He's the mysterious young soldier who is referred to by WWI historians simply as the 'Handsome Man'. But the unknown digger has been drawn into the centre of an Anzac Day controversy after his image was used to front Woolworths' 'Fresh in our memories' ad campaign, which has been slammed for commercialising the centenary of Anzac and forcibly shut down by the government. Little is known about the man pictured wearing a uniform and slouch hat. He was a soldier of the First Australian Imperial Force, and his photograph was taken sometime between 1915 and 1918 in Sydney, before he embarked for service. Scroll down for video . A mysterious young soldier known as the 'Handsome Man' has been drawn into the centre of an Anzac Day controversy after his image was used to front Woolworths' 'Fresh in our memories' ad campaign . The studio portrait of the Handsome Man was featured in a 2008 Australian War Memorial (AWM) exhibition titled Icon and Archive, with the AWM appealing to the public to help identify him. Since then the AWM received a lot of responses from people with possible identifications but none have been correct. Last week, Woolworths launched its 'Fresh in our Memories' campaign and website, which attracted a barrage of criticism from customers accusing the company of trying to cash in on Anzac Day. The campaign invites Aussies to create a profile picture and cover photo for their Facebook page, in memory of the service men and women of World War I, complete with the Woolworths logo and a 'Fresh in our memories' slogan. In February this year, the advertising agency hired by Woolworths to create their Anzac campaign - Carrspace - contacted the AWM asking for images of soldiers. The AWM said it gave the company four image options, including three different soldiers and a nurse. But Carrspace chose instead to use the striking image of the Handsome Man, without seeking permission. A recent online campaign led by Woolworths has caused outrage among customers who have accused the supermarket giant for cashing in on Anzac Day . The campaign invites Aussies to create a profile picture and cover photo for their Facebook page, in memory of the service men and women of World War I, complete with the Woolworths logo . An AWM spokesman said: 'The terms and conditions provided to anyone using Memorial images specifies that images are not to be cropped, overprinted or altered in any way without the prior written approval of the Memorial. 'The agency has not provided the final images and product to the Memorial for its approval before publication which is in breach of these terms and conditions.' The AWM spokesman added that Carrspace claimed to be working on a campaign in conjunction with Camp Gallipoli and the Returned Services League. But RSL chief Sam Jackson told Daily Mail Australia the organisation was not consulted over the campaign, and Camp Gallipoli chief Chris Fox said he had never heard of Carrspace and had no association with them. Woolworths and Carrspace also failed to seek permission from the Department of Veterans' Affairs to use the word 'Anzac' for commercial purposes, as is required by law. The company could face fines of up to $50,000 for breaching this rule. The Minister for Veterans' Affairs has slammed Woolworths for its unauthorised use of the word 'Anzac' A Carrspace spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia that all inquiries must go through Woolworths. Earlier on Tuesday the company took down and then reactivated its Twitter account. It also deleted information about its partnership with Woolworths from the company website. A Woolworths spokesman said the company was standing by a statement released on Tuesday night when the 'Fresh in our memories' website was taken down. Minister for Veterans' Affairs Michael Ronaldson slammed Woolworths for its unauthorised use of the word 'Anzac' in an ad and said he forced the company to take the website down. 'The Australian community quite rightly expects that the word "Anzac" is not trivialised or used inappropriately and as Minister for Veterans' Affairs, I am responsible for ensuring that any use of the word "Anzac" does not provide commercial benefit to an organisation,' Minister Ronaldson said. 'In this instance, permission was not sought by the campaign proponents, nor would it have been approved.' 'Fresh in our Memories' was launched last week in the lead up to the centenary marking the landing at Gallipoli . Those who are unimpressed by the campaign have branded it as 'disrespectful' and 'disgusting' while others also posted their own versions of the Woolworths generated images . Minister Ronaldson became aware of it when consumers branded the website 'disrespectful' and 'disgusting'. 'While I acknowledge that Woolworths moved quickly to address the situation, I hope this is a reminder to others that the regulations are in place for good reason and that they will be rigorously enforced,' he said. RSL chief Sam Jackman said the organisation was not consulted over the campaign by Woolworths or Carrspace, adding that she was concerned over the commercialisation of anything to do with Anzac Day. 'They made an error of judgement in using it in the first place and they recognised that pretty quickly,' Mrs Jackman said. She added that the supermarket had been a longstanding financial supporter of veterans' organisations. Camp Gallipoli chief Chris Fox said Woolworths is the principle sponsor of the RSL ANZAC Flame for Camp Gallipoli events this year, which will be held around Australia and New Zealand on April 24 and 25 and will see members of the public camp out to honour the 100th anniversary of Gallipoli. The supermarket's campaign backfired with customers taking to Facebook and Twitter to vent their anger . The supermarket has been inundated with comments like the one pictured on social media . Mr Fox said his not-for-profit organisation had no association with Carrspace, but would continue to work with Woolworths in the future. ‘We’re proud of anyone that stands up as a corporate and supports serving personnel and the RSL and initiatives like Camp Gallipoli,’ he said. ‘It’s just unfortunate that this piece of advertising has crossed the line, it’s quite a disappointing thing to see.’ A spokeswoman for Woolworths told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday night that 'Fresh in our Memories' was not a marketing strategy. 'It is a website designed in consultation with the RSL for people to share their photos, stories and memories,' she said. 'As one of Australia's largest employers, Woolworths has spent months collecting stories from our staff for the site. All profits from the sale of merchandise on the site goes to the RSL. Twitter was flooded with memes of the Woolworths campaign. Pictured is Prime Minister Tony Abbott . A photo of former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd has also been used in the Wooloworths Anzac Day campaign . 'We are proud to support the RSL and our diggers. Like all Australians, we pay our respects to service people past and present. 'Our small logo on the site is in line with other corporately sponsored Centenary of ANZAC activity.' The spokeswoman later confirmed the website had been taken down. 'The site was developed to give our staff and customers a place to put their stories to mark the Centenary of ANZAC,' she said. 'We regret that our branding on the picture generator has caused offense, this was clearly never our intention. Like many heritage Australian companies, we were marking our respect for ANZAC and our veterans. 'We continue to be proud supporters of the RSL and Camp Gallipoli in this important year and look forward to working with them into the future.' Mrs Jackson said the RSL was not consulted about the campaign. Woolworths refused to provide any comment in addition to its original statement. Other consumers got creative and posted their own versions of the Woolworths generated images .
The Woolworths 'Fresh in our Memories' campaign launched last week . It invited customers to upload images to remember Australian soldiers . The supermarket then added a Woolworths logo and slogan to the image . Customers took to social media to mock the campaign and express their anger with what they saw as a marketing ploy by the company . The soldier whose image was used to plug the campaign is unidentified . All that is know about the young man is that his photo was taken sometime between 1915 and 1918 before the he embarked from Australia for service .