[10th Battalion]. [LIMB, Lieutenant Arthur]

History of the 10th Battalion AIF [1914-1918. Egypt, Gallipoli, France, Belgium (cover sub-title)]

London, Cassell and Company, Ltd, 1919.

Octavo, 101 pages with 44 illustrations (after photographs) plus 4 maps (3 folding).

Original flush-cut pictorial papered boards (printed in black, gilt and the battalion's colours), later rebacked with cloth; old tape stains to both covers near the spine; inner hinges, the gutters in three places, and the edges and folds of the largest of the maps reinforced with clear tape (it may be conservator's 'mending' tape, but that's the only positive thing we can say about it); overall, a decent copy unprofessionally restored.

The first edition of this anonymously published book is fiendishly rare in our experience; we have had only a handful of copies in over forty-five years as booksellers in Adelaide, and the 10th is a local battalion. Arthur Limb (1893-1920) was a member of the battalion; he rose through the ranks, and was mentioned in dispatches three times. Although he survived the war, he contracted pneumonia on the return journey to Australia, leading eventually to his death in May 1920. His obituary in his hometown newspaper, the 'Gawler Bunyip' (Friday 28 May 1920), records that 'At the close of the war he was chosen by the Officer in Command to gather material from military sources, and proceed to Oxford to write up the history of the 10th Battalion. The book has been published'. Dornbusch 325; Fielding and O'Neill, page 226 (incorrectly calling the author 'Lumb'); Trigellis-Smith 212. Provenance: 5380 Lance-Corporal Douglas Alfred Hogg, a veteran of the 10th Battalion. He was a farmer from Carpa on the Eyre Peninsula (about 21 kilometres west-south-west of Cowell, which is midway between Port Augusta and Port Lincoln). He enlisted in Adelaide on 14 February 1916, embarked for England on 11 April 1916, and saw active service in France. His service records indicate he attended Brigade Schools in England in January/February and June 1918; he was appointed Lance-Corporal in 4 May 1918, and Temporary Corporal on 28 December 1918. He returned to Australia on the 'Ormonde', disembarking 29 July 1919. A small number of personal effects accompany the book.

(A) Two small notebooks: the first one contains notes on Bombs (20 pages), the Lewis Gun (15 pages), and 23 pages on a variety of subjects (Duties of NCOs, Mapping, Musketry, Sanitation); the second one also contains notes on the Lewis Gun (approximately 21 pages), with a similar number of pages of mainly related data (including lists of names).

(B) Photographs: a postcard-format portrait of Private Hogg and a fellow-soldier, inscribed by him on the verso 'Perham Downs 23/8/16'; a similar-size oval portrait mounted on the large studio card of Thelma Duryea, Adelaide; two 'Australian Official Photographs' (6 × 8" group portraits #4068 and #4110), possibly taken in England and France respectively, with Douglas Hogg probably in both of them; and an aerial photograph of trenches in the Brosse Woods area, signed on the verso by a member of the 10th Battalion, 6864 Private John Nicholas Tamblyn.

(D) A 9 ct gold fob (maximum dimensions approximately 34 × 25 mm), the obverse with Hogg's initials engraved on a shield, the reverse engraved 'Presented to | Cpl. D.A. Hogg. | From Elbow Hill Girls Club. | For King & Country. | 1919' (with 'Cpl.' apparently engraved over 'Pte'). This attractive item is attached to a heavy gold chain and suspension ring; in excellent condition. Elbow Hill is about halfway between Carpa and Cowell; they have never been large settlements. The 'Eyre's Peninsula Tribune', published in Cowell on Friday 21 March 1919, lists 'Our Volunteers' from the region, grouped by locality. Hogg is one of 15 men from Carpa; there are 26 names under Elbow Hill. The Girls Club there seems to have been very active in welcoming home other returned servicemen from the district. The 'Tribune' of 29 March 1918 contains a lengthy article on a 'welcome home social' for Private L.G. Strother, who hailed from Yabmana (inland of, and forming an equilateral triangle with, Carpa and Elbow Hill). 'The hall was prettily decorated by the girls, and a large number of people assembled to show their appreciation to the guest of the evening. We also had before us our other returned heroes, Ptes. W. Maynard, H. Harvey, and J. Carmody. A very appreciable programme was carried out, as follows: National Anthem; Chorus, Club Girls; Song, Mr P. Wheeler; Recitation, Miss B. Robertson; Song, Miss M. Phillipps; Chorus, Club Girls; Duet, Miss M. Phillipps and Mr P. Wheeler; Chorus, Club Girls.... The Girls Club is still working hard, preparing to send more parcels away, and in order to raise more funds they are having a Grand Fair on Easter Monday, which we all hope will be a success.' [A small quantity].