Bedding roll : Captain L M Long, 2/3 Battalion

Rectangular khaki canvas bedding roll, consisting of a base panel with a pillow pocket and a foot pocket incorporated into the ends; and a pair of overlapping upper panels, one wide, one narrow, which fold longitudinally over the top of the roll. A series of three brass eyelets and three matching rope ties allow these two panels to be tied together over the top of the user. An army blanket has been sewn to the base panel; the upper third of this has suffered insect damage and is missing. A maker's label is sewn into the inside top panel. The canvas is faded and stained. Painted onto the outer face of the larger top panel are the following words: 'NX5383 / L M LONG / 61051 ? G' , followed by a depiction of a Military Medal ribbon in red and black.

Standard pattern canvas bedding roll from the Second World War period, with the addition of an army blanket sewn in for added warmth. The outer panel bears the painted details of NX5383 Captain Lindsay Merrick Long and a depiction of his Military Medal ribbon. Long, born 7 December 1910 at Melbourne, enlisted on 3 November 1939 and served with 2/3 Battalion. He was awarded his Military Medal for 'conspicious gallantry' on two occasions - at Bardia between 2 and 5 January 1941 and Tobruk on 21 and 22 January 1941. On the latter occasion, (then) Sergeant Long, with the aid of six volunteers, captured or disabled four Italian advanced defensive posts outside Tobruk on the night prior to the planned assault on the town. Long saw action with 2/3 Battalion in Greece, Syria and Lebanon, before returning to Australia in August 1942 in time to complete the push against the Japanese down the Kokoda Trail and onto the Sanananda beachheads. The years 1943 and 1944 were spent training in northern Queensland, and the 2/3rd's last campaign of the war was the operation to clear the Japanese from the Aitape-Wewak region of New Guinea between December 1944 and August 1945. Long was discharged on 8 October 1945. This bedroll later came into the possession of, or was issued to, VX88361 Sergeant Norman Charles Webb, 7 Transport Company, who enlisted on 7 July 1942 and saw service in Darwin. Webb was discharged on 27 January 1945.