Monday 22 July 2013 by Nick Crofts.
First World War Centenary, ANZAC Connections
The Australian War Memorial is currently undertaking a project to create a comprehensive digital archive of the ANZACs and their deeds, and of the wider Australian experience of war. The collections selected for this project will reflect the experiences of Australian servicemen, nurses and civilians during the First World War, not just well-known personalities. This project will digitally preserve the Memorial’s collections as well as provide full copies for research on the Memorial’s website. As part of this project the Memorial is seeking contact with relatives of the people listed below. If you have any information about these people, or their descendants, the Memorial would love to talk to you. Please contact Nick Crofts – PubandDig[@]awm.gov.au
1166 Private Errol Cappie Nepean Devlin
Collection relating to the First World War service of 1166 Private Errol Cappie Nepean Devlin, 18 Battalion. This collection consists of letters and postcards sent by Devlin to his family in Sydney, between 1914 and 1915. Included in the collection is a letter sent to a boy of 7, Jim Brown, a handwritten copy, pidgin, of the German proclamation of annexation of the pacific, a copy of the New Testament and a souvenir Union Jack flag. The associated Roll of Honour Circular lists his next of kin as Mr Sidney William Devlin of 3 Cromer Flats, West Esplanade, Manly, New South Wales.
Collection number: 1DRL/0241.
Leading Signalman John William Seabrook
Collection relating to the First World War service of Leading Signalman John William Seabrook, HMAS Sydney. This collection consists of diaries kept by Seabrook between 1913 and 1918 and describing the places he visited, zeppelin, submarine encounters and the fight between the Sydney and the Emden. It also includes a transcribed copy of the diaries made in 2009 by the Museum of HMAS Cerberus. The associated Navy Personnel Record lists his next of kin as Mr John Seabrook of Essex, England.
Collection number: 1DRL/0669.
644 Private Frederick Warren Muir
Collection relating to the First World War service of 644 Private Frederick Warren Muir, 1 Battalion. This collection consists of a diary kept by Private Muir between March and November 1915, letters written to his mother in Unanderra, NSW and several condolence letters regarding his death in 1915. The letters were originally excerpted in the South Coast Times, Wollongong, during the war. The associated Roll of Honour Circular lists his next of kin as Ms Alice Blanche Chester O’Donnell of Unanderra, South Coast, New South Wales.
Collection number: 2DRL/0316.
12947 Private Albert Duffey
Collection relating to the First World War service of 12947 Private Albert Duffey, 2 Battalion, Devonshire Regiment, British Expeditionary Force. This collection consists of a scrapbook titled ‘Memories of 1914-1918-1942’ describing the experiences of Private Duffey throughout the First World War. The pictures in the scrapbook were taken from a long running serial titled ‘Twenty Years After’, edited by Major General Sir Ernest Swinton. Private Duffey arrived in Australia in the early 1920s and settled in Mayfield, New South Wales.
Collection number: 2DRL/1356.
Lieutenant Cyril Ednott Crooke
Collection relating to the First World War service of Lieutenant Cyril Ednott Crooke, Australian Flying Corps. This collection consists of a sketchbook containing illustrations of aeroplanes and transports encountered by Crooke throughout the war. Also included in the book are the signatures of 10 Victoria Cross winners, accompanied by a photograph of the group. The First World War Embarkation Roll lists his next of kin as Mr James Robert Crooke of Aspendale Park, Melbourne, Victoria.
Collection number: 3DRL/2497.
Engine Room Artificer Tom Rushworth
Collection relating to the First World War service of Engine Room Artificer Tom Rushworth, HMAS Australia. This collection consists of postcards exchanged between Rushworth and his friends, a souvenir menu, certificates he received while training, a sketch of Sir David Beatty and a letter recommending Rushworth for promotion. The associated Navy Personnel Record lists his next of kin as Mrs Lilian Rushworth, Lowe Street, Clovelly, Sydney, New South Wales.
Collection number 3DRL/7061.
Captain Clarence ‘Clarrie’ Wallach MC
Collection relating to the First World War service of Captain Clarence Wallach MC, 19 Battalion. This collection consists of a transcript of Clarence Wallach’s diary for 1915. In the diary, Wallach describes fighting alongside a Gurkha Battalionat Gallipoli, life in the trenches and the preparations for the evacuation, during which he was amongst the last men to withdraw. Captain was the second oldest of 6 brothers who served during the war, including Captain Neville Wallach MC. Prior to enlisting, Clarence Wallach had been a talented rugby player, appearing 5 times for Australia. The First World War Embarkation Roll lists his next of kin as Mrs H. Wallach of Penkivil Street, Bondi, Sydney, New South Wales.
Collection number: PR00677.
Lieutenant George Duncan Shaw
Collection relating to the First World War service of Lieutenant George Duncan Shaw, 28 Battalion. This collection consists of photocopies of letters and official documents relating to Shaw’s service, written between 1915 and 1979. The letters discuss Shaw’s memories of fighting at Gallipoli, especially around Russel’s Top, and comment on several articles written about the withdrawal from the area. The First World War Embarkation Roll lists his next of kin as Mr Eli Shaw of 40 Hinemoa Street Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.
Collection number: PR83/027.
Lieutenant Cyril Arnold Pryor MC
Collection relating to the First World War service of Lieutenant Cyril Arnold Pryor MC, 20 Battalion. This collection consists of Pryor’s diary written in letter form between 1914 and 1916 and the envelope in which it was sent. The entries in the diary describe his enlistment in 1914, his experiences of the Gallipoli campaign, the evacuation from the peninsula and comment on his service in France. In his entries about Gallipoli, Pryor provides a list of those purported to be the last to withdraw. The First World War Embarkation Roll lists his next of kin as Mrs Alice Pryor of Anglers’ Hotel, Walton-on-Thames, England.
Collection number: PR88/018.
Other useful links:
Australian War Memorial Search for a person – click here