Foch-signed Australian flag from World War I

A full-size Australian flag from World War I signed 'J.Foch', by Marshal Jean Marie Foch, Commander in Chief of the Allied Armies The flag is mounted within a large timber frame with an engraved plaque at centre base, overall 89 x 150 cm The plaque reads as follows: This Australian Flag Was Signed For Captain George R. Hamilton, A.A.M.C., A.I.F. At the Hotel Carlton, London, By Marshal Foch On 26th June 1919, the Day of the Signing of Peace. After the March of the Allied Troops Through London, On Which Occasion When Called On to Speak, All the Genaralissimo Said Was - 'Do Not Thank Me - Thank the Soldiers.' Provenance: The family of Captain George R Hamilton, by descent. The Australian War Memorial holds 'The Kitchener Flag' with Foch's signature. https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C164767 The signature on George's flag matches the Foch signature on Awm's flag. Marshel Ferdinand Jean Marie Foch (1851 ? 1929) was a French general and military theorist who served as the Supreme Allied Commander during the First World War. An aggressive, even reckless commander at the First Marne, Flanders, and Artois campaigns of 1914?1916, Foch became the Allied Commander-in-Chief in 1918 and successfully coordinated the French, British, American, and Italian efforts into a coherent whole, deftly handling his strategic reserves. Foch was ultimately appointed 'Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Armies' on 26 March 1918 following being the Commander-in-Chief of Western Front with title Generalissime in 1918. He played a decisive role in halting a renewed German advance on Paris in the Second Battle of the Marne, after which he was promoted to Marshal of France. Addington says, 'to a large extent the final Allied strategy which won the war on land in Western Europe in 1918 was Foch's alone.' On 11 November 1918 Foch accepted the German request for an armistice. Foch advocated peace terms that would make Germany unable to pose a threat to France ever again. Foch considered the Treaty of Versailles too lenient on Germany and as the Treaty was being signed on 28 June 1919, he declared: 'This is not a peace. It is an armistice for twenty years'. His words proved prophetic: the Second World War started twenty years and 65 days later.