The Australian War Memorial Collection. Test site
During the First World War, donkeys were used in the transportation of ammunition to the front. The donkey is often represented as the symbol of stupidity and stubbornness. However, a donkey is notorious for its capacity to secure footing in treacherous terrain. They often scramble with considerable speed among rocks and slippery ground, able to do this with heavy burdens, tirelessly.
This illustration depicts a donkey with a sling over its saddle with three shells on each side. A mounted soldier pulls the reigns of the donkey as it struggles to wade through the muddy terrain. Behind them is another mounted soldier with an ammunition donkey. The billows of smoke in the sky, the aircraft overhead, fencing on the skyline and broken duckboard walk in the foreground suggest they are close to the frontline.
Soldier mounted on donkey and assisted by 202 Private John Simpson Kirkpatrick (known as Simpson or 'the man with the donkey') 3rd Fd Amb, to reach an aid post (in this work Simpson is wearing a forag
Depicts New Zealander Private Richard (Dick) Alexander Henderson of the New Zealand Medical Corps with a donkey. Moore-Jones believed that the photo he based it on was of Private John Simpson Kirkpatr
Arguably Australia's most famous soldier, 'Simpson' was neither a general nor a Victoria Cross recipient, but a stretcher bearer who served briefly in the nation's first major campaign. The painting d
'Arguably Australia's most famous soldier is neither a general nor a Victoria Cross recipient, but a stretcher bearer who served briefly in the nation's first major campaign'. Peter Corlett's sculptur
John Simpson Kirkpatrick was a water-carrier at Gallipoli whose war service is now that of Australian legend; his efforts to rescue wounded soldiers with a donkey catapulted him to national hero statu
Two SAS soldiers with Simpson the donkey, in the Australian compound, Bagram. Peter Churcher recalled, "The SAS squadron had four donkeys that they purchased from the locals. The donkeys proved to be
