Grey cotton work coveralls : Able Seaman Hambleton, HMAS Toowoomba

Pair of worn heavy duty gray cotton coveralls with 'HAMBLETON ?' written in black permanent ink over the right breast. Over the left breast pocket is embroidered 'NAVY' with black thread. Rank slides are on both epaulettes. The overalls have reflective strips on the arms and Velcro fastenings at the collar, wrists and ankles. The overalls are fastened down the front by a series of press studs. There are two patch breast pockets, the right pocket has a concealed zipper and the left is open, with a small narrow pen pocket sewn on the edge. A further pen pocket is located on the upper left hand sleeve. There are remnants of some white paint on the upper right sleeve below the rank slide. A pair of grey cotton slides, with the rank insignia for an Able Seaman is embroidered in black. There is a patch pocket on the left thigh with a flap secured by two press studs. The right thigh has a narrow expandable patch pocket with an elasticised top opening. There are two slash pockets at the hips and a rear patch pocket on the right. The label includes manufacturers details, the size '107R' and the date of manufacture.

This pair of coveralls is associated with the service of Able Seaman (AB) Matthew Hambleton who served onboard the HMAS Toowoomba during Operation Catalyst. Born on 15 December 1982, he joined the Royal Australian Navy in August 2001 and was allocated the service number M8118918. AB Hambleton was posted to HMAS Toowoomba on 31January 2005. His core role onboard the ship was as Able Seaman Cook, cooking in the galley providing meals for the 163 embarked personnel. Ancillary duties included standing sea fire brigade, flight deck crew and forward damage control repair station during action stations. As a member of standing sea fire brigade he was on call 24 hours to respond to emergency situations such as fire, floods and toxic hazards. His flight deck crew responsibilities including manning the flight deck for helicopter replenishments and transfers and during action stations he manned the repair base as part of the damage control response organisation to enable the ship to remain afloat to fight whilst engaged in an action situation. HMAS Toowoomba is an Anzac class frigate of the Royal Australian Navy and was laid down by Tenix Defence Systems at Williamstown, Victoria on 26 July 2002. She was launched on 16 May 2003 by Ms Judy Blight, and commissioned on 8 October 2005.