“Death penny”, issued to the family of Private Victor John Backhouse of the 54^th Battalion, AIF. A native of Currowan Creek between Nelligen and Braidwood, Private Backhouse was killed in action on 13 July, 1916 during the Battle of Fromelles. Aged just 20, he has no known grave, but is remembered in the VC Corner Australian Cemetery and Memorial at Fromelles, France. His father John received his plaque in September 1922. Officially called a memorial plaque, these mementoes were issued as a formal gesture to bereaved next-of-kin of British Commonwealth service personnel who died during WWI.

Private Backhouse’s “death penny” is displayed along with his uniformed studio portrait at the Batemans Bay Old Court House Museum.