Next of kin plaque : Sergeant Thomas Joseph Maxwell, 7th Light Horse Regiment, AIF

Bronze next of kin plaque, showing on the obverse, Britannia holding a laurel wreath, the British lion, dolphins, a spray of oak leaves and the words 'HE DIED FOR FREEDOM AND HONOUR' around the edge. Beneath the main figures, the British lion defeats the German eagle. The initials 'ECP', for the designer Edward Carter Preston appear above the lion's right forepaw. A raised rectangle above the lion's head bears the name 'THOMAS JOSEPH MAXWELL'.

Born in Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Thomas Joseph Maxwell was employed as a stockman on Tuggeranong Station in the Australian Capital Territory when he enlisted in the AIF on 21 September 1914, as Thomas Maxwell. After initial training he was appointed a trooper, service number 318, to B Squadron, 7th Light Horse Regiment. The unit sailed from Sydney on 20 December, aboard HMAT A33 Ayrshire.

The regiment arrived in Egypt at the beginning of February 1915 and undertook further training before landing at Gallipoli, without its horses, on 15 May. Maxwell fought at the battle of Romani in August 1916, and in the first two battles of Gaza in April 1917. He acted as a sergeant from June 1917 but was only confirmed in the rank on 28 April 1918.

Maxwell was killed on 7 May by a bomb dropped from an enemy aircraft while his regiment was camped in the Jordan Valley prior to the raid on Amman. He was 31. He was buried two days later near the old city of Jericho. His body was exhumed after the war and he is now buried in the Jerusalem War Cemetery in Israel. At the time of his death Maxwell was described as a 'splendid horseman and all-round sport'.

This commemorative plaque was sent to his father, Thomas Phillip Maxwell, in December 1922. Maxwell's brother, Michael Patrick, also served with the 7th Light Horse Regiment and survived the war.