Darge Photographic Company collection of negatives

Studio portrait of two Australian soldiers recorded in the photographer's notebook as H J Wicks and Cook. 1792 Private (Pte) Harold John Wicks, 29th Battalion from Ararat, Victoria was an 18 year old messenger prior to enlisting on 10 July 1915. He embarked for overseas with the 2nd Reinforcements from Melbourne on 29 October 1915 aboard HMAT Demosthenes. After arriving in Egypt he joined the 46th Battalion on 6 March 1916 and transferred to the 45th Battalion on 2 April 1916. He deployed to France with the 45th Battalion on 8 June 1916 and was killed in action on 11 August 1916. Pte Wicks is buried in the Pozieres British Cemetery, Ovillers-La-Boisselle, France. The other soldier is possibly 1887 Acting Corporal Harry Orme Cook, 29th Battalion from Broadmeadows, Victoria who embarked with the same Reinforcements as Pte Wicks. A 34 year old grocer prior to enlisting on 17 August 1914, he originally embarked as a Private (service number 499) with the 2nd Battalion on 18 October 1914. While serving at Gallipoli, he was taken ill and evacuated to Australia arriving on 17 October 1915. After embarking the second time (with service number 1997), he joined the 2nd Battalion in Belgium on 18 September 1916 and then joined the 62nd Battalion in France on 5 May 1917. He returned to Australia on 18 November 1917 and was discharged medically unfit on 19 February 1918. He later enlisted in the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force on 18 September 1918 and embarked for New Guinea on 2 October 1918 with service number 1541. After serving at Rabaul, he returned to Australia on 30 September 1919 and was discharged medically unfit on 2 January 1920. 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.