Puttees : Corporal G Binns, 1 Machine Gun Battalion, AIF

Pair of khaki woollen puttees. Each puttee consists of a 2.75 m length. A 1.62 m cotton tape secures it below the knee. At the join between the fabric and the cotton tape is stitched a black fabric label with the gold machine embroidered text 'FOX WELLINGTON SOMERSET "F.I.P" PATENT 14214-1909'. At the ankle end of each puttee is a small circular brass disk marked with the manufacturer's name 'FOX' and the letter 'L' or 'R', indicating the leg on which it should be worn.

Gordon Binns was born in 1899, and began his compulsory cadet service in March 1913. In February 1917, aged 18, he enlisted in the AIF, becoming number 712 in the 13th reinforcements to 2 Machine Gun Company. After sailing to England on the 'SUEVIC', he was sent in March 1918 to reinforce 6 Infantry Battalion, but almost immediately transferred back to 1 Machine Gun (MG) Battalion, of which 2 MG Company was a part. Binns was wounded in action on 10 August 1918 when his unit was supporting the Australian attack on Lihons, and spent over a month in hospital. Upon release, he was again transferred, this time to the Australian Provost Corps, where he served out the remainder of the war. Gordon Binns returned to Australia in 1919. He died in 1976.