The Australian War Memorial Collection. Test site
Shoulder strap for the 52nd Reserve Infantry Regiment. Field grey wool strap with white piping and red chain stitched number '52'. With the strap is a handwritten note in indelible pencil on the back of a piece of a German postcard that reads '52nd R.I.R. / 2nd Bttn 3rd Bttn / 107th Div. / captured by 5th Div. 4/7/18 / at ?'.
Single shoulder straps were routinely removed from dead or captured Germans for intelligence purposes, so that the names of the units opposing the Allied forces could be established.
This shoulder strap was collected at Morlancourt from a member of the 52nd Reserve Infantry Regiment (RIR) on 4 July 1918 and sent to the Australian Corps Headquarters, under the command of Lieutenant General Sir John Monash.
The strap was probably captured by men of the 59th Battalion, as the 60th Battalion war diary records that prisoners from the 52nd RIR were being sent back, indicating companies from the 59th Battalion had reached their objective. It is possible however, that it could have been captured by men of the 58th or 60th Battalions, who were also fighting in the area.
Shoulder strap for the 232nd Reserve Infantry Regiment. Field grey wool strap with white piping and red chain stitched number '232'. With the strap is a handwritten note, in graphite pencil on the bac
Shoulder strap for the 203rd Reserve Infantry Regiment. Field grey wool strap with white piping and red chain stitched number '203'. With the strap is a handwritten note, in indelible pencil on the ba
Shoulder strap for the 202nd Reserve Infantry Regiment. Field grey wool strap with white piping and red chain stitched number '202'. With the strap is a handwritten note, in indellible pencil on the b
Shoulder strap for the 265th Reserve Infantry Regiment. Field grey wool strap with white piping and red chain stitched number '265'. With the strap is a handwritten note, in indelible pencil on the ba
Shoulder strap for the 201st Reserve Infantry Regiment. Field grey wool strap with white piping and red chain stitched number '201'. With the strap is a handwritten note in graphite pencil on the back
Shoulder strap for the 28th Reserve Infantry Regiment. Field grey wool strap with white piping and red chain stitched number '28'. A piece of string is tied around the strap. With the strap is a handw
