Pair of Ottoman stirrups souvenired by Walter Bowditch, Australian Light Horse Regiment
Pair of metal stirrups souvenired by Trooper Walter Edward Bowditch, who served with both the 14th and 12th Light Horse Regiments during World War One.
They each have a circular footbed or tread (the flat surface where the rider places their foot) which has a rim and is hollow underneath. On either side, there are two triangular upright pieces of metal (known as arms), which join a flat horizontal piece with a rectangular slot (known as the eye), which is where the stirrup leather attaches to the saddle. There are a series of vertical lines inscribed into the arms, and horizontal lines into the edge of the footbed for decoration.
One of the stirrups has a piece of thin copper wire wrapped through the eye and around one arm. There is a remnant piece of circular paper with a hole in the centre attached to the wire.
Walter Edward Bowditch was a fruiterer aged 38 when he enlisted with the 34th Reinforcement, 14th Light Horse Regiment on 15 October 1917. His service number was 4198.
He embarked from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A38 Ulysses on 19 December 1917. He served with the 12th Light Horse Regiment as part of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, but spent quite some time in hospital.
He commenced his return to Australia from Port Said on board HMAT SS Dorset on 29 April 1919 and disembarked on 11 June 1919.
Walter had previously served for 14 months in the Boer War with the 1st New South Wales Mounted Rifles, service number 24.
It is believed that Walter brought these stirrups home to Australia as a souvenir of his war service and that they had belonged to a trooper from the Ottoman equivalent of the Light Horse. While they would have been collected between 1917-1919, it is unknown when they were originally made or by whom.
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