Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Pair: Private S. A. Thrower, 25th Battalion, Australian Imperial Force

British War and Victory Medals (6207 Pte. S. A. Thrower, 25-Bn. A.I.F.), together with a pair of related miniature dress medals, good very fine (4) £40-50

Sydney Albert Thrower, a native of Brisbane, enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in October 1916 and was embarked in H.M.A.T. Marathon as a reinforcement for the 25th Battalion in France in the same month - the unit had recently suffered 785 casualties in the fighting Pozieres. Thrower would have joined the Battalion on the Somme, where it would put in two attacks east of Flers before the year’s end and subsequently formed part of the 2nd Division’s first wave in the battle of Menin in September 1917. Having then contributed to the capture of Broodseinde Ridge in the following month, the Battalion entered its busiest year of operations in 1918, commencing with the German Spring Offensive. But following severe A.I.F. losses in the battles of Morlancourt, Hamel and Amiens, it was decided to disband the unit to reinforce other Battalions, an order which famously resulted in a mutiny by its men and a temporary reprieve - thus further action around Beaurevoir in October and a final wartime tally of 17 D.C.Ms and 81 M.Ms. Thrower was re-embarked for Australia in June 1919, having latterly been attached to the 9th Battalion.