The window is attributed to Brooks, Robinson & Co. on stylistic grounds, and on information supplied by one of their artists at that time, Derek Pearse, that the firm had made a soldier's memorial window for Mrs. Caroline Goldie, however no record of this window appears in the Brooks, Robinson & Co. job books. Robert Hunter Goldie was depicted wearing his Australian Army uniform, holding a sheep in his arms and with the AIF badge in the arch of the window. It is a portrait of Robert Goldie and also a portrait of his dog, which stands at his feet.
Robert Hunter Goldie was born on 26 February 1915 at Goornong. He enlisted on 9 July 1940 and went to the Middle East in November with the original contingent of 2/24 Battalion, known as 'Wangaratta's Own'. The battalion entered Tobruk on 10 April 1941 and was involved in defence of the Red Line and the intense battle in the Salient. Sergeant Goldie was listedamong the casualties as RIO (Relocate In/Out) and returned to Australia on 26 May 1941, well before the evacuation of the 2/24 to Alexandria on the night on 20 October. On 24 November 1941 he was discharged from the AIF. His death did not occur until July 1961, however the subject of the window, the Australian soldier, suggests that his family understood that his death at the age of 46 was a result of war, as much as the soldier who died on the field of battle.
References & Acknowledgements
AWM 2/24 Battalion unit history; NAA: B883 VX40795; WWII Nominal Roll; BDM Victoria.
With thanks to Alastair Davison, historian for the 2/24 Battalion.
