| Accession Number | P10125.002 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Black & white - Print silver gelatin |
| Maker |
Unknown |
| Place made | Australia: Victoria, Melbourne |
| Date made | 23 November 1940 |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Informal portrait of VX38513 Gunner (Gnr) Leslie Clifton Wilkin, 3 Light Anti Aircraft Regiment, ...
Description
Informal portrait of VX38513 Gunner (Gnr) Leslie Clifton Wilkin, 3 Light Anti Aircraft Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery, and Jean Laurie Cawood on their wedding day. Gnr Wilkin and Jean Cawood were married at Collins Street Baptist Church, Melbourne, on 23 November 1940. Gnr Wilkin later embarked from Melbourne on 29 December 1940. He was listed as missing, presumed to be a prisoner of war (POW) during heavy fighting in Egypt in April 1941. It was not until his wife, Jean, received a card from his boyhood friend, VX41455 Gnr Alexander Joseph Robert Barnett, written several months later from a POW camp, that she knew he had died from wounds received in action on 7 April 1941. Gnr Wilkin was originally buried in the desert, and Gnr Barnett was allowed to attend his funeral under heavy German guard. His remains were later identified by the Australian Army and reburied in the Knightsbridge War Cemetery in Acroma, Libya.