Stopwatch : Corporal O L Stone, 5 Machine Gun Battalion, AIF

Military issue open face stopwatch with single sweep hand and a small, upper-face secondary dial with provision for 30 minutes. Enclosed in a nickel-plated case. The reverse is engraved 'PATT 3169 (Broad Arrow) 30806'. The internal mechanism is marked 'A.R. & J.E. Meylan Swiss. Unadjusted. Eleven 11 Jewels. 88005.' The speed adjusting support arm is stamped 'AXJ'. The inside of the rear case cover is engraved D2164/61, indicating a repair in 1961. The stopwatch is in working condition; a short length of string is tied to the suspension loop.

Related to the service of 3010 Corporal Oscar Lesley Stone, born on the Tweed River at Tumbulgum, NSW, a mechanic of Woolgoolga, NSW who enlisted in the AIF at Bathurst on 16 February 1916, aged 29. Assigned to 45 Battalion, Stone embarked for overseas service aboard the SS Port Nicholson from Sydney on 8 November 1916, arriving at Davenport, England on 10 January 1917. Following three months training at 12 Training Battalion, Codford, Private Stone transferred to France, joining 45 Battalion in the field as a reinforcement. The battalion had been involved in the action at Pozieres a year before, and had spent the period until March 1917 alternating between duty in the trenches and training and rest behind the lines, first around Ypres in Belgium, and then in the Somme Valley in France. The 45th Battalion was in reserve for the 4th Division's first major action of 1917 'the first battle of Bullecourt' and was not committed to the attack. But it was heavily engaged during the battle of Messines in June, and suffered commensurate casualties. Private Stone however, played no part in Messines.

On 22 May Stone was hit by a horse drawn limber and suffered major contusions down his left side and chest necessitating his evacuation to England. During this period he had an opportunity to catch up, in London, with his elder brother, William Ernest Stone, who was serving with the Merchant Marine.

An enquiry held into the circumstances of the accident proved 'no blame was attributed' to either Private Stone or the limber drivers. His injuries were severe enough to keep him in hospital and rehabilitation until late October, when he was transferred to the Machine Gun Training Depot. Here he trained until he returned to France on 9 April 1918, and joined 5 Machine Gun Battalion. He remained with this unit until the end of the war and was promoted to corporal on 7 September. His unit stayed in France until February 1919, when he was granted extended leave until June to attend a poultry farming course at the Betta Hands Poultry Farm at Hampstead Norreys (Berkshire); this was extended by another 6 weeks when he also attended Mr Harvey's poultry farm at Manor House, Ellisfield, Basingstoke. Armed with his newfound knowledge of poultry farming, Corporal Stone returned to Australia aboard the SS Anchises, leaving London on 23 August and arriving in Sydney on 13 October 1919. He was discharged from the AIF on 2 February 1920 and returned to Woolgoolga.

In the early 1960s, Oscar Stone - known locally as 'Gunner' - dropped this stopwatch off to Don Clinch's chemist shop in Woolgoolga for repairs. Clinch recalled 'Gunner Stone lived with his niece, Stella Avery, and earlier her mother (his sister)... One of his interests was horse racing and he often called on me to mix up a tonic powder for his horses. We always had a bit of a yarn when he came in.' When he dropped the stopwatch off, Clinch was surprised to hear Stone start talking about conditions on the Somme. 'I think his brother may have been killed there,' said Clinch. 'After some discourse about the conditions there, this huge man burst into tears and broke down. Such an unexpected thing was hard to manage, but in due course 'he recovered and left.' By the time the watch was repaired and returned to the Chemist shop, Oscar Stone had died; his relatives passed the stopwatch to Clinch.