| Accession Number | P04366.007 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Black & white - Glass lantern slide |
| Maker |
Linton Slide |
| Date made | c 1917 |
| Conflict |
First World War, 1914-1918 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Studio portrait lantern slide of Warrant Officer Cecil Healy, the Australian Champion swimmer who ...
Description
Studio portrait lantern slide of Warrant Officer Cecil Healy, the Australian Champion swimmer who was killed in action near Peronne on 29 August 1918. On 15 September 1915 Healy enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force and after service as a quartermaster sergeant in the Army Service Corps in Egypt and France he transferred to the infantry officer school at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he swam, rowed, boxed and played rugby. On 1 June 1918 he was commissioned second lieutenant in the 19th (Sportsman's) Battalion and was killed in his first action. Healy won a gold medal at the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm in the 4x200 m freestyle relay and a silver medal in the 100 m freestyle events. This slide is one of a series used in a 1917 recruiting campaign to encourage sportsmen to enlist in a sportsmen's unit, such as had been successfully raised in England. The concept was not as popular in Australia.