Darge Photographic Company collection of negatives

Portrait of Lieutenant (Lt) Drayton and Corney (positions unknown). They are probably Lt Frederick Drayton and Lt Frank Robertson Corney, both of C Company, 31st Battalion, who embarked from Melbourne aboard HMAT Wandilla (A62) on 9 November 1915. During his service Drayton was promoted to Captain and awarded the French Croix de Guerre for displaying coolness and courage of a high order during operations at Petillon, France, on 19 to 20 July 1916. He returned to Australia on 22 August 1919. Corney transferred to the 25th Battalion in February 1916. He received gun shot wounds to the hand in August that year and was awarded the Military Cross (MC) "for conspicuous gallantry in action. Although wounded, he led his men with great courage and determination, capturing and consolidating the enemy's trenches. He remained with his men for twelve hours". He was again wounded in April 1917. Later in his service he transferred to the 26th Battalion, and in 1919 married Lucy Keziah Good in England before returning to Australia. This is one of a series of photographs taken by the Darge Photographic Company which had a concession to take photographs at the Broadmeadows and Seymour army camps during the First World War. In the 1930s, the Australian War Memorial purchased the original glass negatives from Algernon Darge, along with the photographers' notebooks. The notebooks contain brief details, usually a surname or unit name, for each negative. The names are transcribed as they appear in the notebooks. See also A03377.