ELTHAM LIBRARY DISPLAY

The Nillumbik Shire Council approached the MERSL with a suggestion of a small memorabilia display in a glass cabinet beneath the Roll of Honour which has been located on a wall in the library since June 2023 (see a photo and explanation on the Previous Activities page). The Council generously offered to purchased the cabinet and we will have a small number of items on display there, with changes to the collection occurring before Anzac Day and Remembrance Day.

The current display (from November 2025 to April 2026) includes the following items which show the changes in form of the badge of the RSL since that organization was formed during WW1:

The large poster shows the changes in form and content of the RSL badge over the decades since the organization was formed during WW1. The badge is worn by those who have served in the Australian Defence Force, although initially its membership consisted only of those who had served for Australia overseas.

The smaller framed notice summarizes the wording of the smaller writing at the top of the main poster. It explains the significance of various components of the badge.

The individual badges shown are those of …

(1) the RSL badge, in its current form [inscription: Returned Services League Australia]

(2) the badge of the First Armoured Regiment Association (1 AR) [inscription: Australia Paratus, the term being their motto 'prepared']

(3) the badge worn by anyone who has served on Active Service [ inscription: Returned from Active Service]

The fourth item is not a ‘badge’ in the normal sense of the word. However it was the only item of identification for those who were prisoners of the Japanese for over three years in Singapore, Burma and Thailand during WW2. Each person was only known by the number given to them by their Japanese guards.

The previous display (from March 2025 to November 2025) included the following items (click each photo to see larger pic), each of which have a connection to a soldier in WW2:

1) Staff Sgt Howard Locke

Howard enlisted for service in Adelaide during 1940. In early 1941 he undertook further training in South Melbourne, Balcombe and Puckapunyal. Later that year he traveled overseas to serve in Singapore working as a motor mechanic. Unfortunately, he was there when Singapore was taken by the Japanese forces and he spent the next three and a half years as a Prisoner of War.

His grandson (a local Montmorency-Eltham resident) had many of Howard's wartime memorabilia for some time and eventually handed the collection to the Montmorency-Eltham RSL.

6) Small Photo Album

The pocket-sized photo album is thought to be a reminder of home that Sgt Locke had while he was overseas.