Victory Medal : Private S C Nolan, 25 Battalion, AIF

Victory Medal. Impressed around edge with recipient's details.

Awarded to 711 Private Sebastian Charles Nolan for his service in the First World War. Nolan was born at Werribee, Victoria, but was working as a surveyor in Queensland, when he enlisted in the AIF at Brisbane on 8 March 1915. After initial training he was assigned to C Company, 25 Battalion. He sailed for overseas service aboard HMAT Aeneas on 29 June 1915. After further training in Egypt the battalion arrived at Gallipoli at the beginning of September, serving there until the evacuation of the Anzac area in December 1915. In February 1916 Nolan transferred to 4 Field Company Engineers. In June 1916 he moved with his unit to France, serving in both France and Belgium until 28 August 1917, when he was wounded by high explosive shrapnel during the Battle of Messines. Evacuated to 2 Casualty Clearing Station that same day his right leg was immediately amputated at the knee. Once stablised he was sent to England to recover but while he was being transported he was admitted to 16 General Hospital at Le Treport in northern France for emergency surgery, where his leg was further amputated at the thigh to arrest the spread of gangrene. Nolan eventually left for England on 2 October 1917 and was admitted to the 1st Southern General Hospital in Birmingham. He later moved to 2 Australian Auxiliary hospital at Southall in London, a hospital specialising in the rehabilitation of amputees and fitting of prosthetic limbs. Nolan left to return to Australia on 24 January 1918 and was discharged on 18 April of that year. After the war Nolan moved for a time to Canberra where he worked with Walter Burley Griffin surveying the layout for the city.