Housewife : Sapper C Love, Royal Australian Engineers

Brown leather roll-up housewife containing sewing needles, safety pins, a card of brown linen thread made by William Barbour & Sons Ltd, Lisburn, Northern Ireland) and numerous plastic buttons of different sizes and colours. Each end of the roll is turned in and stitched to form a pocket. One pocket has a square of grey wool flannel sewn to it to carry needles and pins. A manufacturer's label is stamped in ink beneath the flannel: 'MADE IN AUST./ PARKERS PRODUCTS/ PTY. LTD./ 1942'. The opposing pocket is stamped with a broad arrow acceptance mark and 'L.M.'.

Associated with the service of Sergeant Cecil Love who was born in Sydney on 16 October 1921. Love volunteered for service in the Second AIF on 12 July 1943, when this housewife was issued to him. He was posted to the engineers with the service number NX201803 and served primarily in the Sydney area.

After the war, Love enlisted into the regular army and was allocated a new service number, 21323. He was promoted to corporal on 6 January 1947 and to staff sergeant on 1 February 1950.

He went on to serve as a temporary Warrant Officer Class II in Korea in 1953 with the 16th British Commonwealth Infantry Workshop as a member of the Royal Corps of Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (RAEME) from 19 February to 18 July. After his return to Australia he was discharged on 7 September 1953.