Historical information

Postcards were a common form of souvenirs for soldiers who were travelling either during World War 1, or just after, or while returning to Australia.
Was with other World War 1 memorabilia that has come from Private John Basil McLean, 2nd Reinforcements, 37th Battalion, A.I.F. J.B. McLean (Service No. 13824) was from near Maffra, Victoria and enlisted on 22 January 1916. He embarked on 16 December 1916 for Europe. His full war record is available from AWM. He spent time with the Australian Field Artillery (Pack Section). At the end of the war he worked for a year at the A.I.F. Headquarters in London before returning to Australia on the 'Ceramic', arriving Portsea in 1920.

Significance

Postcards were a very common form of communication in the first World War. This postcard also records Gallipoli for those who didn't have cameras. This type of souvenir would have been familiar to the first Legatees as they had served in World War 1 and many had served at Gallipoli.

Physical description

Postcard showing black and white image of the bridge at Rodah, Guizeh (Giza). Several figures and a tram are also pictured crossing the bridge. A black postal stamp in the top left quadrant of the postcard indicates it was posted from Cairo. The back of the postcard contains a message. Based on the date and location it was posted from, the text could be Egyptian Arabic or it could be Pitman shorthand.

Inscriptions & markings

Front - “(Guizeh) Nouveau grand pont de Rodah - (Guizeh) New large bridge at Rodah.”
Back - “J/15/1912/ CARTE POSTALE / M J?. Hinaul / 20 Rue de Landrecies/ Le Cateau (Nord)/ France/ Ghino Dukich, 21 Rue Nubar Pacha - Le Caire, Egypte/ Serie A No. 25. Reproduction interdite”
Stamps - Postes Egyptiennes/ Un Millieme”