| Accession Number | P10707.001 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Black & white - Print silver gelatin |
| Maker |
Leslie, Julia |
| Place made | Australia: New South Wales, Sydney |
| Date made | c 1941 |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Studio portrait of NX52916 Private (Pte) Keith Morden Smith. A retail store supervisor from ...
Description
Studio portrait of NX52916 Private (Pte) Keith Morden Smith. A retail store supervisor from Lindfield, NSW, Pte Smith embarked with the 17 Anti Tank Battery from Sydney aboard the HMAT Zealandia on 9 September 1941 and 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 Smith 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.