Private A.C.Smith's shirt was signed by his mates upon completion of training in Wallgrove, Australia. They became part of Major General Frederick "Black Jack" Galleghan's battalion, known as the Galleghan Greyhounds. Upon arriving in Malaya during World War II, the Galleghan Greyhounds were the first Australian unit to ambush the Imperial Japanese Army. Their task was to be the shock absorbers, inflicting as many casualties as possible before falling back.
Finding themselves marching to the Changi prison camps with only the clothes on their backs and supplies they could carry, Private Smith carefully protected his prized item, this shirt, throughout the three-and-a-half year duration of captivity.