Ammunition shell was used in a 40 lb Armstrong Rifled Breach Loading (RBL) Gun. It does not contain explosives because the projectile and explosive were separate items. The Armstrong 40 lb BL Gun There were 4 x 40lb Armstrong (RBL) Guns issued to the Ham and Beef Battery at Hastings Victoria. After the Hastings Battery field artillery disbanded, the 4 Guns were transferred from the Hastings Battery to the Warrnambool Battery field artillery in 1904. (There is a photograph of one of these guns on its carriage, pictured in front of the Orderly room (Drill Hall) at Warrnambool, which is now the Library of South West TAFE). The 40lb Armstrong Guns were recalled back to Melbourne when the government issued the updated 4.7inch QF (Quick Firing) Naval Guns, mounted on carriages, to the Warrnambool Garrison Artillery 1907. The Hastings Museum today holds one of the original 40lb Armstrong RBL guns that were at first at Hastings and then Warrnambool, evidenced by tracing the numbers on that gun. This gun has now been restored. Surviving 40 lb Armstrong BL Guns in Australia The Hastings Museum has restored one of the Guns that was at Hastings and then from 1904-1907 in Warrnambool. This Gun is now on display at the Hastings Museum.This ammunition shell from a 40lb Armstrong RBL gun is very significant because of its association with the Warrnambool Battery Field Artillery in the early 1904-1907. It is known that the original 40lb Armstrong RBL gun used in Warrnambool is now restored and on display at the Hastings Museum.Ammunition shell from a 40Ib Armstrong Rifled Breach loading (RBL) Gun. Metal bullet-shaped object, flat base, tapering to cone-shaped tip. Parallel equidistant ridges run from outer edge of base to position where cone shape begins. Tip has a square-shaped hole in the centre and has a very uneven surface. Base has corrosion and metal is flaking away. Does not contain explosives. Remnants of white paint-like substance in several places. From the Hastings, Victoria, area. Late 19th - early 20th century.flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, ammunition shell, 40 lb, war equipment, hasting battery field, defence of warrnambool

One of two sets of stereographs donated by the O'Beirne family along with a stereoscope for viewing (Stereoscope is Registration no. 2014-51).A man stands to the left of a very large armament that can be rotated on a large turntable. A small type of crane is to the left of the gun which would have been used to load the shells into the breech of the gun. Hills in background."12,925. THE WAR - COLOSSAL RUSSIAN ELEVEN-INCH SIEGE GUNS. Now investing / the German Fortress of Konigsberg."stereographs

The Ordnance QF 18-pounder was the standard British field gun of the First World War and was used by both British and Commonwealth Forces. It was horse drawn until the army replaced horses with motor vehicles in the 1930s. The gun was still in use with the Australian Army in the early days of WW2 until replaced by more modern 25 pounder gun/howitzers. Rimmed brass shell with iron and steel projectile.18 PR II M.A.C. 255 F BA 19816 1916artillery

The Ordnance QF (Quick-firing) 2-pounder was a 40mm British autocannon known as the 'pom-pom' and used as an anti-aircraft gun by the Royal Navy. The name came from the sound that the original guns made when firing. This QF 2-pounder is not the same 2 pounder used by the British Army as an anti-tank gun and a tank gun, although they both fired 2 pounds (40mm) projectiles. Brass shell case with iron/steel explosive projectile2 PR 1 1931 CF MF LOT 15anti-tank

The Ordnance QF 25-pounder was the major British field gun and howitzer during the Second World War. Many Commonwealth countries used them during WW2 and Australia produced the guns at General Motors Holden. They were renowned for their rapid rate of fire and when firing at maximum range (12,253m -13,400yds) one gun could have up to 5 shells in the air at once. In North Africa during WW2, they were sometimes called upon to act as anti-tank guns. A shortened and lightened version of the gun was made in Australia and used in jungle operations.Steel conical projectile25 PR MK 1 L35 ME 11/54

Shell casings were used to hold the propellant charge and projectile in artillery guns.An example of a shell casing used in artillery guns.Cylindrical shaped copper shell case with tapered top. Flat base with small lip. Inside base appears bright silver centre and features a small screw. Base underside: Stamped with a circle, inside of circle appears further markings but they are indistinguishable.war, defence force, ammunition

W.J.C.Harder, No 2096 enlisted 27.6.1916 age 19 years in the 3rd reinforcements 38th Bn AIF, embarked for England 25.8.1916, embark for France 20.12.1916, WIA 14.4.1917 GSW to back, rejoin unit 24.4.1917, transfer to 10th L.T.Mortar Battery 15.6.1917, hospital 3 days with diarrhoea then later 4 days with Debility, transfer back to 38th Bn 29.8.1917 and a month later detached to 10 L.T.M.Battery again, killed accidentally 24.2.1918. A report stated that on 24.2.1918 at 2 pm he was No 3 on a gun in the Warneton sector when a premature explosion in the barrel on the 26th shell killed him instantly. The letter/card to Mr J Pierce is the Father of George Frederick Pierce DCM. Refer Cat No 4136P for his service details, award and death. Part of the collection of William (Bill) Thomason, refer Cat No 4236P for more items..1) Single one sided card with black edge. On the front are two flags at the top in colour. .2) Envelope with black edging, postage stamped and a red one penny stamp, address hand written in black..1) No 2096, Gunner William James Carl Harder accidentally killed in Action France February 24th 1918. .2) On the front in ink “Mr Pierce Sebastion”sympathy, cards, military.

These shell cases were donated along with other items from the St Nicholas' Mission to Seamen's Church at 139 Nelson Place, Williamstown, Victoria. The Church was operated by the Mission to Seamen organisation. The symbol of the broad arrow on the base of the shell case signifies that it was owned by the Australian Army. The dates of the shell cases - 1940 and 1941 - link the shell cases with World War II. Both cases' headstamps have "N", which could indicate that they were made for use by the Navy. Shell Case 1298.01: The headstamp code on the label "MEC" means that it was made by the Explosives Factory Maribyrnong - Cordite Annexe, Maribyrnong, Melbourne, which made cordite propellant for cartridges and shells. Shell Case 1298.02: The headstamp "MF" indicates it was made by the Small Arms Manufacturing Factory in Footscray, Melbourne, and the stamped year was 1941. THE MISSIONS TO SEAMEN (Brief History): - The Missions to Seamen was an Anglican charity that has served seafarers of the world since 1856 in Great Britain. Its symbol is a Flying Angel, inspired by a Bible verse. Today, there are centres in over 200 ports worldwide where seamen of all backgrounds are offered a warm welcome and provided with a wide range of facilities. In Victoria, the organisation began in Williamstown in 1857 as a Sailors’ Church, also known as ‘Bethel’ or the ‘Floating Church’ in an old hulk floating in Hobson’s Bay, Port of Melbourne. It soon became part of the Missions to Seamen, Victoria. In the year 2000, the organisation, now named Mission to Seafarers, still operated locally in Melbourne, Portland, Geelong and Hastings. The Ladies’ Harbour Lights Guild was formed in 1906 to support the Missions to Seamen in Melbourne and other centres, such as Williamstown. Two of the most significant ladies of the Guild were founder Ethel Augusta Godfrey and foundation member Alice Sibthorpe Tracy (who established a branch of the Guild in Warrnambool in 1920). The Guild continued its work until the 1960s. In 1943, a former Williamstown bank was purchased for the Missions to Seaman Club. The chapel was named St Nicholas’ Seamen’s Church and was supported by the Ladies’ Harbour Lights Guild, the Williamstown Lightkeepers’ Auxiliary and the League of Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Friends. It ceased operation in 1966. A Missions to Seamen Chapel and Recreation Room was a significant feature of ports during the late 1800s and into the 1900s. It seemed appropriate for Flagstaff Hill to include such a representation within the new Maritime Village, so the Melbourne Board of Management of Missions to Seamen Victoria gave its permission on 21st May 1979 for the entire furnishings of the Williamstown chapel to be transferred to Flagstaff Hill. The St Nicholas Seamen’s Church was officially opened on October 11, 1981, and closely resembles the Williamstown chapel. These shell cases are significant for their relationship with the Australian Army in general and in particular with the defence of Australia during World War II. The may have also been made for the Navy. Their significance is increased by their association with the Williamstown Missions To Seamen, which donated them to Flagstaff Hill in 1979, an organisation that has supported seafarers for many years.Shell case: two brass 4" rimmed shell cases with headstamps (inscriptions) on the base plate around the firing pin three holes evenly spaced around the centre of the base. A label is attached to one shell. The shell cases are part of the St. Nicholas Seamen's Church Collection. Shell Case 1298.01 - Printed stamp “P.2BT” “M.E.C.111” “I.E. 10/43”. Stamped into base “N”, “1940” “W [within lozenge]”, “S” symbol [Australian Government Arrow] “360“ . Around firing pin “MF I 422” “ME” “II” “4 I N” “5-“ ”MF [within rectangle]” “f” “B – [within circle]”, Shell Case 1298.02 - headstamp “N 1941 MF / F symbol [square box] LOT 679”, [in oval] 101 / 4 / S /U2) M GUNS 7 “, symbol [Australian Government Arrow], Stencil [in red circle] “B J”, symbol [Diamond with line top to bottom] Stamped in red ink “R5G 11 1 2B7”flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, munitions, shell case, ammunition 1940, ammunition 1941, firearms, cannon, australian government, borad arrow, australian army, wwii, world war 2, australian defence, australian ordinance, small arms manufacturing factory, explosives factory maribyrnong, cordite, world war ii, ww2, 1940, 1941, defence, n headstamp, footscray

THE WHEEL OF HMAS SYDNEY COMMEMORATING AUSTRALIA’S FIRST NAVAL ENGAGEMENT The historic wheel of HMAS Sydney commemorates the Royal Australian Navy’s first ship- to- ship naval engagement. It was purchased early in 1930 and later presented to the Royal St Kilda Yacht Club (now Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron) by then Commodore Joe White, following HMAS Sydney being broken up at Cockatoo Dock, Sydney. On 1 November 1914, led by the flagship SS Orvieto, a large convoy of 28 Australian and 10 New Zealand transports escorted by the Light Cruisers HMAS Melbourne, HMAS Sydney, HMS Minotaur and the Japanese ship Ibuki, departed King George Sound, Albany Western Australia with a large contingent of Australian and New Zealand troops bound for Egypt, to become the original Anzac’s. As the convoy steamed northwest across the Indian Ocean, leaving Cocos-Keeling Islands well to the westward, Captain Karl von Muller in the German Light Cruiser Emden of 3,600 tons, after having wrought much havoc to allied shipping in the Indian Ocean, ignorant of the convoys presence, had in mind to destroy the Cocos Island Cable Station on Direction Island. In the early hours of the morning of Monday the 9 November, he anchored “Emden” off Direction Island to send a landing party ashore, In the meantime the Cable Station had sent out a Morse Code message ‘Strange ship approaching’, this was followed soon after by a ‘S.O.S.’ These messages were picked up by ships in the convoy and at 7.00 a.m., Captain J.C. Glossop of the 5,400 ton HMAS Sydney was directed to leave the convoy and proceed at full speed for Cocos Islands. Two hours later Cocos Island was on the horizon. Captain von Muller, with the boarding party ashore to destroy the Cable station, steamed out to intercept the intruder. Captain Glossop decided to close in to 9,500 yards ( 8686.8m) before delivering his first salvo. Emden on the other hand, opened fire at 10,500 yards (9601m), its ten, 4.1 inch (104mm) guns firing 38 pound (17.24 kg ) shells, some of which scored near misses. Emden was hit repeatedly by HMAS Sydney’s eight, 6 inch (152.4mm) guns firing 100 pound (45.36kg ) shells. Within two hours Captain von Muller had decided to run the badly damaged Emden aground on North Keeling Island. Captain Glossop then broke off the engagement to speed off to intercept Emden’s collier, “Buresk”, seen lurking in the distance, soon to overtake her. A boarding party from HMAS Sydney was too late to prevent Buresk from being scuttled but able to rescue her crew. Returning to finish off Emden, HMAS Sydney was again met by heavy gunfire. Sydney scored a number of direct hits to Emden and only after having suffered 134 killed and 65 wounded, did Captain von Muller finally decide to lower his Naval Ensign. He was among those captured and was allowed to retain his Naval sword. In the engagements HMAS Sydney only suffered four direct hits, 4 killed and 12 wounded. J.H.(Bert) Ferris Extremely significant as part of Australia's Naval and Military history.Ships wheel, timber, mounted on a timber plinth, wheel of ship first HMAS Sydney.Plaque notifying that wheel donated by Commodore Joe White 1930ww1, sydney, german, hmas, raider, emden, cocos keeling, islands, hmas sydney, wheel

Albert was founded as a Roman outpost, in about 54 BC. After being known by various forms of the name of the local river, the Ancre, it was renamed to Albert after it passed to Charles d'Albert, duc de Luynes. It was a key location in the Battle of the Somme in World War I, and World War I tourism is important for the town. During World War I, the statue of Mary and the infant Jesus – designed by sculptor Albert Roze and dubbed the Golden Virgin – on top of the Basilica of Our Lady of Brebières was hit by a shell on 15 January 1915 and slumped to a near-horizontal position, where however it remained until further shelling in 1918 destroyed the tower. The German army recaptured the town in March 1918 during the Spring Offensive; the British, to prevent the Germans from using the church tower as a machine gun post, bombarded and destroyed the basilica.[5] The statue fell in April 1918 and was never recovered. Albert was completely reconstructed after the war, including widening and re-orienting the town's main streets. The Basilica, however, was faithfully rebuilt according to its original design by Eduoard Duthoit, the son of the architect who had overseen its construction in 1885–1895. The present statue is an exact replica of Roze's original design, and a war memorial designed by Roze and featuring an image of the Leaning Virgin can be seen in the Abri (Shelter) Museum, which houses souvenirs of the war. The underground shelters in which the museum is located served as protective bunkers for Albert's residents during aerial bombardments in World War II. (Wikipedia)Photographs of the Church at Albert taken during a tour of the World War One battlefields.albert, church, the somme, world war one

Denis Gibbons (1937 – 2011) Trained with the Australian Army, before travelling to Vietnam in January 1966, Denis stayed with the 1st Australian Task Force in Nui Dat working as a photographer. For almost five years Gibbons toured with nine Australian infantry battalions, posting compelling war images from within many combat zones before being flown out in late November 1970 after sustaining injuries. The images held within the National Vietnam Veterans Museum make up the Gibbons Collection.A black and white photograph of Gnr Jim Dunn, 104 Battery Royal Australian Artillery, carries a 105mm shell to the gun at Fire Support Base "Betty". The battery was in action against NVA/VietCong sappers attempting to breach the giant US Army Supply Depot at Long Binh in Bien Hoa Province during the Tet Offensive 1969.photograph, 104 battery raa, gnr jim dunn, nva/vc, long binh, bien hoa province, tet offensive, 1969, gibbons collection catalogue, 105mm artillery, fire support base betty, nva/vietcong, us army supply depot, royal australian airforce, denis gibbons

Denis Gibbons (1937 – 2011) Trained with the Australian Army, before travelling to Vietnam in January 1966, Denis stayed with the 1st Australian Task Force in Nui Dat working as a photographer. For almost five years Gibbons toured with nine Australian infantry battalions, posting compelling war images from within many combat zones before being flown out in late November 1970 after sustaining injuries. The images held within the National Vietnam Veterans Museum make up the Gibbons Collection.A black and white photograph of Gnr Jim Dunn, watched by Stg Pete Tilbrook, of 104 Battery RAA, carries a 105mm shell to the gun at Fire Support Base Betty. The battery was in action against NVA/VietCong sappers attempting to breach the US Army Supply Depot at Long Binh in Bien Hoa Province during the 1969 Tet Offensivephotograph, sgt peter tilbrook, gnr jim dunn, 104 battery raa, long binh, bien hoa province, fire base betty, tet offensive, 1969, gibbons collection catalogue, denis gibbons, nva/vietcong sappers, us army supply depot

The 2 items were presented to “DAVID M KEARIN by the Gun Crew HMAS COOTAMUNDRA. “KEARIN D M No R 41516 RAN 1952-58”.1) & .2) Trench Art made from brass 40 mm shell casings. Engraving is along the length of the caseings..1) & .2) “40 mm M4 LOT 175 1951 (up arrow) AN HMAS COOTAMUNDRA 1957”military history - trench art, ornaments, souvenirs

Denis Gibbons (1937 – 2011) Trained with the Australian Army, before travelling to Vietnam in January 1966, Denis stayed with the 1st Australian Task Force in Nui Dat working as a photographer. For almost five years Gibbons toured with nine Australian infantry battalions, posting compelling war images from within many combat zones before being flown out in late November 1970 after sustaining injuries. The images held within the National Vietnam Veterans Museum make up the Gibbons Collection.A black and white photograph of a 104 Battery, Royal Australian Artillery Gunner , rams a shell home while the gun is readied for firing at Fire Support Base "Betty".. The battery was in action against NVA/VietCong sappers attempting to breach the US supply depot at Long Binh in Bien Hoa Province during the Tet Offensive 1969photograph, 104 battery, fire base betty, raa, nva/vc, long binh, bien hoa province, tet offensive, 1969, gibbons collection catalogue, gunner, royal australian artillery, nva viet cong, nva/vietcong sappers, us supply depot, denis gibbons