Studio portrait of Captain (Capt) Eric Webb, 7th Field Company Engineers, who enlisted in Sydney ...

Studio portrait of Captain (Capt) Eric Webb, 7th Field Company Engineers, who enlisted in Sydney but was originally of Papanui, New Zealand, and James Francis (Frank) Hurley. The portrait was probably taken in 1916 while both Webb and Hurley were in London. Capt Webb enlisted on 29 September 1915 and embarked from Sydney on HMAT Suffolk on 22 December 1915. Webb served with distinction until the termination of his appointment on 7 April 1920. On 29 December 1916 he was awarded the Military Cross (MC) for distinguished service in the field. During operations at Peronne between 29-31 August 1918, and with the rank of Major, Webb was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for displaying 'the greatest courage, skill, and powers of leadership and organisation in constructing and repairing bridges for crossing the Somme, under continuous shell and machine-gun fire.' Webb was also twice Mentioned in Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig's Despatches, on 7 April 1918 and again on 16 March 1919. Before enlistment, Capt Webb was an Assistant Engineer with the New Zealand Public Works Department. As a 22 year old, he had travelled to Antarctica with Sir Douglas Mawson's 1911-1914 Australasian Antarctic Expedition, as the expedition's magnetician. On Mawson's expedition he met Frank Hurley, the expedition's official photographer. After returning from Mawson's expedition, Hurley returned to Antarctica as the official photographer of Ernest Shackleton's 1914-1916 expedition. He was in London promoting his photographs and film of Shackleton's expedition when he was appointed to the Australian War Records Section as an official photographer. With fellow official photographer George Hubert Wilkins, Hurley embarked for France on 21 August 1917.