The Victory Medal (also called the Allied Victory Medal) is a campaign medal - of which the basic design and ribbon was adopted by Belgium, Brazil, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, France, Greece, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Romania, Siam, Union of South Africa and the USA. The medal was issued to all those who received the 1914 Star or the 1914-15 Star, and to most of those who were awarded the British War Medal - it was never awarded singly. These three medals were sometimes irreverently referred to as Pip, Squeak and Wilfred.The Holgate medals were the first war medals held by BCC archives. They have historical and social significance for the College.The Victory Medal is a 36mm diameter circular copper medal, lacquered in bronze. The obverse shows the winged, full-length, full-front, figure of Victory, with her left arm extended and holding a palm branch in her right hand. The reverse has the words ‘THE GREAT / WAR FOR / CIVILISATION / 1914-1919' in four lines, all surrounded by a laurel wreath. The 39mm wide ribbon has a ‘two rainbow' design, with the violet from each rainbow on the outside edges moving through to a central red stripe where both rainbows meet.The reverse has the words ‘THE GREAT / WAR FOR / CIVILISATION / 1914-1919' in four linesworld war one, ballarat college, victory medal, w w 1, e s holgate, allied victory medal

Collection of photographs which were the property of Ronald Keith Churches, service number VX34599, who was a Sergeant in the Australian Army 2/9th Field Ambulance Unit during World War 2. Churches enlisted on the 12th July, 1940 and was discharged on the 4th December, 1945. The 2/9th FA was formed on the 1st July, 1940 at Dandenong, Victoria and was initially based at Seymour (Puckapunyal). The 2/9th FA relocated to Bonegilla in September 1940 and embarked for Singapore in February, 1941. The men of the unit were taken prisoner by the Japanese in February, 1942. Churches spent the remainder of World War 2 as a POW in Changi Prison.

In November 1914, an advertisement was placed in the national press inviting monetary contributions to a 'Sailors & Soldiers Christmas Fund' which had been created by Princess Mary, the seventeen year old daughter of King George V and Queen Mary. The purpose was to provide everyone wearing the King's uniform and serving overseas on Christmas Day 1914 with a 'gift from the nation'. The response was truly overwhelming, and it was decided to spend the money on an embossed brass box, based on a design by Messrs Adshead and Ramsey. The contents varied considerably; officers and men on active service afloat or at the front received a box containing a combination of pipe, lighter, 1 oz of tobacco and twenty cigarettes in distinctive yellow monogrammed wrappers. Non-smokers and boys received a bullet pencil and a packet of sweets instead. Indian troops often got sweets and spices, and nurses were treated to chocolate. Many of these items were despatched separately from the tins themselves, as once the standard issue of tobacco and cigarettes was placed in the tin there was little room for much else apart from the greeting card All boxes, irrespective of recipient, contained a Christmas card and a picture of the Princess. Those which were not distributed until after Christmas were sent out with a card wishing the recipient a 'victorious new year'. The wounded on leave or in hospital, nurses, and the widows or parents of those killed were also entitled to the gift. Prisoners of war at the time had theirs reserved until they were repatriated. Great efforts were made to distribute the gifts in time for Christmas, and huge demands were made on an already stretched postal service. More than 355,000 were successfully delivered by the deadline. As time pressed on, a shortage of brass meant that many entitled personnel did not receive their gift until as late as the summer of 1916, and in January 1919 it was reported that 'considerable' numbers had still not been distributed. Orders for brass strip were placed with the USA, who were not yet involved in the war, and a large consignment was lost with the ship 'Lusitania'. As so much brass was being consumed in the production of weapons and munitions, the quality of the boxes which were manufactured late on was poor, being of a plated inferior alloy, when compared with the earlier pure brass examples. When the fund finally closed in 1920, almost £200,000 had been donated for the provision of more than two and a half million boxes with contents. The 'tin' is approximately 5" long by 3¼" wide by 1¼" deep with a double-skinned, hinged, lid. The surface of the lid depicts the head of Princess Mary in the centre, surrounded by a laurel wreath and flanked on either side by the 'M' monogram. At the top, a decorative cartouche contains the words 'Imperium Britannicum' with a sword and scabbard either side. On the lower edge, another cartouche contains the words 'Christmas 1914', which is flanked by the bows of battleships forging through a heavy sea. In the corners, small roundels house the names of the Allies: Belgium, Japan, Montenegro and Servia; France and Russia are at the edges, each superimposed on three furled flags or standards.