| Accession Number | ARTV04316 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Art |
| Measurement | Overall: 147 cm x 100 cm |
| Object type | Poster |
| Physical description | lithograph printed on two sheets |
| Maker |
Simmins, Claude Butler Department of the Army Unknown |
| Date made | c. 1942 |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Back up your cobbers!
Description
Recruiting poster showing a soldier from the 2/9th Australian Infantry Battalion, about to board a troop ship with his full kit. Other soldiers can be seen ascending the gangway. The 2/9th was the first Queensland battalion of the Second AIF, first assembled in November 1939. Following training at Redbank, and at Rutherford and Ingleburn in New South Wales, the 2/9th embarked with the brigade for the Middle East on 5 May 1940. With Japan's entry into the Second World War Claude Butler Simmons attempted to enlist, but he was rejected on medical grounds. In 1942, he worked for the Public Service Commissioner's Department on Civil Defence publicity, which is when he would have designed this poster. Originally created in poster paints, this poster is a lithograph, which was printed for mass reproduction and distribution. In April 1943, Simmons obtained special leave to do similar work for the Red Cross. He later became Publicity Officer to the War Loan Organisation.