MILITARY COMMEMORATIVE PAINTING
1990A landscape print of a painting of a man helping another on a donkey. The picture has a light blue border. [George BensonThe man with the donkey] is written at the lower left-hand side of the border and [Australian War Memorial (143)] at the lower right-hand side.
There is a gold-coloured plaque centralised on the lower edge which reads [PRESENTED BY / THE RETURNED SERVICES LEAGUE ARMADALE SUB-BRANCH / TO COMMEMORATE THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF GALLIPOLI / _ ANZAC DAY 1990 _].
Has number 3 written on the back.
The now Returned & Services League (R.S.L.) was initially called the Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League of Australia (R.S.S.I.L.A.). It was formed nationally by World War 1 veterans in 1916 to provide support for veterans returned from military service. By 1919 or 1920 a sub-branch was formed in Armadale.
In 1990 the Armadale branch of the R.S.L donated a series of prints of paintings from the 1915 ANZAC campaign to the City of Armadale to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Gallipoli landing.
The object is a print of a painting of The Man with the Donkey by George Benson. Benson would join the Australian Military Force as a part of the 3rd Field Artillery Brigade. In 1919 Benson was commissioned as a war artist during which time he worked on this painting.
The subject is of Simpson and his donkey. Simpson was a stretcher bearer at the battles of Galliopi and has become an iconic figure in Australian culture. Stories of Simpson's bravery of retrieving wounded under heavy fire using a donkey to carry the wounded earned admiration of troops and the Australian public.
