Pair of spurs : Corporal A M Hodgkiss, 7 Light Horse Regiment, AIF

Pair of standard issue Australian Army spurs with spiked rowells. The spurs each have a single leather boot strap connecting to a buckle, and a length of chain, to be worn under the instep, attached at each end with a sliding clip.

Associated with the service of 1490 Corporal Alfred Michael Hodgkiss, who served in the 7th Light Horse Regiment (LHR) during the First World War. Hodgkiss was born on 13 August 1894 in Cumberland, NSW. He was left along with his brother and sister at a Barnados home by his mother during his early years and lost contact with his siblings. He went to live and work on a farm at Mittagong where he became an excellent horseman. Hodgkiss put his age up to enlist in the 7th LHR on 1 August 1915 and was allocated to the 11th Reinforcements. After initial training, he embarked from Sydney on 2 November and disembarked in Egypt on 28 December. He then joined his regiment which was in camp at Maadi.

On 25 February 1916 the Regiment moved to Serapeum near the Suez Canal. The men spent March and most of April training. At the end of April, the regiment moved to Kantara and then on to Romani where they conducted operations along the coast to Bir El Abd as part of the defence of the Suez Canal. They saw limited skirmishing and conducted many patrols over the next 3 months before returning to Romani. Hodgkiss took part in the regiment's first major engagement at Romani on 4 August when a large Turkish assault was launched in an attempt to reach the Suez Canal. The Turkish attack was defeated during the course of the day and over the next two weeks the 7th LHR was involved in the pursuit of the retreating Turkish force.

The remainder of 1916 was spent patrolling and in training. In March 1917, Hodgkiss was involved in the cavalry screen around Gaza during the failed attempt to take the area. He was also involved in the second attempt to take Gaza in April. Hodgkiss was sent to a rest camp at El Arish on the Egyptian coast in early July. He spent nearly two weeks resting before rejoining his regiment on 23 July. His regiment at this time were in camp at Shellal. Hodgkiss reported sick at the end of July and was sent to hospital in Abassyia with a severe inner ear infection. He rejoined his unit near Jerusalem on 4 December.

After Jerusalem was captured on 9 December 1917, the regiment moved to positions east of Jerusalem for the remainder of the year. In March 1918 the regiment moved into Jordan and took part in the attack on Amman. Hodgkiss was shot in the right arm during this attack. After recovering, he rejoined his regiment which was located to the south of Bethlehem on 18 June. Hodgkiss was involved in the last major action of the war in the Middle East in September when the 7th LHR was involved in the capture of Amman.

He was sent to hospital sick on 8 October and saw no further fighting. He was still hospitalised in Port Said when the Turks surrendered on 30 October and was recovering when the Armistice came into effect on 11 November. Hodgkiss rejoined his unit in Moascar on 23 November and was appointed acting lance corporal the following day and was promoted acting corporal in January 1919. He embarked from Kantara on 28 June in the transport ship Madras for return to Australia and disembarked in Sydney on 3 August. Hodgkiss was discharged from the AIF on 26 September 1919.

During the inter war years, Hodgkiss married, had three children and located his brother and sister. He helped manage a boys' home at a farm in Gosford, NSW. After the outbreak of the Second World War, Hodgkiss put his age down and enlisted for service on 10 March 1941. He was posted to the Australian Army Ordnance Corps. Hodgkiss' service was brief as he suffered a hernia during training in April and after going before a medical board, was declared unfit. Hodgkiss was discharged from the Army on 8 May 1941 and returned to the farm where he worked until his retirement. He passed away in 1964 and he is commemorated on the memorial at Mittagong, NSW.