Historical information

This was the official state flag of Italy used by Italian armed forces during WWII. The tri-colour flag with the emblem of the former Royal House of Savoy was the first national flag and lasted for 85 years until the birth of the Italian Republic in 1946.
Soldiers' inscriptions on the flag suggest that it was capture from Italian troops during the Battle of El Alamein on 9 July 1942. The service
numbers tell us that these soldiers served with the 2/24th Battalion which was raised Wangaratta.

Walter Edward PARKER VX34529
Lancelot HALL VX32047 DOB 25/10/1904 Mildura
Greville Egerton DENNYS Capt. NX4731 DOB 4/3/1917 DOD 4/10/1969 Enlisted 27/10/1939
George Charles GREEN VX21968

Significance

This was the official state flag of Italy used by Italian armed forces during WWII. The tri-colour flag with the emblem of the former Royal House of Savoy was the first national flag and lasted for 85 years until the birth of the Italian Republic in 1946. Soldiers' inscriptions on the flag suggest that it was capture from Italian troops during the Battle of El Alamein on 9 July 1942. The service numbers tell us that these soldiers served in the 2/24th Battalion which was raised in Wangaratta. Recognising the cultural and historical significance of the flag to both Italy and Australia, the Wangaratta RSL received a grant to have the flag professionally restored and framed in 2017.

Physical description

Large Italian flag with green, white and red vertical panels of equal size defaced with the Savoyan coat of arms, a red shield with white cross bordered with blue. Three two-piece hoist ties on the green side. Panels are sewn together from separate pieces of fabric. The shield appears to have been printed directly onto the white panel. The edges are hemmed.

Inscriptions & markings

There are several handwritten inscriptions on the coat of arms in red and blue/black ink detailing the name and service numbers of different soldiers.
(Not all of the writing is legible).
Legible texts reads: "VX32047 / L HALL / ALAMEINE / 9.7.42"
"VX21968 / G Green"
"VX?45?? / W PARKER / ALAMEIN" -
"NX4731 Greville Denys"