| Place | Oceania: Australia, Tasmania |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | REL35379.002 |
| Collection type | Heraldry |
| Object type | Heraldry |
| Physical description | Silk |
| Maker |
Unknown |
| Place made | Australia: Tasmania |
| Date made | c 1916 |
| Conflict |
First World War, 1914-1918 |
Silk bookmark : Returned Sailors & Soldiers Imperial League
Description
Patriotic silk bookmark for the Returned Sailors & Soldiers Imperial League of Australia (RSSILA) Queenstown branch. The bookmark is purple with gold printed script and detail. It features the RSSILA crest with the words 'In Memoriam' above. Below is written in verse 'For truth and right - at honor's call / They gave the years to be. Rewarded, Lord, they one and all / Shall find true joy in Thee.'
History / Summary
This item was most likely purchased by the mother of 490 Private Samuel James Smith who served with 12 Battalion at Gallipoli. He was born at Avoca, Tasmania and worked as a labourer prior to his enlistment in August 1914 at the age of 21 years. He was wounded at Gallipoli in May with gunshot wounds to the arm and thigh. After the Gallipoli campaign, Smith transferred to 52 Battalion and embarked with the British Expeditionary Force in June 1916 from Alexandria, Egypt for Marseilles, France to serve on the Western Front. He was promoted to lance corporal in September 1916, then corporal in March 1917. Smith was again wounded with gunshot wounds to the foot and leg, and as a result of these wounds, returned to Australia in March 1918 and was discharged from service in December that year. This bookmark would have been sold to help raise funds for the Returned Sailors & Soldiers Imperial League of Australia.