Historical information

Father and son Walter and Robert Baguley owned these army water bottles when they were on service in World War II and in 1964 in Malaya respectively. Robert Baguley served with the Royal Australian Engineers in Malaysia. The Royal Australian Engineers (RAE) unit arrived in Sabah in 1964 at the request of Malaysia. The formation of Malaysia by Sabah, Sarawak, Singapore and Malaya in 1963 was strongly opposed by Indonesia under President Sukarno. Operations by Malaysian military and paramilitary forces, assisted by armed forces of Australia, Britain and New Zealand, countered Indonesian aggression and its intelligence and propaganda activities. The RAE focused mainly on road construction.
After his military career, Robert mainly worked for the State Electricity Authority. Robert's father, Walter Baguley, served with the Citizen Military Services Personnel in World War II.

Significance

The Baguley family are long term residents of the Emerald district.

Physical description

Two water bottles used by the Australian army. One is a dark blue metal container used by Australian army personnel in WWII and the other an olive green hard plastic container used by Australian Army personnel in the Malaysian-Indonesian confrontation in the 1960s (and also in later wars). The first bottle was used and owned by Emerald resident, Walter Baguley and the second bottle was used and owned by his son, Robert Baguley.

Inscriptions & markings

VEMU2155.2: Inscription on the front: FOR WATER ONLY / DO NOT APPLY CANTEEN / TO OPEN FLAME OR / BURNER PLATES
On base: BX 1965 / 8465 - 71 - 108 - 8703