Darge Photographic Company collection of negatives

Studio portrait of 2701 Private (Pte) Alfred James Mercer who enlisted and served under the name of Robert Jenson Murchell. Originally from London, England, Pte Murchell was a coach smith from Bairnsdale, Victoria prior to enlistment and embarked with the 6th Reinforcements, 24th Battalion from Melbourne on HMAT Ulysses on 27 October 1915. He later transferred to the 7th Battalion where he was wounded in action and admitted to hospital. Following his recovery he rejoined his battalion and on 25 July 1916 aged 36 he was killed in action and buried in the Pozieres British Cemetery, France. This is one of a series of photographs taken by the Darge Photographic Company which had a permit 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.