| Place | Oceania: Pacific Islands, Bismarck Archipelago, New Britain, Gazelle Peninsula, Rabaul Area, Rabaul |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | REL28857 |
| Collection type | Heraldry |
| Object type | Medalet |
| Physical description | Silver |
| Maker |
Unknown |
| Place made | Germany |
| Date made | c 1910-1914 |
| Conflict |
Period 1910-1919 First World War, 1914-1918 |
German marksmanship medal : Private S W Brenton, Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force
Description
Small silver medal awarded as a shooting prize. Obverse shows profile head of Albert, King of Saxony, and the words 'Albert Von G.G. Koenig Von Sachsen'. Reverse reads 'Dem Besten Schutzen' [for the best marksman].
History / Summary
Associated with the service of Stephen William Brenton who was born in Bournemouth, England in 1878. Burton enlisted in the British Army, joining 75 Battery, Royal Field Artillery. He served for just over two years in South Africa during the Boer War until illness forced him to be invalided back to England. He was discharged, medically unfit, on 8 December 1900.
Brenton immigrated to Australia settling in Macedon, Victoria where he worked as a grocer. He enlisted for service aged 36, in the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (ANMEF) on 5 November 1914 and was posted to 3 (Tropical) Battalion.
He embarked from Sydney aboard HMAT SS Eastern on 28 November. The force headed directly for Madang where it arrived on 12 December. Brenton served at Madang and later Rabaul, where he acquired this medallion. He embarked for Australia, along with other members of his battalion, for a period of leave in December 1915, returning to Rabaul in late January 1916.
Brenton returned to Australia in August 1916 for a medical discharge. He enlisted as a driver in the AIF in November for home duty as long as his services were required, but requested a discharge in February 1917, which took place on 30 April 1917.