Iodine ampoule : Private J R Stead, 32 Battalion, AIF : Pheasant Wood mass grave, Fromelles

Hand blown glass ampoule containing iodine. There are soil accretions on part of the glass surface. For use with a first field dressing.

Intact iodine ampoule found with the remains of Private Joseph Raymond Stead in the Pheasant Wood mass grave at Fromelles. The ampoule came from a first field dressing carried by the soldier into battle - the accompanying gauze, cotton wadding and packaging having disintegrated in the grave.

Private Joseph Raymond Stead, A Company 32 Battalion, was born November 1894 in Murray Town South Australia. He was one of a number of children born to Thomas and Ann Elizabeth Stead. Stead was working as a farmer and was a member of the Tintinara Rifle Club when he enlisted June 30 1915.

After initial training in Adelaide, he embarked on the MHT Geelong on 18 December 1915 for training with the battalion in Egypt. During this time he took ill and was firstly transferred to 15 Field Ambulance in March with the flu, then to 8 Field Ambulance in April with Mumps. Stead then sailed with the battalion to France aboard MHT Transylvania, arriving in Marseilles late June. Within weeks, the battalion found themselves on the front line and about to participate in not only their first major battle, but also the first major battle fought by Australians on the Western Front at Fromelles on 19 July. The battle of Fromelles, fought over a 24 hour period and resulting in over 5500 Australian casualties, is generally regarded as Australia's worst military disaster.

As part of 5th Division, 32 Battalion were on the very left flank of the front line and closest to the German front line and Delangre Farm. At 5.30pm, A and C Company closed to the right of the line to take up position for the first and second waves of the attack. At 5.53 the first wave went over the parapet into No Mans Land closely followed by the second wave. The first wave moved forward to the German's wire with the second wave remaining a little behind. At 6.00, the first two waves attacked. They managed to get through to the German's first line system and were in position by 6.30. The work of consolidating the position started but with little progress due to the lack of sandbags and the nature of the trench as there was up to two feet of mud and slush.

By 8.25, a message was received that the left flank was under heavy bombardment and there were requests for reinforcement and artillery assistance. The response was to hold the trenches at all costs. The Germans received reinforcements during the night, and so at 4.00am were moving forward. All through the night, the battalion faced heavy bombardment and machine gun fire. While 32 Battalion made an attempt to consolidate and attack, they were unsuccessful and by 7.30 had withdrawn to their 300 yard line. It was a disastrous introduction to the war for the battalion, with 718 casualties, about 75 per cent of the battalion's strength.

It is not known when and how Joseph Stead was killed, but he was among those listed in the German death list dated 4 November 1916. Following the battle German troops buried many of the Australian and British dead in an unknown location near the site of the fighting, where they lay undisturbed for over 90 years. The mass grave was discovered during an archaeological dig in May 2008. The dig revealed conclusive evidence of the bodies of hundreds of Australian and British servicemen. The following year the bodies were recovered and, in 2010, were reburied with full military honours in the newly constructed Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery.