WWI gas mask, leather, metal, fabric, gift of Mrs Norman McLaren Young, 1976, H36795

The 14th Australian Infantry Battalion saw heavy action during Norman McLaren Young’s service in France and Belgium, including the battles for the Hindenburg Line and Amiens. Both sides made heavy use of chemical weapons but the 1917 introduction of mustard gas intensified the horror of chemical warfare. The gas caused blisters, bleeding lungs and blindness, and gas masks provided no protection.