| Places | |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | P07472.001 |
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Black & white - Digital print |
| Maker |
Unknown |
| Place made | Australia: South Australia |
| Date made | c 1915 |
| Conflict |
First World War, 1914-1918 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Studio portrait of 4551 Private (Pte) Thomas William Pearson, 10th Battalion, of Kadina SA, and ...
Description
Studio portrait of 4551 Private (Pte) Thomas William Pearson, 10th Battalion, of Kadina SA, and his three sons. A farmer prior to enlistment Pte Pearson embarked on HMAT Miltiades (A28) on 7 February 1916. He served in Palestine and the Western Front and was promoted to Lance Corporal (L Cpl). On 22 September 1916, L Cpl Pearson, aged 36, died of wounds received in action in Belgium. On the right is Rex Whiting Pearson, later member for Flinders from 1941 until 1951, and a senator until his death in 1961. The youngest son is Howard Pearson who became a Methodist minister and missionary in New Britain. Following the Japanese invasion of January 1942, he was taken prisoner and held at Rabaul. On 22 June 1942 Howard Pearson was one of an estimated 209 civilians and 845 POWs who embarked from Rabaul aboard the Japanese transport ship MV Montevideo Maru. The POWs were members of 2/22 Battalion, No. 1 Independent Company, and other units of Lark Force. Civilians included officials of the New Guinea Administration and missionaries. The ship sailed unescorted for Hainan Island. On 1 July 1942 all the prisoners died when the Montevideo Maru was torpedoed by a US Navy submarine, USS Sturgeon, off the coast of Luzon Island in the Philippines. On the left is Glen Gardner Pearson. He took over his elder brother's seat in Parliament in 1951 and was knighted in 1970.