| Accession Number | P10992.004 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Black & white - Digital file TIFF |
| Maker |
Unknown |
| Place made | Australia: New South Wales, Sydney |
| Date made | c 1942 |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Informal portrait of NX55887 Corporal Alan Albert Thorncraft, ex 2/30 Battalion on his first ...
Description
Informal portrait of NX55887 Corporal Alan Albert Thorncraft, ex 2/30 Battalion on his first leave from hospital following the amputation of his lower right leg. On 18 May 1941, shortly before he was to embark for service with the 8th Division in Malaya, Corporal (Cpl) Thorncraft was involved in an accident when a Bren gun carrier carrying four men developed a defect in the side chain. The vehicle crashed through a bridge and dropped 15 feet, upside down in a dry creek on the Limekilns Road near Bathurst, NSW. The men were trapped in the carrier and unconscious for over an hour, until it was lifted. One man VX35665 Private Herbert Ivar Martin was killed; Captain Pride suffered shock and petrol burns, Cpl Thorncraft suffered both legs broken and the fourth man was Private Swaddling (unknown injuries).