Boat's lantern : Midshipman P H Wilson, HMAS Canberra

Pentagonal, tin-plated steel, candle-powered boat's lantern with clear glass sides. The lantern has a solid base bearing a central candle socket holder on a raised circular platform perforated around the edge with evenly punched holes. The hinged top of the lamp is also solid and is secured in place by a tab (missing), hook and chain, which thread into a riveted and soldered catch. Above this is a smaller 'lid' attached to the top with three rivetted and soldered metal tags. A swivelling metal handle with a wooden grip is rivetted to the upper edge. There is substantial shrapnel damage to the top of the lid. The body of the lantern has five metal uprights with grooves in each side to allow a pane of glass to be fitted down the side. The uprights are encircled by two bands of heavy gauge wire, which are soldered to them. One glass pane is broken across the corner; the other four are intact.

This lantern, from one of the ship's boats carried by the County class heavy cruiser HMAS Canberra, was damaged by flying shrapnel from one of the cruiser's funnels during the Battle of Savo Island, in the Solomon Islands, on the night of 9 August 1942. The Canberra, immobilised by torpedo and shell fire from Japanese ships, was left holed, on fire and without power. Of the 819 men she carried, 193 were killed or wounded, including her commander, Captain Getting. Two US destroyers, Patterson and Blue, evacuated the survivors in the early hours of 9 August and the badly listing cruiser was sunk by the US Navy at 8am to avoid it falling into enemy hands. The lantern was carried by Midshipman (later Commander) Peter Henley Wilson to the US destroyer that rescued him. Born in Armadale, Victoria, in 1924, Wilson joined the RAN as an officer cadet in February 1938. He graduated as a midshipman in January 1942 and was posted to HMAS Canberra. After her sinking he was posted briefly to HMAS Stuart before joining the Canberra's sister ship HMAS Australia for all of 1943. He was sent to Britain for further training and attached to the Royal Navy in 1944 and remained there until the end of the Second World War.