| Accession Number | P10965.003 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Digital file |
| Maker |
Leary's Studio |
| Date made | 1951 |
| Conflict |
Period 1950-1959 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
2341 Private (Pte) William Kearsey and Verdun Frances Mary on their wedding day, 1951. Pte ...
Description
2341 Private (Pte) William Kearsey and Verdun Frances Mary on their wedding day, 1951. Pte Kearsey was a 24 year old coach builder from Inverell, New South Wales, when he enlisted with the AIF. He had previously attempted to enlist but had been rejected due to poor vision in his left eye. He had this surgically corrected and successfully enlisted in April 1916 with the 33rd Battalion. Following a shell explosion in the Ypres area (somewhere between Potsdam pillbox and Ypres) on 3 October 1917, Kearsey lost a significant portion of his nose and forehead. He was admitted to Queen's Hospital in Sidcup, Kent UK, in November 1917 and underwent no less than 29 reconstructive operations during his 18 months there. He was discharged, medically unfit, from the AIF on 14 February 1921.