Military Cross earned by Major George Smith, AIF
1918

(A40) A Military Cross earned by Major George Smith of the Australian Imperial Force. Smith was awarded the second-highest honour in the Australian military for ‘conspicuous gallantry’ during the Battle of Villers-Bretonneux in France during April, 1918. Smith enlisted in April, 1915 and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in July. After fighting on the Western Front and sustaining multiple injuries that required rehabilitation in England, then-Captain Smith became involved in the counter-attack to secure Villers-Bretonneux and repel the Germans in April, 1918. In the action he was credited with killing or capturing "90 of the enemy" while also taking six machine guns. By the conclusion of the war, Smith had been promoted to the rank of Major, before he was discharged in 1919. Despite becoming an accountant after the war, Smith was haunted by the injuries he sustained in France, and sadly passed away in 1924. He was 36.

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Wartberg German Entrenching Tool with Carrier
c. WWI

(A82) A German or Austrian entrenching tool with its leather carrier made by Vogel and Noot in Wartberg, Austria. These were used during the First World War and were often reused by the Wehrmacht during rearmament in the 1930s. However it is unlikely that this is one of the recommissioned shovels, as it lacks any stamp indication reuse. It does however feature carvings on the handle (KPA) which could possibly be initials from during or after the war.