Cap tally from French ship JEANNE D'ARC
Date1938-1964
Object number00039631
NameCap tally
MediumTextile
Dimensions30 x 535 mm
ClassificationsClothing and personal items
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Jean-Pierre Sourdin
DescriptionA blue and gold cap tally from the French ship, JEANNE D'ARC.
This cap tally was donated by Jean-Pierre Sourdin who collected badges and tallies as souvenirs from visiting French naval vessels from 1938 to 1998. During each visit, the ship's Captain would hold a cocktail party on board and invite prominent French figures in the local community. As editor of Le Courrier Australien from 1954 to 1988 (a monthly French newspaper that has been distributed throughout Australia since 1892), Mr Sourdin was invited to the cocktail parties to generate press coverage on the French port visits. Mr Sourdin was presented with these cap tallies and badges as souvenirs of his visits on board.
HistoryNamed after fifteenth century French heroine Joan of Arc, the 9,200 tonne light cruiser JEANNE D'ARC (R97) was laid down at Brest Naval Dockyard in 1928 and commissioned for service on 14 August 1931. JEANNE D'ARC visited Sydney on 2 February 1938, when the city was preparing to host the 1938 Empire Games, a British Empire - based sporting competition designed to rival the Olympic Games. Held during the week of 5 - 12 February, the Sydney games were part of the sesquicentennial celebrations for the foundation of British settlement in Australia and the establishment of the city.
In 1991 the museum acquired an archive of photographer Sam Hood' s glass plate negatives and silver gelatin prints, some of which capture the visit of the naval training ship and its distinctly uniformed matelots.
JEANNE D'ARC was interned at Martinique in the West Indies during World War II and demilitarised on 14 May 1942 following pressure from the USA. She was transferred to the free French forces on 30 June 1943 and refitted to revert to her peacetime training role in July 1946, visiting Sydney again in February 1956. JEANNE D'ARC was decommissioned on 16July 1964 and broken up in 1965, replaced by a new JEANNE D'ARC which has been used as a school ship in times of peace and an anti-submarine and attack helicoptor carrier in times of war. The vessel tours the world each year and visits Australia around every seven years with the latest contingent of midshipmen.SignificanceVessels of Marine Nationale (French Navy) have visited Australia throughout the twentieth century for rest and recreation, goodwill and to represent France at official celebrations such as Australia' s sesquicentenary and bicentenary. These visits remind us of the links forged by early French explorers of Australia such as Jean Francois Galaup, Comte de Laperouse, Nicolas Baudin, Louis - Antoine de Bougainville and Jules Dumont d' Urville .
