| Accession Number | P08046.001 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Colour - Print |
| Maker |
Crown Studios |
| Place made | Australia: New South Wales, Sydney |
| Date made | 1915 |
| Conflict |
First World War, 1914-1918 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Studio portrait of 3272 Private (Pte) William Roy Elwin Croucher, 1st Battalion, of ...
Description
Studio portrait of 3272 Private (Pte) William Roy Elwin Croucher, 1st Battalion, of Hurstville/Tempe, NSW. He is wearing a good luck brooch in the shape of a slouch hat with a fylfot or swatika hanging from it. Before the rise of Nazism the swastika or fylfot, derived from India, was a popular symbol of good luck in western nations. Pte Croucher had been a member of the 38th Battalion Citizen's Military Force (CMF) before the First World War. A jewellery packer prior to enlistment in the AIF, Pte Croucher embarked from Sydney with the 11th Reinforcements of the 1st Battalion on HMAT Themistocles on 5 October 1915. He transferred to the 53rd Battalion and was later killed in action on 19 July 1916 at Fleurbaix, France, aged 21. Pte Croucher has no known grave and is commemorated at VC Corner, Australian Cemetery Memorial, Fromelles.