Section of German aircraft lozenge fabric : Gunner R A Agassiz, 17 Battery, 6 Field Artillery Brigade, AIF

Irregularly cut rectangle of printed lozenge aircraft linen, labelled on the reverse in blue ink: 'Portion of wing of a German aeroplane brought down near the British Lines. SOMME AUGUST 1918'. A machine-sewn join is present along one long edge. Below this description is the ghost impression of a zig-zag line of stitching. The face of the fabric retains evidence of a varnished coat, now crazed, yellowed and fragile, with a small corner of a straight-edged painted black German cross (or Balkenkreuz) with a white border (approximately 38mm or one and a half inches in width) present. A small section of mid-green paint lies immediately adjacent to this, overlaying the lozenge pattern.

Section of German lozenge camouflage fabric cut from the wing of a German aircraft by 15653 Gunner Roy Alfred Agassiz, 17 Battery, 6 Field Artillery Brigade.

A traffic clerk with the NSW Railways, born 11 June 1897 at Quirindi, NSW, and a resident of Paddington, NSW, Agassiz enlisted on 15 November 1915 at Casula, bringing some 5 months militia experience in the artillery with him. He was assigned to 5th Reinforcements, 2 Divisional Ammunition Column and after training, embarked for overseas service aboard the transport 'Ceramic' which left Sydney for Egypt on 14 April 1916. Just over a month later, his unit transferred to France.

In early November Agassiz was transferred to 6 Field Artillery Brigade (6 FAB) and posted to 17 Battery. On 27 October 1917, during operations in Belgium, he received a gunshot wound to his left foot and was transferred to England for treatment. After recovery, he rejoined his unit in France on 2 April 1918 and remained with them until the Armistice.

During the August 1918 Offensive, 6 FAB followed in the wake of the advance, supporting operations, being located variously at Villers-Bretonneaux, Bayonvillers (9 August), Harbonnieres (10-11 August), Fouilloy (12 August), Guillaucourt (13-14 August), Rosieres (15-24 August), Guillaucourt (25 and 27-28 August), Chuignolles (26 August) and Framerville (29-31 August). Agassiz embarked for returned to Australia from England on 28 July 1919; he married Ivy Hilda Golsby on 15 September 1923 in Sydney. During the Second World War, Roy Agassiz served as a provisional Lieutenant in the Voluntary Defence Corps and 7 Field Brigade, CMF.