Princess Royal Fortress Military Museum > Records

Louch Identity Disc

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1914

Overview

Circular aluminium identity disc with brown leather strap threaded through holes in each side.

Historical information

Worn by 923 Private Thomas Steane Louch of 11th Battalion, H Company, 3rd Brigade, Australian Imperial Force (AIF). Private Louch enlisted on 16th August 1914 and caught an overnight train with another 24 other enlistees from Albany. Upon arriving in Perth at Bellevue station he and the other men set out establishing Blackboy Hill Camp; the first and largest Western Australian military camp during the war.
He departed Fremantle on 2nd November 1914 on board HMAT A11 Ascanius as part of the First Convoy that left Albany on the day before. Arriving in Egypt in December he is identified in the group photograph of the officers and men of the 11th Battalion on the Great Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu) near Mena camp taken on the 10th January 1915.
He was part of the dawn landing at Gallipoli on the 25th April 1915 and was wounded at while serving with the 11th Battalion. He returned to Australia in 1916 then re-embarked with the 11th Battalion on 31st March 1916. He was later was given the rank of Captain in the 51st Battalion after the doubling of the AIF.
Seeing out the war he returned to Australia on 8th May 1919 and took up his occupation as a lawyer.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-12-2016.1.4

Material

Leather

Metal

Width

35 mm

Height or length

43 mm

Depth

1 mm

Themes

People

Social History

War and Conflict

Inscriptions and markings

The disc is stamped '923 T.S.LOUCH H 11A.I. C.E'.

Contextual Information

Thomas Steane Louch volunteered in the Australian Garrison Artillery (AGA) at the Princess Royal Fortress, Albany, Western Australia prior to the First World War. When war was declared he reported for duty on the 5th August 1914 at the fortress before heading off to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF)

Keywords

Place made

Western Australia
Australia

Year

1914

Primary significance criteria

Historic significance