Modified bayonet : Staff Sergeant W Edgar, 13/33 Battalion

Bayonet and scabbard modified to a short utility knife. The majority of the upper bayonet blade has been removed; the blade has been rehandled using a reshaped wooden handle and tang with an upwards bias has been worked from scrap metal. The leather scabbard has also been significantly shortened to accomodate the new blade. The scabbard has been mounted in a standard Pattern 37 bayonet frog, marked 'Bob' in biro on the upper frog loop.

Related to the service of NX15074 William Edgar, born Glasgow, UK, on 6 November 1906, a builder's labourer of Bowral, NSW who enlisted on 16 May 1940, having served in the Australian Military Forces (AMF) from 16 October 1936 with 53/3 Battalion, re-engaging on 16 October 1939 for a further three years, based in Goulburn with 3 Battalion with the rank of Lance Sergeant. Edgar was assigned to 2/13 Battalion which had only been formed in the previous month as part of 20 Brigade, 7 Division. He was appointed acting Corporal on 20 May, acting Sergeant on 19 June and acting Staff Sergeant on 6 August whilst the battalion was undergoing field training in Bathurst.

He embarked with his battalion from Sydney on 19 October for service in the Middle East, where they disembarked on 26 November; five days earlier Edgar had been confirmed in the rank of Staff Sergeant. Also en route, the battalion was transferred to the newly formed 9 Division. Arriving in November the battalion travelled by train to Palestine and went into camp at Kilo 89. Early in March 1941 the 9th Division moved into Cyrenaica replacing the 6th Division going to Greece. When German forces landed at Tripoli, the 2/13th covered the British division's withdrawal. The battalion was the first complete Australian unit to fight German troops during the Second World War at the battle of Er Regima on 4 April 1940 against a German force of about 3,000 men. By 9 April the 2/13th joined the rest of 9 Division at Tobruk, remaining there for eight months. They were the only Australian battalion to see out the siege. The 9th Division returned to Palestine before going to Syria to perform garrison duties.

During this period, Staff Sergeant Edgar was transferred to 20 Australian Infantry Training Battalion in January 1942, possibly as an instructor, while the 2/13th rejoined the division at Lattakia. It fought at Alamein from 23 October to 5 November 1942 and soon after was recalled to Australia with the remainder of 9 Division to defend against the Japanese. Edgar rejoined 2/13 Battalion in time for its embarkation from Egypt in January 1943; they disembarked at Sydney in February. After leave and jungle training on the Atherton Tablelands in Queensland in August, Edgar and his battalion embarked for Milne Bay in Papua, arriving on 30 July 1943. On 4 September the battalion left Milne Bay on landing craft and landed on Red Beach, north-west of Lae, without casualties. It carried out subsequent jungle operations until Lae fell 12 days later. The battalion also landed at Scarlet Beach near Finschhafen on 22 September, helping defend the area against Japanese counter-attack. The battalion returned to Australia in March 1944, disembarking in Brisbane. Edgar was admitted to hospital on 8 June 1944 with malaria and never rejoined his unit. He was transferred through a range of hospitals and Personnel Staging Camps until his discharge on 21 September 1945. However, Edgar rejoined the Regular Army after the war and is noted as serving with 17 Light Anti Aircraft Regiment in June 1956.