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On display

This item is on display at Melbourne Museum

Summary:: Alternative Name(s): Sweetheart Brooch

Nine carat gold and enamel brooch, made by Willis of Melbourne. The red and purple horizontal stripes represent the colours of the 6th Battalion. The brooch is a memento of Pte Albert Edward Kemp, who served in France and Belgium in World War I and was killed in service in 1917. He may have given it to his wife, Annie, since it was found with a collection of items she appears to have preserved.

Albert Edward Kemp was a 32-year-old butcher living in Caulfield and married to Annie Josephine, when he enlisted. He and Annie had a daughter, Ethel Mavis, and a baby son, George Percival. Albert enlisted at Royal Park on 4 October 1916, and was assigned to the 22nd Reinforcements, 6th Battalion - regimental number 6800. His battalion left Melbourne 25 October 1916 - just 21 days after he enlisted. He was shipped to France on 27 March, and probably went into action in the trenches. On 21 September 1917, Albert died in the trenches in Glencorse Wood, Belgium. He is buried at 29 The Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Belgium.
Description:: 9ct gold and enamel. Consists of boomerang, positioned horizontally with bend at top. One end of boomerang is indented; other is roughly finished. Beneath is attached a rectangular bar with red and purple horizontal stripes.

Discipline:	History
Dimensions:	1.70 cm (Height), 3.30 cm (Width)

Tagged with:	clothing accessories, death mourning, home fronts, wars conflicts, world war i 1914-1918, sweetheart badges
Themes this item is part of:	Albert Edward Kemp Mourning Collection, Albert Edward Kemp, AIF (1884-1917), 6th Battalion Diary Extract, September 1917, Public Life & Institutions Collection
On Display at:	Melbourne Museum
Primary Classification:	MILITARY HISTORY
Secondary Classification:	Souvenirs & Mementoes
Tertiary Classification:	jewellery
Other Association (See Comments):	Private Albert Kemp - 6th Battalion, Australian Imperial Force (AIF), Malvern, Victoria, Australia, 1916-1918
Bibliography:	[Book], Garrie Hutchinson, Remember Them; a Guide to Victoria's Wartime Heritage, Hardie Grant Books, Melbourne, 2009, 30-2 Pages