---
title: '''Were YOU there then?'' (Harry J. Weston)'
url: https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/australia-were-you-there-then-1916/
description: A woman in a white blouse points at a tattered Australian flag, Union Jack canton and Southern Cross stars torn by holes, over the quoted question 'Were…
section: Collection
---

[Collection](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/)

[!['Were YOU there then?' (Harry J. Weston)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/australia-were-you-there-then-1916.jpg)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/australia-were-you-there-then-1916.jpg)

# 'Were YOU there then?' (Harry J. Weston)

A woman in a white blouse points at a tattered Australian flag, Union Jack canton and Southern Cross stars torn by holes, over the quoted question 'Were YOU there then?'. The tell is the damaged flag: the national symbol carries the sacrifice of the fighting, and the question turns absence into a personal charge.

## Text on the object

Original (English) · read from the image, not independently checked

```
"Were YOU there then?"

HARRY J. WESTON [signature]
```

[← Attendrons-nous que les nôtres brûlent? Enrôlons-nous dans le 178ième Bataillon Canadien Français](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/attendrons-nous-que-les-notres-brulent-178e-1916/) [Zeichnet die fünfte Kriegsanleihe (Živnostenská banka, Prague) →](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/austria-fuenfte-kriegsanleihe-prag-1916/)

## Using the same techniques

- [Bronze sestertius of Gaius (Caligula), reverse S P Q R P P OB CIVES SERVATOS in an oak wreath](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/sestertius-caligula-ob-cives-servatos-0037/) (Roman Empire · 0037 · Testimonial, Transfer)
- [Gold coin of Kanishka: King of Kings legend, king at the altar, deity Oesho](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/gold-dinar-kanishka-king-of-kings-0130/) (Kushan Empire · 0130 · Transfer)
- [Gold solidus of Justinian I, reverse VICTORIA AVGGG with Victory holding a Christogram staff](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/solidus-justinian-i-victoria-avggg-0538/) (Byzantine Empire · 0538 · Transfer, Glittering generalities)
- [Bayeux Tapestry, scene 23: UBI HAROLD SACRAMENTVM FECIT VVILLELMO DVCI](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/bayeux-tapestry-harold-oath-to-william-1070/) (Kingdom of England · 1070 · Transfer, Card stacking)
- [Mughal gold coin of Jahangir, dated 1028 AH, with a bull inside a ring of sun rays](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/jahangir-gold-zodiac-coin-sun-rays-1619/) (Mughal Empire · 1619 · Transfer)
- [Frontispiece to Eikon Basilike, The Pourtraicture of His Sacred Majestie in his Solitudes and Sufferings (Hollar, 1649)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/eikon-basilike-frontispiece-hollar-1649/) (Dutch Republic · 1649 · Transfer, Glittering generalities)
- [Consult of the doctors on the grave illness of the Grand Sultan (Consult vande medicijnen inde swaere siekte vanden grooten Sultaen)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/consult-of-the-doctors-sick-sultan-antwerp-1683/) (Spanish Netherlands · 1683 · Transfer, Bandwagon)
- [The Highlanders Medley, or The Duke Triumphant (A Loyal Song)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/highlanders-medley-duke-triumphant-1746/) (Great Britain · 1746 · Name-calling, Transfer)