Darge Photographic Company collection of negatives

Studio portrait of 2629 Private (Pte) Edward Heathcote Culph. A postal assistant from Collingwood, Victoria, Pte Culph had originally embarked for overseas service with the 2nd Reinforcements, 5th Battalion on HMAT Clan Macgillivray on 2 February but had returned to Australia on 21 March 1915 and was discharged as medically unfit. Subsequently re-enlisting, he re-embarked with the 6th Reinforcements, 57th Battalion from Melbourne on HMAT Nestor on 2 October 1916. Later transferring to the 4th Divisional Signals Company with the rank of Sapper, he was awarded the Military Medal. The citation reads in part “His indeed was a great show of courage and determination and his conspicuous gallantry was a splendid example to all”. He returned to Australia on 12 May 1919. This is one of a series of photographs taken by the Darge Photographic Company which had the 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. See also DA16434.