Historical information

Harold Ferres was born in 1885 in Ararat. In 1894, his family moved to Gippsland where they took up farming. In 1915, Ferres enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force. After training in Egypt he arrived in France in June where he fought in the battle of Fromelles. He was soon promoted to captain and posted to the 58th Battalion. During the course of the war he was mentioned in dispatches numerous times and was awarded the Military Cross after leading a successful raid against enemy trenches and won a Bar to his medal after organising defences and preventing the Germans from reaching the Somme Canal after they broke through the front line. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order when, after getting severely wounded by shell fire, he directed an assault on the eastern side of Peronne and took the strongly defended town with 'far less casualties than would have been necessarily incurred'.

His time with the AIF ended in December 1919, with the rank of Major. He retired as one of the AIF's most decorated soldiers. After the war he resumed farming on his property in Emerald. He died in 1978, aged 92 (Smith, 1996).

Significance

This item is historically significant as it belonged to one of the most decorated Australian soldiers of the First World War. This saddle was used by Harold Ferres whilst he served in the AIF 58th Battalion in France. The First World War is one of the most significant events in Australia's history.

Physical description

Brown horse saddle, made predominantly of leather. There is a brown leather saddle bag attached on the left side with a belt and buckle. Also depicted are two stirrups - one on each side - attached with a leather belt.