Service dress tunic : Lieutenant A Dowding, 34 Battalion, AIF

Privately made khaki wool gabardine tunic with open lapel collar bearing oxidised brass Rising Sun collar badges and shoulder straps each bearing a voided oxidised brass 'AUSTRALIA' shoulder title and single oxidised brass pip indicating the rank of second lieutenant. The front of the tunic has four patch pockets. The two pleated breast pockets have triple pointed flaps. The larger lower pockets are attached to the waistband and have expanding sides with a straight buttoned flap. The self-fabric waistband has a small concealed pocket on right front and a brass belt hook set into each side. The tunic is fastened with four large Australian Military Forces buttons, made by Armfield & Co, Birmingham. Similar, smaller buttons fasten the shoulder straps and pocket flaps. At the top of each sleeve is an oval wool flannel colour patch, horizontally divided purple over green, representing 34 Battalion. A brass 'A' indicating service at Gallipoli has been stitched to the centre of each patch. Sleeves have pointed cuffs and there is a single rear vent extending from the waistband to the hem. The body of the tunic is lined with brown cotton twill, the sleeves with cream striped cotton sateen. There is a hanging loop in chocolate brown twill on the inside collar. An embroidered maker's lable, 'H.W.RICHARDSON, CAMBRIDGE', is sewn inside the back and is further marked in black ink 'A Dowding'.

Albert Dowding was a 31 year old clerk when he enlisted in the AIF at Rosehill, NSW on 21 September 1914 (service number 373). He embarked for Egypt aboard HMAT Ulysses on 22 December that year as a private in D Company of the 13th battalion, part of the 4th Brigade.

After training in Egypt the Brigade landed at Anzac Cove on the afternoon of 25 April 1915, and was engaged in establishing and defending the front line. At Quinn's Post on 29 May, Dowding received bomb (grenade) wounds to his knee and jaw, on a day when his battalion's casualties numbered 13 dead and 64 wounded. He was evacuated to Egypt for hospital treatment and was only able to return to his unit on Gallipoli 13 November, a few weeks before the evacuation in December 1915.

In March 1916, as part of the reorganisation and expansion of the AIF, 13th Battalion was divided, with half its men, including Dowding, transferring to form a core of experienced men in the newly formed 45th Battalion. Dowding sailed to France with his new battalion, arriving at the Western Front in France on 23 June. The battalion fought at Pozières in August 1916, defending ground the 2nd Australian Division had previously captured. After Pozières the battalion spent time in training and trench work near Ypres in Belgium, and then in the Somme Valley in France until March 1917. Dowding moved soon after to England where he undertook officer cadet training, leading to a commission as second lieutenant on 31 May 1917.

Dowding transferred to a divisional supply unit, before being promoted to lieutenant on 5 October 1917 and transferred 34 Battalion. The battalion was engaged near Passchendaele later in October, suffering 50 percent casulaties. After this it had periods of rest and training, before engaging with the Germans last great offensive in spring 1918, when it was deployed around Villers-Bretonneux, defending the approach to Amiens. Other counter battles took place at Hangard Wood on 30 March, before another major push on Villers Bretonneux on 4 April. Dowding was fatally wounded near Villers Bretonneux on 30 May 1918 while leading a wiring party of 30 men. Sustaining severe wounds to his left side and leg, he was evacuated to 5 (British) Casualty Clearing Station, but died there on 5 June. He was buried in Crouy British Military Cemetery the following day.

This tunic was part of the effects that were returned to his sister in Sydney after his death.