Curio

State Library of New South Wales
Military Cross and Bar

Military Cross and Bar

awarded to Lt Joseph Maxwell, 1918
silver with silk moiré grosgrain ribbon
Bequest of Sir William Dixson, 1952
DN / M 1287

An apprenticed boiler-maker from the Sydney suburb of Annandale, Joseph Maxwell enlisted in February 1915 aged 18 years. He was posted to the 18th Battalion, serving at Gallipoli and the Western Front. On the Western Front, he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal, the Military Cross and Bar and the Victoria Cross. He was only 22 when the war ended.

By 1934 Maxwell was out of work. Struggling to make ends meet, he sold his Distinguished Conduct Medal and Military Cross and Bar to Sir William Dixson. These medals came into the State Library’s collection as part of Dixson’s bequest in 1952. Maxwell’s Victoria Cross is currently at the Australian War Memorial, on loan from the Victoria Barracks Museum in Paddington.

Inscribed on the back

Inscribed on the back of the Military Cross is: ‘Lt. J. Maxwell, 18th Battn. 9.3.18’. The date refers to Maxwell’s exploits east of the Belgian village of Ploegsteert in March 1918, when he led an attack on German troops and captured a prisoner.

Engraved on the Bar

Engraved on the Bar is; ‘Lt. J. Maxwell 18th Battn. 9.8.18’, recognising his actions in the Allied advance at Rainecourt on 9th August 1918.