South Australian agricultural business, Crossling Contractors, has recently taken delivery of a Hamelex White B-double tipper combination with custom artwork designed to pay tribute to the Australian soldiers that lost their lives in the Battle of Fromelles during World War I.
The trailer was purchased from Transport Connection in Wingfield, South Australia and the design, print and application of the artwork was completed by Panagraphix in Adelaide.
Damien Crossling of Crossling Contractors said he chose the agricultural scene featured on the A and B trailers not only to tie in with the company’s main task of broadacre and vineyard fertiliser spreading and bulk grain, fertiliser and grape cartage; but also because many of the Australian soldiers in WWI came from the country and ended up being buried on the other side of the world.
On the A trailer, the first memorial featured is ‘VC Corner’ at Fromelles which is a memorial to the Australian soldiers that were killed in Fromelles but have no known grave. The ‘Cobbers Statue’ at Fromelles is approximately 200 yards from this site and is also featured on the trailer. These two points marked the Australian and German front lines.
The names that appear on the artwork are from a photograph of a section of the Australian war memorial at Villers Bretonneux in France and amongst those names is ‘Leane AH’, a relative of Damien who was killed in action at Dernancourt.
The B trailer features a depiction of the 1st Australian Division memorial at Pozieres in France.
“On July 19 this year, it was the 94th anniversary of the Battle of Fromelles where 5533 Australians were killed, wounded or captured within 24 hours. It is a largely forgotten part of our history,” said Damien.
“In the end this is just my way of remembering the Australians that have fallen in not just WW1 but all conflicts. It is truly a sobering site to drive and walk through the battlefields of France and see so many white headstones. I hope these trailers can serve to remind people of what others have already sacrificed and are still sacrificing for us.”
The artwork was designed by Matt Bowering of Panagraphix. Damien commented, “I can’t speak highly enough of Matt. He took the idea from my head and through several emails and phone calls, he was able to produce this artwork. He is definitely one talented bloke.”
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