| Accession Number | P10695.001 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Black & white - Print silver gelatin |
| Maker |
Unknown |
| Place made | Australia |
| Date made | 1941 |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Studio portrait of V11405 / VX129353 Gunner (Gnr) David Leith Bell Royal Australian Artillery ...
Description
Studio portrait of V11405 / VX129353 Gunner (Gnr) David Leith Bell Royal Australian Artillery (RAA). Gnr Bell was a storeman and clerk when he enlisted in Melbourne on 3 March 1941, with three years previous artillery experience. He served with the 2/1 Heavy Battery RAA on New Britain, as part of Lark Force, until he was taken prisoner of war (POW). On 22 June 1942 Gnr Bell 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.