Silk handkerchief with Sphinx decoration : Private G A McPherson, 46 Battalion AIF

Square white silk handkerchief with bright pink hem separated from the both of the piece by a drawn threadwork border. A silk screened depiction of the Sphinx is applied to the lower left corner.

Related to the service of Gordon Alexander McPherson, a salesman of Port Melbourne, who enlisted on 12 July 1915 at Melbourne. Aged 18, he required the written permission of his parents, Alex and Elizabeth to enlist. Assigned service number 3085 and posted to 14 Battalion AIF, Private McPherson embarked for overseas service aboard HMAT Port Lincoln from Melbourne on 16 October 1915. He arrived in Egypt too late to serve on Gallipoli but during training over the next six months purchased this handkerchief to sent home to his family. As part of the reorganisation of the AIF, 14 Battalion was split to provide experienced soldiers for 46 Battalion. As part of this process, McPherson was transferred to 46 Battalion on 3 March at Tel-el-Kebir. The new battalion trained in Egypt until 6 June when they embarked for England from Alexandria, arriving in Plymouth ten days later.

After a period with 12 Training Battalion, McPherson embarked for France on 4 September 1916, entraining through Etaples and joined 46 Battalion in the field on 23 September. As winter approached, he contracted enteritis and a sore heel and was admitted to 39 General Hospital at Harve, where his foot injury was diagnosed as inflammation of connective tissue. He returned to his battalion a week later. The battalion spent the period up until March 1917 alternating between duty in the trenches and training and rest behind the lines. In February 1917 McPherson was evacuated to 3 Australian General Hospital in England with bronchitis (possibly brought on by exposure to gas) and spent a month recovering before being discharged on leave and ordered to report to 1 Command Depot at Perham Downs on 7 April. He arrived four days late and was charged with being absent without leave, incurring one week confined to camp and losing four days pay. He appears to have missed his battalion's engagement at Bullecourt where they suffered heavy casualties. McPherson was transferred into 12 Training Battalion in late June 1917 where, on 18 October he was promoted to Sergeant (extra duties pay), a rank he retained until reverting to Private on 10 April 1918. Ten days later he was transferred to the Overseas Training Brigade at Longbridge. Here he remained until being transferred to the Machine Gun Training Depot at Parkhouse. He was assigned to 4 Machine Gun Battalion and embarked for France on 2 December 1918. He spent 6 weeks in the field before returning to England on 28 January 1919. He returned to the Overseas Training Brigade (by then a holding unit) and was embarked for Australia aboard the transport Armagh on 5 April 1919, disembarking in Melbourne on 18 May and being discharged as 'medically unfit due to influenza' on 10 July.