| Accession Number | P05859.008 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Black & white - Print silver gelatin |
| Maker |
Unknown |
| Date made | c August 1916 |
| Conflict |
First World War, 1914-1918 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Studio portrait of four 14th Battalion officers. Identified left to right: Lieutenant (Lt) George ...
Description
Studio portrait of four 14th Battalion officers. Identified left to right: Lieutenant (Lt) George McKay Williamson; Lt Harold Boyd Wanliss DSO (seated left); Lt Reginald Walter (Reg) Jones MC MM and Lt Joseph (Joe) McKay 14th Battalion (seated right). Lt Williamson embarked from Brisbane with the 15th Battalion aboard HMAT A55 Kyarra on 16 August 1915. He transferred to the 14th Battalion in November 1915 and was promoted to Captain (Capt) in March 1917. He was awarded a Mention In Despatches (MID) and returned to Australia on 11 May 1919. Lt Wanliss, a farmer of Ballarat, Victoria, later appointed Captain, was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for conspicuous gallantry and bravery when leading a raiding party on a trench at Polygon Wood on the night of 2-3 July 1916. He was wounded in this action receiving wounds to the neck and face and losing some teeth (some scarring is evident in the image) and was killed in action on 26 September 1917 at Polygon Wood. Lt Jones enlisted in 1914 and embarked from Port Melbourne on 22 December 1914 aboard HMAT A38 Ulysses. He was awarded the Military Medal (MM) for service at Gallipoli and commissioned Lieutenant in August 1916. He was promoted to Captain in March 1917 and was awarded the Military Cross in July of that year. He was wounded on a number of occasions at Gallipoli and France, but after again being wounded in October 1917 while examining a German flare thrower (losing part of his thumb and his index finger), he was granted a leave of absence to Australia. He arrived in April 1918 and in September 1918 he joined the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF) and joined the Garrison in Rabaul where he was appointed Staff Captain. His appointment was terminated in May 1919. Lt McKay embarked with the 12th Reinforcements in November 1915 and returned to Australia in 1919. He enlisted for service in the Second World War and died in Australia of injuries on 25 February 1942, aged 47, a member of the 6th Australian Infantry Training Battalion.