Watch chain with fobs : Lance Corporal R A Overy, 4 Machine Gun Company, AIF

Places
Accession Number REL32910
Collection type Heraldry
Object type Heraldry
Physical description Gold
Location Main Bld: First World War Gallery: Western Front 1916: Behind the Lines
Maker Royal Mint
Unknown
Place made United Kingdom
Date made c 1916-1917
Conflict First World War, 1914-1918
Description

9 carat gold double watch chain with two 'fobs'. The first fob is a gold sovereign (Edward VII) dated 1910. The second fob is a sporting medallion with, on the obverse, a central engraved rugby footgall on a shield within a belt. The reverse is engraved with the words: 'PRESENTED BY CAPT. MITCHEL. MUDLARKS 4th M.G.C. TO R.A.OVERY'.

History / Summary

Richard Alfred Overy was a plumber from Haberfield, New South Wales when he enlisted on 7 September 1914, as a driver in 13 Infantry Battalion. With the regimental number 205, he sailed as an original member of the battalion in December 1914. He was a non-commissioned officer and machine-gunner at Gallipoli and in France. Overy was transferred from 13 Infantry Battalion on March 1916 to 4 Machine Gun Company (MGC). During his time in France, rugby league was a favoured recreational activity and a group of soldiers from 4 MGC formed a team, the 'Mudlarks', with a black and white bird silhouette upon the chest of their jerseys representing the Australian mudlark. Overy was seriously wounded in 1917 and returned to Australia on 10 January 1918.