Postcard from Alfred Duncan to his mother

An embroidered postcard, dated 19 June 1916, sent by Alfred Duncan, a soldier fighting in France, to his mother Emily, in Adelaide.

The postcards were embroidered by the women of French villlages where the soldiers were billeted. It would take between four to eight hours to complete each card which were sold to the soldiers for a few francs. Later a rough assembly line style of work was created by some of the Paris postcard businesses, with some deterioration in the quality of the work.

Private Alfred Duncan was wounded during fighting at Dernancourt on 5 April 1918, and subsequently died. The battle at Dernancourt was part of the March 1918 offensive with Australian troops commanded to hold the vital areas of Dernancourt and Villers-Bretonneux from German capture.

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