Informal pre enlistment portrait of N286264 Private (Pte) David Cramp, 36 Battalion, of ...

Informal pre enlistment portrait of N286264 Private (Pte) David Cramp, 36 Battalion, of Broadmeadow, NSW. Pte Cramp worked in Newcastle, NSW, as an apprentice hairdresser. He was a keen soccer player and played the trumpet, hoping one day to form his own band. He enlisted in December 1941, and fashioned a guitar out of wood and used it to entertain his mates. Pte Cramp is still spoken of as "Our Dave" by the descendents of his parents Gordon and Catherine Cramp. The 36 Battalion arrived in New Guinea in May 1942. They carried out garrison duties and conducted patrols in the Owen Stanley Ranges. Returning to Port Moresby in October, they continued to push the Japanese back along the Kokoda Trail, attacking Buna, Gona and Sanananda. On 23 December 1942, Pte Cramp died after being shot by a sniper during the assault on Sanananda. He was 19 years of age.