| Place | Middle East: Ottoman Empire, Palestine |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | REL28700 |
| Collection type | Heraldry |
| Object type | Headdress |
| Physical description | Emu feathers, cotton |
| Location | Main Bld: First World War Gallery: Sinai Palestine 1917: The Light Horse Men |
| Maker |
Unknown |
| Place made | Australia |
| Date made | c 1914 |
| Conflict |
First World War, 1914-1918 |
Emu plume : Honourary Captain S T Parkes, 3 Light Horse Field Ambulance, AIF
Description
Emu feather plume gathered at the base with a stitched wrap of cotton. Worn as part of Light Horse headdress.
History / Summary
Emu feather plume worn by Captain Stanley Thomas Parkes while fighting with the Australian Light Horse at Gallipoli and the Middle East. Stanley Parkes joined the Australian Imperial Force on October 3, 1914. Joining the 3rd Light Horse Field Ambulance as a private.
Stanley Parkes served seven months on the Gallipoli Peninsula, where he was promoted to the rank of sergeant. After Gallipoli he continued to serve with the 3rd Light Horse Field Ambulance in the Sinai and Palestine. He was awarded a Mention in Dispatches on July 6, 1917 while serving as a warrant officer.
Commissioned as an honorary lieutenant on July 22, 1917 and transferred to the 8th Sanitary Section where he continued to serve in Palestine and Syria for the remainder of the war. He was returned to Australia in 1919 and made quarter master and given and honorary captaincy.