John Gardener, seven years old

This sketch depicts a portrait of the artist's son, John Gardener, in Arthur Gardener's old Corporal uniform with two stars, sitting at a table with an open book. John Gardener wrote to the Memorial; 'The subject of my father's sketch, the seven year old boy in Austrian uniform, became Private No.NX179927 in the 2nd AIF at the age of 32 years' (he refers to himself.) The artist changed his name from Baumgarten to Gardener after he migrated to Australia at the age of 30 on the 8th of March 1938, landing at Fremantle. 'I was prompted to this decision by economic and political reasons, seeing no future for me and my wife in fascistic Austria under Schuschnig's government' he wrote. He had served as an artillery photographer with the Imperial Austra-Hungarian Army, and following this set up his own photographic studio. Following this he worked as a salesman at the Australian Fiat Automobile works in Vienna before being dismissed from office after the German occupation. In Australia, at the age of 58, Private Arthur Gardener, assisted in the efforts of the Second World War on the home front in the 3rd Australian Employment Coy (N303400).