The Australian War Memorial Collection. Test site
Piece of white cotton filet crochet cloth with a design featuring an Australian soldier with the text 'CECIL / XMAS / OUR HERO / WE'RE / PROUD / OF HIM / ANZAC 1915' and an image of the Victoria Cross. A decorative border has been added later using a thicker cotton thread.
This filet crochet cloth was made to commemorate the service of 3903 Sergeant Cecil Robert Christmas who was working as a commercial traveller when he enlisted in the AIF on 3 May 1915 and was assigned to the 5th Field Ambulance. He embarked from Sydney aboard HMAT Ajana on 31 May 1915. He took part in the Gallipoli campaign from mid August until December when the ANZAC area was evacuated.
In March 1916 he travelled with his unit to France. On 14 November 1916, Christmas was wounded in the right thigh and was invalided to England. He was awarded the Military Medal for service at Pozieres on 6 August, which was gazetted on 8 December 1916. After he recovered from his wounds he returned to Australia 13 February 1917 on board the Hospital Ship Benalla while undertaking nursing duties. He may have continued to serve aboard the Benalla until April 1918 when he may have granted leave, but his service records are unclear.
The filet crochet Australian soldier design was created by Mary Card. The text 'our hero we're proud of him' may have come from a pattern in a women's magazine. Other text would have been designed by the maker. The crochet was made by a friend or relative of Cecil Christmas, who is unknown. The soldier in this cloth is wider than the pattern intended, as the maker used four stitches to create each open and filled mesh, rather than the three stitches for which the pattern was designed.
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