Armentieres sweetheart brooch : Miss E Atkinson

Sweetheart brooch featuring the coat of arms for Armentieres - a central shield with a stylised sun, moon and fleur de lis within a blue enamel semi circle with the word 'ARMENTIERES'. Above the shield is a mural crown featuring four battlements. The back of the brooch has a brooch pin fitting,

This Armentieres sweetheart brooch was sent to Miss Ethel Atkinson by Lieutenant Raymond Langley Hassall.

Atkinson was born in England in 1887 and emigrated to Australia in 1897 with her family. She studied at Sydney Technical College and also privately under Alfred Coffey. Later she returned to England to study china painting at Chelsea Art School in England. She returned to Australia by 1910 and exhibited her work with the Arts and Crafts association of New South Wales and the Women's Industrial Arts Society. Atkinson established the Ceramic Art Studio with Ada Newman in around 1916 in Sydney. There they made pottery and Miss Atkinson taught leatherwork and china painting.

Raymond Langley Hassall enlisted in the AIF on 26 May 1915. At that time he was a 36 year old mining engineer and was single. As a corporal with the 30th Battalion, 'D' Company and the service number 808, he embarked for Egypt on 9 November 1915 aboard HMAT Beltana, arriving there on 11 December.

At Tel el Kebir, Egypt on 3 March 1916, the 5th Pioneer Battalion was raised with 550 men transferred from a variety of units. Hassall was among them and the next day he was promoted to sergeant. Three weeks later he was commissioned a second lieutenant.

On 19 June he embarked for France, arriving at Marseilles on 25 June. On 16 June he was promoted to lieutenant. Hassall served in France until February 1917 when he was admitted to hospital suffering from mild deafness. He was eventually evacuated to England. In mid August he returned to his unit in France but in December he was again evacuated to England with deafness, rejoining his unit in March 1918.

On Sunday 29 September, Hassall was working with the American Army near Bellicourt, repairing Red Road. He had finished his work and was returning to his unit when a shell exploded at his feet, severely wounding him in the right arm and leg. He was taken to the 53rd (British) Casualty Clearing Station, but died there at 12.30 am the next day.

In 1924 Atkinson returned to England with her father. There she visited arts and crafts schools and exhibitions. It is not known how Hassall and Atkinson met, or how long they has known each other before he died, but there seems to have been a strong connection between them, at least on Miss Atkinson's side, as while in England she travelled to France to visit his grave at Tincourt New British Cemetery.

Back in Australia, she continued working with Ada Newman, until Newman's death in 1949. Afterwards, Atkinson focused on water colours, until she could no longer continue due to arthritis. She died in 1991 at the age of 103.