Princess Mary Gift Tin : Private J Harrison, 19 Battalion, AIF

Embossed, gilded brass rectangular tin with a hinged lid. The lid is embossed with a profile of Princess Mary surrounded by a wreath. The letter M is embossed on either side of the wreath in cursive script. A decorative border around the lid contains the words 'IMPERIUM BRITTANNICUM' at the top and 'CHRISTMAS 1914' at the bottom. The corners and sides contain the names of Britain's allies between decorations of flags, ships and weapons. The nations represented are, from the top right hand corner, 'JAPAN', 'RUSSIA', 'MONTENEGRO', 'SERVIA', 'FRANCE' and 'BELGIUM'. There are no contents.

Associated with 4720 Private Joseph Harrison who served with B Company, 19 Battalion. Harrison, a 21 year old tinsmith from Petersham, NSW, enlisted on 31 January 1916. He embarked from Sydney on 13 April 1916 and after a period of training in Egypt proceeded to the Western Front where he joined his battalion in September. Harrison took part in the attack near Flers on 14 November, but after the fighting he was reported as missing in action. His fate was investigated by the Australian Red Cross Society Wounded and Missing Enquiry Bureau. The only information obtained was from one of his colleagues, 4433 Private Colin Stewart Hibbard, who stated 'I saw him go out from the German front line at Flers on 14th November with a batch of [German] prisoners. I saw him about 100 yards from the trench, I was lying in a shell hole at the time. There was little shelling on. I thought he would get across safely. This is the last I know of him.' It is likely that Harrison was killed during the battle and his remains were unable to be identified, or were buried by a shell. It was not until the end of 1917 that he was officially listed as killed in action on 14 November 1916. Joseph Harrison has no known place of burial and his name is recorded on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial in France.