A beer that was never shared donated to the Australian War Memorial

One of Australia’s oldest unopened bottles of beer, which was meant to be shared between mates more than 80 years ago, now stands as a tribute to friendship from the Second World War.

Stanley (Stan) Lewis and Frederick (Fred) Hume, were both from New South Wales, and enlisted together in early 1941 in the 2/30th Infantry Battalion.

“Before leaving, Stan and Fred purchased a bottle of Tooth’s Draught Ale from the Wingham Hotel and made a pact to open and share it when they returned from the war,” said Australian War Memorial Director Matt Anderson.

“They entrusted the bottle to Stan’s mother, Rubie Lewis, who looked after it for the duration of the war but sadly, he didn’t make it back.”

“This bottle of beer tells a story of friendship and loss and now, ultimately, one of survival.”

After the surrender of Singapore to the Japanese, around 130,000 Allied troops were captured, including 15,000 Australians from units such as the 2/30th Battalion.

Fred and Stan were both imprisoned at Changi and later sent to work on the notorious Thai–Burma railway, where an estimated 3,000 prisoners of war and more than 100,000 civilians died.

Stan was among those who did not survive. He died of disease on 25 August 1943, aged just 23, and is buried at Kanchanaburi War Cemetery in Thailand.

Fred survived and remained in captivity until August 1945. He returned to Australia and lived until 1986, passing away at the age of 65.

Assistant Curator Andrew Muir said: “This simple bottle of Tooth’s Draught Ale stayed with the Lewis family for decades. They saw it as a tribute to friendship, passing it down from Stan’s mother Rubie to his sister, and then to his niece.

“We are grateful it has now been donated to the Australian War Memorial so we can share their story forged in mateship, with future generations.”

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