| Accession Number | P05139.001 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Black & white - Print silver gelatin |
| Maker |
Unknown |
| Place made | Australia: Tasmania |
| Date made | c 1916 |
| Conflict |
First World War, 1914-1918 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Studio portrait of Captain (Capt) Claude Henry Stubbings, 52nd Battalion, of Zeehan, Tas. He ...
Description
Studio portrait of Captain (Capt) Claude Henry Stubbings, 52nd Battalion, of Zeehan, Tas. He enlisted on 21 August 1914 and was appointed colour sergeant of D Company, 12th Battalion, with the service number 407. He embarked for service overseas from Hobart aboard HMAT Geelong on 20 October 1914. He was present at the landing on Gallipoli on 25 April 1915 and was promoted to second lieutenant three days later. On 4 August he was promoted to lieutenant but was evacuated sick to Malta on 21 August, suffering from severe gastro-enteritis. He rejoined his unit on Gallipoli in October. In March 1916 Stubbings transferred to 52nd Battalion before leaving for service in France. He was promoted to captain in May 1916 and was appointed adjutant of the battalion in August of that year. The following month he was given the command of the battalion's A Company. Stubbings was awarded the Military Cross for his actions at the Battle of Messines 28 August 1917. On 10 August 1918 he suffered a serious gunshot wound to the left thigh, which also fractured his femur. After hospitalisation in France and England his condition was sufficiently stable to allow him to be repatriated to Australia on 5 January 1919. On arrival in Melbourne he was transferred to No 11 Australian General Hospital at Caulfield, on 16 March 1919, housed in a private mansion called 'Glen Eira'. Here he endured a further eight operations on his leg, between April 1919 and February 1921 and also contracted osteomyelitis. While still confined to a wheelchair bed he was presented with his Military Cross by the Governor General Munro Ferguson. Stubbings fell in love with his hospital masseuse (physiotherapist), Catherine Campbell Bothroyd, and they married in 1921 after he was finally discharged from the AIF. He took up a soldier settler block at Red Cliffs in Victoria where he produced citrus fruit. During the Second World War Stubbings was involved with wartime manpower administration. He died in 1950.