The Ancre

Sketch of the Ancre River with a man untying a boat. The river flows into the Somme east of Amiens. The French and German lines faced each other across the tongue of land between the two rivers from September 1914 until the launching of the Allied Somme Offensive on 1 July 1916. The bridge seen in the distance could be the footbridge built by the 6th Field Company of Australian Engineers, in cooperation with the 24th Battalion, immediately before the attack of the 6th Infantry Brigade on Ville-sur-Ancre, on 19 May 1918. The span of the bridge was approximately 20 feet, and the construction was successfully screened by scouts of the Battalion. The bridge is a span of thin overlapping planks of wood covered with sacking.

Pte Thomas Cross enlisted in November 1915 in Brisbane joining the 41st Battalion. He later transferred to the 42nd Battalion. Tom listed his profession as photographer and illustrated his experiences on the Western front with drawings and cartoons. Some of his cartoons were reproduced as postcards and are also held in the collection. During the 1920s Tom designed the Linville War Memorial. As a result of his service he suffered from Trench Foot for the rest of his life and died in 1940 in Repatriation Home in Brisbane.