Could this flag have flown at the 1956 Olympics on Lake Wendouree ??? Probably not because the current tricolour came into use in 1946. The flag would have been made during the reign of King Victor Emmanual III. If you are able to assist with any information on this flag, including why it would be held in a Ballarat collection, please email is via the link on the lower right . The State flag, and state and naval ensign. It is a vertical tricolour of green, white, and red, defaced with the arms of Savoy and crown. This was the first national flag after the unification of Italy. Proportion 2:3 Adopted 1861 (proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy) Relinquished 1946 (birth of the Italian Republic) The flag without the crown woul the the design adopted by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia in 1848 The flag has been stitched in 5 places. Stamped in ink on edge 'November [1930] Torino" A note with the flag states: "Old Italian Flag - (Before independence in 1946) his flag was made in 1930 in Torino- Italy? This flag Shows the royal insignia displayed in the white area and was designed around the time of Napoleon (by him) in 1840s Red "Flags" book V D'Angri"flag, italy, italian flag, italian army flag, turin, torino, house of savoy, savoia, crown

German Luftwaffe (Land Forces) minefield warning flag from WWII.originally intended to be gas markers, rather than mines, but as it turned out, the use changed .they were mounted on a red metal pole & there were 12 to a set in a leather pack. This Flag was presented to the Treasurer of Waverley RSL. It is a souvenir from Bardia in Libya The Battle of Bardia was fought over three days between 3 and 5 January 1941, as part of Operation Compass, the first military operation of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. It was the first battle of the war in which an Australian Army formation took part, the first to be commanded by an Australian general and the first to be planned by an Australian staff. Major General Iven Mackay's 6th Division assaulted the strongly held Italian fortress of Bardia, Libya, assisted by air support and naval gunfire, and under the cover of an artillery barrage. The 16th Infantry Brigade attacked at dawn from the west, where the defences were known to be weak. Sappers blew gaps in the barbed wire with Bangalore torpedoes and filled in and broke down the sides of the anti-tank ditch with picks and shovels. This allowed the infantry and 23 Matilda II tanks of the 7th Royal Tank Regiment to enter the fortress and capture all their objectives, along with 8,000 prisoners. In the second phase of the operation, the 17th Infantry Brigade exploited the breach made in the perimeter, and pressed south as far as a secondary line of defences known as the Switch Line. On the second day, the 16th Infantry Brigade captured the township of Bardia, cutting the fortress in two. Thousands of prisoners were taken, and the Italian garrison now held out only in the northern and southernmost parts of the fortress. On the third day, the 19th Infantry Brigade advanced south from Bardia, supported by artillery and the Matilda tanks, now reduced in number to just six. Its advance allowed the 17th Infantry Brigade to make progress as well, and the two brigades reduced the southern sector of the fortress. Meanwhile, the Italian garrisons in the north surrendered to the 16th Infantry Brigade and the Support Group of the British 7th Armoured Division outside the fortress. In all, some 36,000 Italian prisoners were taken. The victory at Bardia enabled the Allied forces to continue the advance into Libya and ultimately capture almost all of Cyrenaica. In turn this would lead to German intervention in the fighting in North Africa, changing the nature of the war in that theatre. Bardia boosted the competence and reputation of the Australian Army. Perhaps most important of all, it raised confidence in the possibility of an ultimate Allied victory around the world, which would lead to the Lend-Lease Act being passed in the United States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_BardiaCloth Flag bearing a skull and cross Bones on a metal spike mounted on a square varnished wooden basebardia, land mine, marker flag, minefield, mustard gas

Postcard sent from the French theatre of war during World War One by Harry Holmes. HENRY SMERDON (Harry) HOLMES was born in 1897 at the family property, ’Sauchieburn’, 17 km north of Ballarat, in the Ascot district. He was the youngest of four children. After finishing his education at St Patrick’s College, Ballarat, Henry joined the Holmes family farming interests. At the age of 18 he enlisted and served with AIF in Egypt, France and Belgium 1915-1918. Henry served at the famous battlegrounds of Ypes and Somme in the Australian Army 8th Battalion. He was a Driver with the 4th D.A.C. The postcard is of "The Ascot" boys. Includes [Samuel] Gordon Spittle, Henry [Harry] Holmes's first cousin, and other Ascot lads and district connections: neighbours, Ascot State School classmates and football mates from Clunes / Creswick districts. (Research by Henry's grand-daughter, Jane Dyer nee Chatham) White postcard with embroidery on white silk. The embroidery includes 5 flags (England, France, Italy, Belgium, Russia), a blue horseshoe, a green sprig rosemary and the words 'United We Stand".Verso: With best love from Harry 13/5/16chatham, chatham family collection, holmes, harry holmes, henry holmes, world war, world war 1, world war i, world war one.