80yo unopened bottle of beer donated to Australian War Memorial as a symbol of WWII mateship and sacrifice

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10 hours ago

Two best mates promised to share a bottle of beer together after serving in World War II.
But only one ever returned.
Now 80 years later, the still unopened bottle — one imperial quart of Tooth's Draught Ale — has been donated to the Australian War Memorial.
The local Wingham Hotel publican on the NSW Mid North Coast was giving every serviceman who enlisted a bottle of beer when best mates Stanley Lewis and Frederick Hume enrolled, according to Stan's nephew Garry Mortimer.
Mr Mortimer said the pair enlisted on the same day in 1941 and had been best friends since they were five years old.
"They were always getting into mischief since they were kids."
Mr Mortimer said the 20-year-olds made a pact with one of the bottles of beer.
"Stan took his home to his mother," Mr Mortimer said.
"He said 'keep this for me, mum, and when I return Fred and I will open it and celebrate'.
The two men served as privates in the 2/30 Battalion, helping to defend Singapore from invasion.
Around 130,000 Allied troops were captured after the fall of Singapore in 1942, including 15,000 Australians.
Fred and Stan were both captured and imprisoned at Changi before being taken to work on the Thai-Burma railway.
More than 100,000 civilians and around 3,000 prisoners of war lost their lives working on the railway.
It's where Stan died, just 23-years-old. He is buried at Kanchanaburi War Cemetery in Thailand.
Fred survived his time as a prisoner of war, returning to Australia in 1945.
But his best mate was gone.
The bottle of beer remained on the shelf at the back of Stan's mum's kitchen cupboard.
The family took it with them when they moved house.
Mr Mortimer this year decided to donate 'Stan's beer bottle' to the War Memorial.
"At some stage, they're going to put it on display," he said.
He hopes the bottle will help people remember "two mates and their close ties and how they obviously loved each other and cared for each other".
"Simple things are important because of the men who served."
Australian War Memorial assistant curator Andrew Muir said the bottle remained well sealed and was being examined and preserved by the memorial's conservation team.
"There's a bit of sediment in it … I'm not sure whether you'd really want to open it," he said.
"We want it to last for another 80 years."
Mr Muir said the bottle told a story about mateship and sacrifice.
"This is a story about two mates," he said.
"This simple bottle of Tooth's Draught Ale stayed with the Lewis family for decades. They saw it as a tribute to friendship.
"It remains in their cupboard as a treasured possession for this family.
"It's touching to think they've treasured it for so long and then decided this year — actually, it's time to move it somewhere safe and where other people can learn this story.
"We are grateful it has now been donated to the Australian War Memorial so we can share their story forged in mateship, with future generations."