| Places | |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | REL40053 |
| Collection type | Heraldry |
| Object type | Heraldry |
| Physical description | Bronze |
| Maker |
Royal Arsenal Woolwich |
| Place made | United Kingdom: England, Greater London, London, Greenwich, Woolwich |
| Date made | c 1922 |
| Conflict |
First World War, 1914-1918 |
Next of kin plaque: Sergeant James Sumner, 22nd Battalion, AIF
Description
Bronze next of kin plaque, showing on the obverse, Britannia holding a laurel wreath, the British lion, dolphins, a spray of oak leaves and the words 'HE DIED FOR FREEDOM AND HONOUR' around the edge. Beneath the main figures, the British lion defeats the German eagle. The initials 'ECP', for the designer Edward Carter Preston appear above the lion's right forepaw. A raised rectangle above the lion's head bears the name 'JAMES SUMNER'.
History / Summary
Born in Stawell, Victoria in 1878, James 'Jimmy' Sumner was employed as a newsagent and had already served twice in the Boer War with the Second Victorian Contingent and in the Second Australian Commonwealth Horse, in the militia with the Victorian Rangers between 1905 and 1910, in the 73rd Infantry (Victorian Rangers) for three years, and with Tropical Force in New Guinea in 1914 and 1915, when he enlisted in the AIF on 29 December 1915, shortly after his return to Australia. Posted an acting sergeant, service number 4549, to the 11th Reinforcements for the 22nd Battalion, Sumner left Melbourne for overseas service on 20 March 1916 aboard RMS Orontes.
After further training in England Sumner transferred to France and was taken on strength with his battalion on 10 August 1916 when he was posted to B Company's 5th Platoon. Sumner had missed the battalion's first action at Pozieres in which half the unit had become casualties. The battalion returned to Pozieres as a support unit on 25 August. The following day Sumner was shot through the heart while sniping with a covering party from a shell hole in No Man's Land. He had his rifle to his shoulder ready to shoot when he was killed. Although his burial was recorded his body could not be located after the war for interment in a war cemetery and his name is commemorated on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial.
Sumner left a widow and five young children. This plaque was sent to his widow, Harriet Ann Sumner, in May 1922. Sumner's sons, James and Clement, served in the Second World War. Both survived.