| Places | |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | P08765.001 |
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Colour - Toned black & white print |
| Maker |
Monica Photo |
| Place made | Australia: New South Wales, Sydney, Neutral Bay |
| Date made | 1940 |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Studio portrait of NX26478 Private (Pte) Ernest Leslie Burgess, 8th Division Supply Column ...
Description
Studio portrait of NX26478 Private (Pte) Ernest Leslie Burgess, 8th Division Supply Column Mechanical Transport, of Picton, NSW. A typewriter mechanic and truck driver prior to his enlistment on 19 June 1940 Pte Burgess 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 Pte Burgess 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 17 Anti Tank Battery, No. 1 Independent Company, 2/22 Battalion, 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.