Great War Original Battle of the Somme Arras Town Hall 1916 Hand Painted Unit Sign Oak Wall Panel, the badge not clearly identified but possibly for the Australian Light Horse Brigade. One of 30 panels, each unique, as painted by an unknown artist, which commemorated the British and Commonwealth Divisions that had passed through Arras in the advance towards Peronne at the time of the Battle of the Somme in 1916, and were then subsequently displayed over the doors of the famous town hall at Arras through into early 1918, before being removed from that town hall by a General Staff Officer, Major William Henderson Davison at around the time of the Allied retreat from the Somme in the face of the German Spring Offensive.
Condition: expected signs of age, Good Condition.
Provenance: painted in 1916, displayed over the doors of the Arras Town Hall through to 1918, when removed by Major William Henderson Davison, a General Staff Officer, at the time of the German Spring Offensive which threatened to overrun Arras. Held in the possession of Major Davison, and passed to his family, before being sold by the family in December 2014 through auction, all proceeds including the buyers premium being made out to The Royal British Legion at that time. Acquired directly from the auction by the current owner.
Measuring approximately 155 mm x 215 mm, each panel is of carved oak, with each divisional badge hand-painted with oil paint, and then lacquered over the top.
Due to the connection with the now famous town hall of Arras, which was do badly damaged it had to be rebuilt in the aftermath of the Great War and stands to this day as a poignant reminder of the war, each of these panels has historical significance to the original building and its place in the war.
Major William Henderson Davison, O.B.E., was at the time of acquiring the panels, a General Staff Officer with the 5th Army, though he later became a Doctor, Surgeon and Barrister, and was for twenty-four years, the City Coroner of Birmingham.
