Presentation side drum : 'Men from Snowy River' march : 4th Reinforcements, 55 Battalion AIF

Standard pattern military side drum with unpainted brass body, original hoops and skin heads, and fitted with a pair of wooden counterhoops, painted in red with a black band featuring a white stripe in a wave pattern. Six steel tensioning rods with heavy duty brass butterfly nutheads are fitted around the shell and clamp to the upper counterhoop, while a hook end secures them to the lower counterhoop. The lower counterhoop has a pair of cut slots for the placement of a snare, which is missing - the snare post attchments, in brass, are bolted to each side of the body. A pivoting heavy wire leg rest assembly, bound with a sewn sleeve of leather, is attached to the bottom edge of the the lower counterhoop with a pair of slotted bolts and nuts. A bent wire sling hook is attached to the inside of the upper counterhoops in a similar manner. The lower skin has a repair patch sewn to the centre; later repairs to an adjacent split appear to be repaired with Japanese paper.

There are two inscriptions engraved into the brass body. The first, engraved in elaborate decorative serif charcters, reads: ' -THE MEN FROM THE SNOWY RIVER- / -STARTED- / -6-1-1916- / -FROM DELEGATE- '. The second, engraved in a different hand, reads 'PRESENTED BY / Grace Stafford & Students / TO / 4TH REIN. 55TH BATT. A.I.F. / SYDNEY 24.6.1916'.

Standard military pattern side drum, presented to the 4th Reinforcements for 55 Battalion by Miss Grace Stafford of Woollahra, NSW prior to their departure for France in 1916. The 4th Reinforcements are probably better known as the participants in the ‘Men from Snowy River’ recruitment march, conducted in January 1916 covering the 350 kilometres from Delegate to Goulburn. The march’s recruiting officer, Captain Wedd, inspired by similar marches conducted over the previous year, had high expectations of the exercise, hoping to draw the ‘true spirit’ of the Snowy River to the march. However, confused financial arrangements and conflicting responsibilities had scared the Army from active support for the later marches, while low public tolerance for endless recruiting speeches and Wedd’s able capacity to alienate his audience (he stated at Bombala that the procession was already a total failure with ‘eligible men hiding behind women’s petticoats ignoring their duty’) saw far fewer recruits join than the ‘one man per mile’ (or 220 men) target that he had been hoping for.

Starting with 14 recruits at Delegate on 6 January 1916, the march progressed through Craigie, Mila, Bombala, Bibbenluke, Holt’s Flat and Nimmitabel (by which time 48 men were marching, including Ernie Corey from Nimmitabel, who later had the distinction of being the only man ever to have been awarded the Military Medal four times) to Cooma via Summer Hill and Rock’s Flat. Civic receptions were held at each place, but the largest encountered yet greeted them at Cooma on 15 January where the men were billeted at the Agricultural Hall; they stayed for a day before departing on 17 January with 44 extra recruits, heading for Queanbeyan via Bunyan, Umeralla (where a ‘telescope was presented to the men which, it was hoped, would prove useful when they reached the firing line’), Billilingra, Bredbo, Colinton, Michelago, and Williamsdale.
Queanbeyan was described as being ‘en fete’ to greet the march; speeches and gifts were made, and a talk given by Private Leo Galli (later a recruiting sergeant and author of a 1918 book of war stories entitled ‘Scattered War Leaves’) about the Gallipoli landing, where he had been wounded. The Hayes family of ‘Glenrock’ hosted a lavish garden party, and the march left Queanbeyan with 110 men.

At Bungendore, a local grazier offered 100 pounds for the first Bungendore man to win a Victoria Cross (he kept his money), and the march then headed up the eastern side of Lake George, through Deep Creek, Tarago, Inverlochy and Tiranna to their destination, Goulburn, reached on 29 January to a civic parade, another lavish reception and speeches for the 142 men that the march had gathered. It is worth noting that many more were inspired to enlist by the march, but in the words of one man, most ‘did not see the point in walking to Goulburn’.

One of the speakers at Goulburn was a Mr. Elliott, who presented to each man, on behalf of the Executive and in memory of his dead son, ‘a small medical comfort outfit which had been specially prepared for them for use at the Front in cases of emergency. The outfit was in a small compressed paper box, small enough to carry in the pocket and neatly wrapped in the colours of the Battalion’. After the celebrations, the new recruits were marched to the Goulburn Depot Camp for several months training.

Among the recruits for 55 Battalion was Second Lieutenant (later Captain) Louis Norman Stafford, from Sydney, who was appointed to command the 4th Reinforcements on their voyage to England. His sister, Grace ran the Grace Stafford Studios, a drama, elocution and deportment class based in Woollahra, Sydney, and headed the Grace Stafford Strollers, an amateur group with regular shows at the St James’s Hall. Stafford was an enthusiastic and omnipresent fundraising presence in Sydney, mounting stage shows on behalf of 7 Field Artillery, the Women’s RC Battleplane, 55 Battalion, the Australian Flying Corps, Prisoners, 2 Divisional Ammunition Column and 22nd Howitzers, the North Sydney War Chest, 2 and 54 Battalions and the Tanned Sheepskin Clothing Committee. She took her troupe to entertain the guards at the Liverpool German Concentration Camp, while her wartime scrapbook (see 3DRL/3018) holds a large number of “Official Collector” badges for most badge and fundraising days.

Probably due to her family associations, she offered in May 1916 to provide 55 Battalion with their colours, but at the time no one knew what shape the colours should be, although Goulburn Camp Commander, Major A C Muhs thanked her for her best wishes, noting ‘the lads certainly deserve it and your brother will have just as good men under him as have ever left Australia’. Instead, by return mail, Grace offered to present a drum to the battalion, which Major Muhs accepted, sending Lieutenant Back to Sydney for the presentation. The Sydney Morning Herald for 10 June 1916 reported that ‘this evening, at St James’s Hall, Miss Grace Stafford will direct a recital entertainment by her students, which will include (in costume) ‘Snow White and Seven Dwarfs’ the ‘Masque of Two Strangers’ and by the Grace Stafford Strollers, the comedy, ‘Miss Dalton's Orchids’. During the evening Miss Stafford will present the 4th Reinforcements, 55th Battalion with a drum, which will be accepted by Lt. Jack Beck.’

Later, this drum was presented to the reinforcements at the Goulburn training camp, inspiring a letter from Lieutenant Eric Birks, who noted ‘that the drum has a splendid tone and has helped us in our work already. We will remember who was kind enough to send the drum as we march along and you will be delighted if you could see the pride displayed by Private Angus (the drummer) as he polishes the brass for each days parade.’ This was Irish-born 2261 Private Frank Angus who enlisted on 24 January after the march left Bungendore and also served as a battalion driver.

This side drum accompanied the Reinforcements to England and was used in training at Hurdcott, where it remained while the group joined 55 Battalion in France in late December 1916. The first action after their arrival, at Doignies on 2 April 1917, saw 34 men killed and 145 wounded, drummer Frank Angus among them. Stafford’s brother, Louis, was shot in the head and killed by a German officer during a 55 Battalion patrol raid on German trenches at Morlancourt on 4 July 1918. The drum was returned to Miss Stafford after the war, and she donated it to the Australian War Museum in November 1926.