Small metal numbers were once used to signify the badge numbers of police officers. Using the small holes or loops, the numbers were hand-sewn to the high, stiff, and uncomfortable collar of an officer’s tunic. These particular numbers —two fours and a six—were found in the desk of Albert Edward Wallbank (1887-1953), an officer at […]
Nancy Irene Wallbank (1910-1981) of Dudley, New South Wales, was in her early 30s when she became a registered National Emergency Service (NES) Warden. During WWII, as airstrikes began to feel like an imminent threat throughout Australia, the NES formed to prepare communities for possible air attacks on Australian soil and train volunteers to assist […]
When WWII began in 1939, the New South Wales government swiftly established a body known as the National Emergency Service (NES) to act as an air raid and civil defense service on the home front. All civilians, particularly government employees, were urged to join. One of the 115,000 people who heeded this call was Albert […]
When Albert Wallbank (1887-1953) joined the Police Force in 1913, there was no state-wide police uniform in New South Wales. Prior to 1934, country police were issued a mixture of khaki and blue uniforms. This particular blue heavy serge fabric, shaped in a tunic style jacket, with a high celluloid or linen-lined collar and double-breast […]
Made in the famous J Hudson & Co Ltd factory in Birmingham, this whistle belonged to Senior Constable Albert Wallbank (1887-1953), a long-standing officer at Dudley Police Station, south of Newcastle. Like many aspects of standard police issue equipment in New South Wales, this whistle was inherited from the British ‘bobby’ (slang term for a […]
The Gould League of Bird Lovers was one of Australia’s early organised societies for budding ornithologists and general bird nerds. The League was formed in 1909 with the view of protecting Australia’s avian species. It was named after John Gould (1804-1881), the English naturalist who researched Australian birds from 1838-1840, and his wife Elizabeth Gould […]
After 24 years of service at Dudley Police Station, on the 20th July 1945, Constable Albert Edward Wallbank (1887-1953) was promoted to the rank of Senior Constable. Upon receiving his new rank and responsibilities, Wallbank also earned these Senior Constable stripes that were affixed to his uniform. As a policeman, Wallbank dealt with his fair […]
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