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Overview
Loyalty on a lapel
During the Great War (1914-19), a badge or a brooch pinned to a blouse or a jacket lapel, represented a small but significant sartorial committment to the war effort.
The A in Anzac
This particular badge features a stylised and older version of the Australian Coat of Arms. It was probably worn in Australia during a national Anzac Remembrance Day held on 17 December 1915. This was four months before the first anniversary of the landing of the Anzac forces on Gallipoli.
Crossing the Tasman
This badge possibly belonged to William Thomas Richards who served with the New Zealand Expeditonary Force on two occasions during the the war. He was a member of the Samoa Advance Guard from August 1914 to April 1915, then left for the Western Front with the 35th Reinforcements in March 1918. The badge was donated to the museum by his widow in 1956.