Spurs : Corporal G Binns, 1 Machine Gun Battalion, AIF

Pair of private issue spurs with British sixpence coins for rowells. The spurs each have a single leather boot strap connecting to a buckle, and a length of chain, to be worn under the instep, attached at each end with a sliding clip. The sixpence coins are dated 1915 and 1916, and the inside of each spur is stamped 'SOLID NICKEL'.

Gordon Binns was born in 1899, and began his compulsory cadet service in March 1913. In February 1917, aged 18, he enlisted in the AIF, becoming number 712 in the 13th reinforcements to 2 Machine Gun Company. After sailing to England on the 'SUEVIC', he was sent in March 1918 to reinforce 6 Infantry Battalion, but almost immediately transferred back to 1 Machine Gun (MG) Battalion, of which 2 MG Company was a part. Binns was wounded in action on 10 August 1918 when his unit was supporting the Australian attack on Lihons, and spent over a month in hospital. Upon release, he was again transferred, this time to the Australian Provost Corps, where he served out the remainder of the war. Gordon Binns returned to Australia in 1919. He died in 1976.