The grave of 79736 Private (Pte) William Henry Malthouse, Australian Navy and Military ...

The grave of 79736 Private (Pte) William Henry Malthouse, Australian Navy and Military Expeditionary Force (AN & MEF), of Burwood NSW (originally from Surrey, England), who died of illness on 6 December 1918 (the date on the headstone reads 7 December 1918). Private Malthouse was buried in the cemetery of the prisoner of war Lager at Güstrow, Germany. The monument reads "IN LOVING MEMORY OF PTE W H MALTHOUSE 2nd Australian N & M Forces. Prisoner Of War. Died at Gustrow on 7th December 1918. Aged 53 years. RIP Erected by his Australian Fellow Prisoners." Flowers and a wreath with a ribbon have been placed on the grave. The graves of other soldiers are in the background. Pte Malthouse had been aboard SS Matunga bound for Rabaul, New Britain when the vessel was captured by the German Navy raider Wolf and taken north west to Offak Bay in Waigeu Island. A fortnight after arriving there, 26 August 1917, the Germans unloaded personnel and cargo and sank the ship. The crew and passengers from SS Matunga were taken aboard the Wolf, eventually landed at Kiel, Germany, some six months later, and were then interned at the POW camp at Güstrow. The handwritten note on the reverse of the image reads "5199 Sgt W G Groves 14th Bn AIF." One of a series of 157 images from the collection of 4199 Sergeant William Charles Groves, 14th Battalion, an Australian prisoner of war held at Güstrow POW camp.