| Accession Number | P06950.001 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Black & white - Print silver gelatin |
| Maker |
Guilleminot, R |
| Place made | France |
| Date made | c 1917 |
| Conflict |
First World War, 1914-1918 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Informal portrait of three 'Burnley boys' dressed in winter clothing and wearing bags containing ...
Description
Informal portrait of three 'Burnley boys' dressed in winter clothing and wearing bags containing box respirators around their necks. Left to right: 10329 Lance Corporal (L Cpl) Sergeant Ernest William Pittard, 10th Field Company Engineers, of Richmond, Vic; B Hall; and L Cpl J Simmons (?). The men are wearing leather jerkins and mittens, and woollen scarves. L Cpl is also wearing a balaclava and rubber gumboots. During the Battle of Messines in June 1917 in Belgium, he was hit by a piece of shell from enemy fire. The shrapnel struck him in the chest hitting a coin in his breast pocket. The coin was bent by the impact and he eventually sent it home where his family had it made into a ring. Pittard attained to rank of temporary sergeant and returned to Australia on 4 July 1919.