Diggers in the Middle East

A four-panel mural painting for the 2/9th Australian General Hospital recreational hut for the amusement of the patients. This panel depicts Australian diggers in the Middle East being characteristically larrikins. A Middle Eastern woman in a Hijab dwarfs a passing soldier suggesting the women were larger than life. A nervous-looking digger rides a camel while another soldier kicks a local crouched down, possibly in prayer. One digger haggles with a market stall keeper, while another flicks a coin to a beggar. In the distance can be seen the Sphinx and pyramids. Overall, there is a general lack of respect among the diggers depicted for local customs and dress.

Drawing and painting materials were scarce during the Second World War, so McLaren adopted the tar-backed paper (sisalkraft) that was used throughout the Solomon Islands for lining the thatched huts. At the end of the war, the murals were brought back to Australia by a member of the 2/9th A.G.H. and were installed in Red Cross House library in the N.S.W. division headquarters of the ARCS. In the early 1970s, the building was due to be demolished and the mural was salvaged once again to find a permanent home in the collection of the Australian War Memorial.