| Places | |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | P08359.001 |
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Colour - Print hand-coloured black & white |
| Maker |
Unknown |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Studio portrait of VX23857 Acting Corporal (A/Cpl) Albert Louis Edward Cooper, 2/22 Battalion. ...
Description
Studio portrait of VX23857 Acting Corporal (A/Cpl) Albert Louis Edward Cooper, 2/22 Battalion. A/Cpl Cooper enlisted on 7 June 1940 and served in New Britain. Following the Japanese invasion of January 1942, he was taken prisoner of war (POW) and held at Rabaul. On 22 June 1942 A/Cpl Cooper was one of an estimated 845 POWs and 209 civilians 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.