Poster, 'Record of Australia's Voluntary Effort in the Great War (AIF), Aug 4th 1914 to June 24th 1919', c. 1920

Historical note:

On 24 June 1919, the Great War officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. This commemorative poster—a popular commercial war souvenir of the early 1920s—celebrates the significance of the event in its typography.

During negotiations for the treaty, when challenged by US President Woodrow Wilson for his objective to secure the former German colonies of New Guinea and the islands, Australian PM Billy Hughes famously proclaimed, “I speak for 60,000 Australian dead!”. Ultimately, Australia won administrative control of the territories.

This particular copy was acquired by Scottish-born Great War veteran John Grant, 4th Infantry Battalion and Australian Flying Corps.
Wounded during the Battle of Lone Pine on Gallipoli and again during the battle for the Somme in France, Grant eventually married the English nurse who cared for him during his convalescence. The pair returned to Australia after the war’s official conclusion and settled in New South Wales.

Materials:

Paper (lithograph)

Category:

Souvenirs and ephemera

Conflict:

First World War (1914-18)

Location:

Australia

Production Date:

c. 1920

On this day

3 June

1942 — Battle of MIDWAY began. This decisive victory by the US Navy over the Japanese Navy shifted the balance of sea power in the Pacific and forced Japan to abandon plans to attack New Caledonia, Fiji and Samoa. Japanese losses were 4 aircraft carriers, 1 cruiser, 248 aircraft, and over 3,000 sailors. American losses were 1 aircraft carrier, 1 destroyer, 150 aircraft, and 307 men

1944 — 78 Squadron, RAAF, carried out the last major air combat by the RAAF in WW2, off BIAK Island, New Guinea. 10 enemy planes were shot down for the loss of one Australian plane and pilot

1969 — HMAS MELBOURNE collided with USS FRANK E EVANS in the South China Sea. EVANS was cut in half and 74 of her crew were killed