Housewife : Sergeant N M Partridge, 2/11 Field Ambulance

Unbleached calico housewife with a rectangular pocket at one end, three open-ended storage compartments and a triangular end with a pair of cotton tape ties to secure the housewife and its contents in a roll. A patch of wool flannel is sewn to the outside of the rectangular pocket to hold needles and pins. The housewife contains a wooden reel of heavy white cotton thread, loose white and khaki cotton thread, a hank each of black and khaki darning wool, three large needles (all with corrosion), a large steel safety pin, a small brass safety pin and two large Australian Military forces brown Bakelite buttons for an Other Rank's greatcoat. The outside of the roll is faintly stamped in black ink 'AUSTRALIAN RED [Red Cross symbol] CROSS SOUTH AUST. BRANCH'.

Born at Eidsvold, Queensland in 1907, QX215 Sergeant Norman Maitland Partridge enlisted in the Second AIF at Brisbane on 25 September 1939. He listed his previous occupations as 'General clerical - running repairs - unemployed - labourer - salesman - drive car'.

Partridge trained as a nursing orderly and left Australia for the United Kingdom with 2/3rd Field Ambulance on 17 May 1940. In Britain he transferred to 2/11th Field Ambulance at Tidworth. The unit left for North Africa in January 1941. Partridge carried this housewife at Tobruk.

In June 1943 he was posted to 8th Special Hospital at Gaza. He left the Middle East to return to Australia at the beginning of 1943. He then served in hospitals in Brisbane, Atherton and South Australia. He was posted to 107 Australian General Hospital in Darwin between February and September 1945. Partridge was discharged on 6 November of that year. He died in 1956.