Militaria

Lot 3747    Session 13 (2.30pm Thursday 22nd November)    Militaria

Estimate $300
Bid at live.noble.com.au
SOLD $240

ROYAL ITALIAN ARMY FLAG, (approx 98x77cm), captured at Libya in 1941, at the back bottom left corner is printed diagonally in ink, 'To Very W.Clark C.U.S.A./from/W.Frean C.S.S.R./2/2 Fld. Amb. 17 Inf Bde/Bengasi Libya/Feb.1941.' Staining to centre white field, otherwise very fine.

Note that in the printed message Chaplain Frean has omitted Rev at the start where he has printed 'To Very W.Clark C.U.S.A.'. It should be 'To Very Rev W.Clark C.U.S.A.' so was this an omission or intentional?

Bengazi, Libya, at the time a colony of Italy, was captured from the Italians by the allies on 6 February 1941.

William George Frean (NX70381), born 16Dec1898 at Surrey Hills, Vic; Enl.11Oct1940 at Paddington, NSW; Disch.20Mar1946 as Captain ex 2/2 Field Ambulance.

William Frean was a Catholic Captain Chaplain who, prior to serving overseas, had been Chaplain of the C(atholic) U(nited) S(ervices) A(uxiliary) Welfare Hut at the Military Camp, Ingleburn NSW. The Very Rev W.Clark was Administrator of C.U.S.A. In the Dandenong Journal on 24 June 1942 it was reported that Chaplain Frean, who had been through Libya, Greece, Crete and Syria with the AIF, visited his sister. Chaplain Frean who was a Redemptorist (i.e. Congregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris - CSsR [usually shown as CSSR] 'Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer') had some close shaves while serving overseas including once when a bomb landed nearby to where he was saying mass but fortunately did not explode.