WW2 Australian Tubercular Soldiers’ Aid Society (TSAS) fund raising badge

Incredible to have survived, this badge a Tubercular Soldiers’ Aid Society (TSAS) fund raising badge depicting an Australian slouch hat soldier, V-sign, Red Cross, “Tubercular Soldiers Aid Soc,” and “Sixpence Appeal.” 

Returning Australian troops from WWI trenches contracted TB via squalor, overcrowding, and gas vulnerability—fewer cases than Europe but a major repatriation issue. Disease spread to families; government sanatoriums like Angorichina Hostel (1927, Flinders Ranges) treated them exclusively.

TSAS ran annual sixpence badge appeals through WWII (badges to 1 shilling by 1948), subsidizing hostels and support for aging diggers. Evolved into broader TB groups like Sailors, Soldiers & Airmen TB Association.

These cheap, disposable badges used printed lithographed paper laminated or waxed for durability, pinned for lapel wear during street appeals. Common in Australia/UK for WWI/II fundraisers due to low cost for mass production.
Updated Context
Your badge matches Tubercular Soldiers’ Aid Society (TSAS) style: Australian slouch hat soldier, V-sign, Red Cross, “Tubercular Soldiers Aid Soc,” and “Sixpence Appeal.” A near-identical 1944 rectangular cardboard version exists (white background, same pose/text), confirming the design persisted into WWII.