'Good Luck and Safe Return' Red Australian Ensign : Private H S Monro, 12 Field Artillery Brigade, AIF

Small cotton Australian Red Ensign over-printed in black with 'GOOD LUCK AND SAFE RETURN'. The reverse of the flag has a large number of autographs in indelible pencil, many of which have become illegible or affected by the ink used to print the message on the obverse, which has also caused the cotton behind the printing to become brittle. The legible messages and signatures include the title: 'Sailed on Field Marshall D 60. The Boys of N9 to N2 GSR AIF' and 'Lidcombe Boys - B Crompton E South H S Monro'. Signatures on the stars include (l to r, top to bottom): 'W Bassett, G L Milne, J Pollock, K B Milne, J A Turner, W Horne'; 'G R Oliver, Chas A Phillips, T Timmins'; 'H S Monro, A T Crook, E S Small'; 'A V Larsen, A W Waine, A Morrice'; 'A A Coleman, W S V Daniel, E Theo Still, G W Elliott, J J Taylor, A N C Tompson, D B Brown, F Larsen, W Cox, M Hind'. Signatures on the Union Jack portion include 'W Harrison, A Ross, R F Inglis, T Gollan, A Anderson, V Troy, R Pacey, C W Bassett, F Horsley, H Hine, T Lewis, W B Dolphin, E Sayell, A F MacKenzie, A L Washbrook' ; 'E Bensley, A Evans, S Donovan, G Creighton, R E Haine, A W Kennedy' ; 'J J Dolan, C J West, J McPherson ; C Cluett, J D McLean, H Hacourt, J M Kevan, K Brown, A G Innes, G D Cobham, N A Pinder, Jack Dowling, Perry Dowling' ; 'A G Johnston, J Smith, L Blyton, F Barraston, R Tinsley, A McMillan, E Smith, R E Rumble'.

Related to the service of 58602 Private Henry Steele Monro of Lidcombe, NSW, born Hobart, Tasmania, on 29 April 1899. Monro enlisted on 1 May 1918 just after his nineteenth birthday, requiring his parents' permission to do so. He embarked for overseas service from Sydney aboard SS Field Marshal on 19 June 1918. This flag was given to him by his family and signed by him and his fellow embarkees aboard the SS Field Marshall on their trip to England. Upon arrival on 26 August, he was initially assigned to 55 Battalion before being transferred to the artillery and being mustered as a Gunner. Monro had returned to artillery training at Haytesbury after two successive bouts of influenza in early November when the Armistice was declared. He proceeded to France on 27 November to join 12 Field Artillery Brigade and in February 1919 was detached to Chatelineau for a month. He returned to England in late May 1919 before returning to Australia aboard SS Ulysses, disembarking at Sydney on 5 September. He was discharged on 19 February 1920 as being medically unfit.