's first major action, at Pozieres. He was lying on a stretcher waiting to be to be taken to a dressing station. A fellow wounded soldier had been taken first. When the bearers returned to collect Wilkins the area had suffered a direct hit from the a shell and no remains could be found. Arthur Wilkins has no known grave and his name is listed on Villers Bretonneux Memorial. This commemorative plaque was sent to his father in 1922.