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