Studio portrait of an Aboriginal serviceman, 50246 Trooper (Tpr) William (Willie) Allen, 11th ...

Studio portrait of an Aboriginal serviceman, 50246 Trooper (Tpr) William (Willie) Allen, 11th Light Horse Regiment. Originally from Darwin, Tpr Allen enlisted on 10 December 1917, and returned to Australia on 20 July 1919. This studio portrait was likely made in a studio in Cairo as the photographer has inserted a copy of a photograph sent to Trp Allen of the children of the family he worked for in Queensland in the top left hand corner of the portrait. The original of the photograph sent to Tpr Allen is in a frame standing on the desk. It is very likely Tpr Allen had this portrait made to send back to the same family in Queensland. Tpr Allen worked for William Galloway on his cane farm "Bellview", at Ayr in north Queensland. The children are, on the left; Archibald John Hepburn Galloway (born 11 March 1910) with his sister Norma Jean Hepburn Galloway (later Smekel) (born 14 September 1912) sitting beside him and their younger sister Catherine Heather Hepburn Galloway (later Hayck) (born 22 July 1915) sitting between them. In 2010 another sister, Wilma, aged 90, was able to supply the information about the portrait to the Memorial.