A photograph taken of soldier sitting next to pile of German equipment published in late 1917 has become one of the best-known photographs of World War I.
Titled 'Wild Eye, the souvenir king' it featured the subject of a soldier called John 'Barney' Hines who was born in Liverpool on October 11, 1878.
John Hines, originally named Johannes Heim, was the son of German immigrant parents Jacob and Dora Heim and lived in the Scotland Road area of Vauxhall.
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Jacob married Hannah Maher at Our Lady's Church in Eldon Street in 1899, and together they had two children.
Before he enlisted as a soldier in The Great War, Hines served in the British Army and Royal Navy.
However, after emigrating to New Zealand in 1904, the wayward Liverpudlian amassed a long criminal record that included numerous convictions for theft, obscene language and even assaulting a policeman.
In 1915, Hines enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force, falsely claiming to be just 28 years of age.
He was discharged in 1916 due to poor health but re-joined months later, serving on the Western Front, fighting the German forces during World War I.
It was during this time that he gained his reputation as a brave soldier, but also one that had a habit of taking souvenirs from fallen German soldiers.
The famous photograph of Hines was taken by Australian photographer Frank Hurley after the Battle of Polygon Wood in September 1917 and used as propaganda.
It shows Hines sitting among his looted items that included a German soldier's helmet, ammunition, grenades, as well as money and other personal trinkets taken from the dead.
Despite his kleptomania, Hines was admired by his fellow soldiers as an exceptional fighter whose bravery stood out in the bloodiest conflict the world had ever seen.
It's been claimed he killed more German soldiers than anyone else serving in the Australian army.
A wartime commander once described Hines as "a tower of strength to the battalion...while he was in the line."
Known to his fellow soldiers as 'Wild Eyes', his battlefield escapades soon became famous.
Disliking to use his rifle, he would go into action clutching two sand bags stuffed with Mills bombs (British hand grenades).
Battalion officers recognised his natural fighting ability but despaired of ever turning him into a disciplined soldier.
However, Lieutenant Colonel Allen is said to have had a brainwave and gave Hines a Lewis gun (a large World War I gas powered machine gun).
Entranced by the weapon and its power, Hines is said to have growled: "This'll do me...it's just like hosing the b******s down".
After the war, Hines lived in poverty in a makeshift tent on the outskirts of Sydney, Australia for 40 years until his death in 1958.
In a biography of Hines published in 2002, historian Peter Stanley commented that "'Wild Eyes' bravado conceals a deeper pathos" and he "was a man whose skills in fighting were needed and whose knack for souveniring was admired, but he had few gifts that a peaceful society valued".
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