| Accession Number | P05535.001 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Colour - Print hand coloured black & white |
| Maker |
Lange, Eitel |
| Date made | c 1940 |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Studio portrait of VX38513 Gunner (Gnr) Leslie Clifton Wilkin, 3rd Light Anti Aircraft Regiment, ...
Description
Studio portrait of VX38513 Gunner (Gnr) Leslie Clifton Wilkin, 3rd Light Anti Aircraft Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery, of Wonthaggi, Vic. Born in Surrey Hills, Vic, in 1920, Gnr Wilkin enlisted on 2 August 1940, in Royal Park, Vic. before embarking from Melbourne on 29 December 1940, he married Jean Cawood at the Collins Street Baptist Church on 23 November 1940. He was listed as missing, presumed to be a prisoner of war (POW) during heavy fighting in Egypt in April 1941. It was not until his wife received a card from a boyhood friend, VX41455 Gnr Alexander Joseph Robert Barnett, written several months later from a POW camp, that she knew he had been killed in action 7 April 1941. Gnr Wilkin was originally buried in the desert, and Gnr Barnett was allowed to attend under heavy German guard. His remains were later identified by the Australian Army and reburied in the Knightsbridge War Cemetery in Acroma, Lybia.