Wainwright, Victor Ernest Ross (Sergeant, b.1915 - d.1942)

Collection relating to the Second World War service of NX54267 Sergeant Victor Ernest Ross Wainwright, 17 Anti-Tank Battery, Second Australian Imperial Force, Australia and Rabaul, 1941.

Wallet 1 of 1 – Consists of one photograph and one letter relating to Sergeant Wainwright. The photograph, taken in August 1941, depicts Sergeant Wainwright (centre), his wife Winifred Burnie Wainwright (née Scott) (right), and his sister-in-law Janet Blair Scott (left). The letter, dated circa late 1941, was written by Sergeant Wainwright to his sister-in-law, Janet Blair Scott, while he was serving with 17 Anti-Tank Battery in Rabaul, New Guinea. In his letter, Sergeant Wainwright thanks her for a parcel of sweets that she sent. He then writes about having a more quiet time, there being less air raids than normal, and sightseeing.

Sergeant Victor Earnest Ross Wainwright enlisted to the Second Australian Imperial Force on 24 June 1940. After undergoing a period of training, he joined 17 Anti-Tank Battery and served at Rabaul, New Guinea. In January 1942, Sergeant Wainwright became a prisoner of war when the Japanese captured Rabaul. He, alongside more than 1,000 other prisoners, was ordered to board the Japanese transport ship, Montevideo Maru, on 22 June 1942. On 1 July 1942, the ship was torpedoed by an American Submarine, and all of the prisoners of war, including Sergeant Wainwright, were killed. Sergeant Wainwright is commemorated at Rabaul Memorial, Papua New Guinea.