item details
NamePersonal effects bag
ProductionUnknown; manufacturer(s); 1918
Classificationsacks, bags, personalia
Materialscloth, linen, paper, metal
Materials SummaryCloth bag with paper tag attached by metal safety pin.
DimensionsOverall: 175mm (width), 195mm (length)
Registration NumberGH011794
Credit lineGift of Miss Phyllis A Rolfes, 1966
Overview
After Herman Rolfes, in France with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, was killed at Bapaume on 24 August 1918, the army sent his few personal possessions to his mother in this little canvas bag. The bag probably reached her shortly before the Armistice with Germany was signed on 11 November 1918. Mrs Rolfes, a widow who had lost her only son, had little cause to rejoice at the end of the fighting.