Angus and Coote memorial gold brooch
Angus and Coote memorial gold brooch
Flight Sergeant John Freeth of No. 455 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, was killed during a flight exercise off Fraserburgh, Scotland, on May 24, 1943. The aircraft he was piloting and a Bristol Beaufighter collided midair.
Freeth’s body was never recovered, but his mother, Ethel, refused to believe he had died. She spent years lobbying for proof of his death.
This brooch was crafted by his former colleagues at Angus & Coote and given to his mother in the hope it would help her to accept his death – a symbol of the irreconcilable grief felt by families and friends, especially for those whose loved ones were never found.
Ethel died on April 9, 1971, possibly still believing her son was alive. The brooch was donated by her family to the Australian War Memorial. See this, and the rest of the national collection, in Canberra.
Circular gold cameo brooch, with miniature photograph of Sergeant Freeth, suspended beneath an embossed RAAF eagle clasp. The clasp has a short gold safety chain with a safety pin (REL25225) https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C322513
The reverse of the brooch is engraved 'To dear / John Freeth's / Mother / With regard from / his friends at / Angus & Coote. / 1944'. https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C322513?image=2
Podcast
Learn more about the brooch in our Collected podcast 'A mother's love and memory'
An enduring hope
When Ethel Freeth was told that her son, Flight Sergeant John Freeth, had been killed during the Second World War, she refused to believe it. She was convinced he had survived the crash and never gave up hope of finding him alive.
Related objects
- Qualification brevet: RAAF pilots wings : Sergeant J S Freeth, 455 Squadron RAAF
- Shoulder titles: RAAF Airman - Sergeant J S Freeth, 455 Squadron RAAF
- 1939-45 Star : Sergeant J S Freeth, 455 Squadron RAAF
- Atlantic Star : Sergeant J S Freeth, 455 Squadron RAAF
- Defence Medal : Sergeant J S Freeth, 455 Squadron RAAF
- British War Medal 1939-45 : Sergeant J S Freeth, 455 Squadron RAAF
- Australia Service Medal : Sergeant J S Freeth, 455 Squadron RAAF
- FREETH, John Samuel (Sergeant b.1920 - d.1943)
- Studio portrait of 411768 Sergeant John S. Freeth, No. 455 Squadron
In Canberra
In Canberra is a project celebrating the cultural holdings of Australia. It is about unearthing, object by object, the vast collection held in Canberra on Australia’s behalf.
Visit the In Canberra website: https://incanberra.schwartzmedia.com.au/