Bass marching drum : 6 Battalion Band, AIF

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Accession Number REL/11140
Collection type Heraldry
Object type Heraldry
Physical description Animal hide, Brass, Plywood, Rope, Wood
Maker Hawkes & Son
Place made United Kingdom: England, Greater London, London
Date made c 1914
Conflict First World War, 1914-1918
Description

Large (823 mm diameter) bass marching drum with a varnished plywood shell, half of which has been left in its varnished state, while the other half is painted brick red, with a regular pattern of red, white and black horizontal bands. Contained within the painted section are the maker's details painted in gold capitals, and a series of three painted scrolls, bearing the following in black on a gold background: '6th Battalion'; Rising Sun badge with 'Australian Commonwealth Military Forces'; and 'AIF'. A pair of brass harness mounts are located towards the back of the shell - one is missing its loop, but retains its mounting foot.

The drum uses traditional rope tensioning, which loops over the 14 brass feet mounted around the circumference of the counterhoop; this is also painted red with a continuous black-edged white band to the outside. Both skins remained tensioned and in good, but played condition, there is evidence that the proper right skin is a replacement - it is coarser than its partner, still retaining animal hair, and the demarcation line between painted wood and bare wood on the counterhoop has been revealed. Each rope also retains its buff leather tensioning tug.

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History / Summary

The specific history of this drum is unknown. However, the 6 Battalion Band is depicted in various photographs which mostly include this bass drum. See P00895.001 (taken in 1914), E01817 (1918) and E03985 (1919). The Drum Major for 1919 is identified in the latter image as 6499 Private Walter J Guest.

The battalion (part of 2nd Brigade) had been raised in Victoria within a fortnight of the declaration of war in August 1914 and embarked two months later. Arriving in Egypt on 2 December, it landed as part of the second wave at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. Ten days after the landing, the 2nd Brigade was transferred from ANZAC to Cape Helles to take part in the attack on the village of Krithia. The attack captured little ground but cost the Brigade almost a third of its strength. The Brigade returned to ANZAC to help defend the beachhead, and in August fought at the battle of Lone Pine. The battalion served at ANZAC until the evacuation in December.

After the withdrawal from Gallipoli, the 6 Battalion returned to Egypt. In March 1916, it sailed for France and the Western Front. From then until 1918 the battalion was heavily involved in operations against the German Army. The battalion's first major action in France was at Pozieres in the Somme valley in July 1916; then Ypres, in Belgium, returning to the Somme for winter. In 1917, the battalion participated in the operations that followed-up the German withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line, and then returned to Belgium to join the great Menin Road offensive launched to the east of Ypres in September 1917.

In March and April 1918 the battalion helped stop the German spring offensive and later participated in the Allies' own offensive, launched near Amiens on 8 August 1918. The battalion continued operations until late September 1918.