Studio portrait of 507 Private (Pte) James Cullin Gaffney, 8th Reinforcements, 8th Machine Gun ...

Studio portrait of 507 Private (Pte) James Cullin Gaffney, 8th Reinforcements, 8th Machine Gun Company, of Hynam, SA (left), and 1362 2nd Air Mechanic John Henry Arthur (Jack) Treacy, 4th Reinforcements, 2nd Australian Flying Squadron, of Adelong, NSW, dressed as a private sitting behind a Vickers Maxim .303 machine gun. Prior to enlisting in the AIF on 20 May 1916, Pte Gaffney served with the 71st Infantry, Citizens Military Forces. He embarked from Melbourne aboard HMAT Medic on 16 December 1916. Whilst serving with the 5th Machine Gun Battalion, he was awarded the Military Medal (MM) on 10 October 1919 for his actions in the Division's capture of Peronne, in September 1918. Prior to enlistment in the AFC on 3 July 1916, Jack Treacy was an apprenticed mechanical engineer with a Sydney company. He embarked from Melbourne aboard HMAT Orsova on 6 December 1916. He was posted to England attached to the Royal Flying Corps in their mobile workshop as a mechanic. Three months later he transferred to the cadet school at Reading and trained as a pilot. He was then posted to 66 Squadron training school, where after flying several of their fighting machines for a very limited number of hours, he was presented with his RFC wings, a log book and posted to France. Other images from this studio which display this machine gun prop include P06012.001; P06493.001; P07654.003; P11519.008 and P11519.010.