| Accession Number | P08424.032 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Black & white - Digital file TIFF |
| Maker |
Unknown |
| Place made | Australia: Northern Territory, Darwin |
| Date made | c 1942-1943 |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Members of 2/2 Independent Company (Sparrow Force) have just returned from service in Timor and ...
Description
Members of 2/2 Independent Company (Sparrow Force) have just returned from service in Timor and are recovering from their ordeal. The men are still wearing the long thick beards grown during the months of fighting and evading capture by the Japanese. Most of these guerilla fighters grew beards because of the lack of shaving gear and also as a means of camouflage in the jungle. 2/2 Independent Company was later renamed 2/2 Cavalry Commando Squadron and fought in New Guinea and New Britain. Identified are, left to right: WX8507 Sergeant Douglas Raymond Fullerton; VX38890 Captain (Capt) David St Alban "Dade" Dexter (front); WX9954 Lieutenant (Lt) Harry John Morgan (back) and WX11488 Lance Corporal John Lawrence Maley. Promoted to Corporal, Maley was later killed in action in New Guinea on 12 August 1943, just before Capt Dexter was seriously wounded. This image is from the collection of Lieutenant Paul Merrick (Mick) Dexter, brother of David Dexter, who enlisted in the Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RANV) in 1943, and was a watchkeeper and anti-submarine specialist on Corvettes between 1944 and 1946.