| Place | Oceania: New Guinea1 |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | P01035.002 |
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Black & white |
| Physical description | Black & white |
| Place made | New Guinea1 |
| Date made | c 1942 |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Four spotters from the New Guinea Air Warning Wireless Company (NGAWW) sitting by their tent. ...
Description
Four spotters from the New Guinea Air Warning Wireless Company (NGAWW) sitting by their tent. Identified, left to right: R Pardy; S Savage; B P (Spud) Murphy MM, and C Turnbull MM. Note the strain and exhaustion showing on the last two men, this is because they are being relieved at Kokoda after having been through the entire Kokoda campaign. Murphy and Turnbull relieved the spotters at Kokoda only hours before the Japanese overran the location. They remained on duty continuously, often under fire, often without rations for days, passing their own signal traffic [transmitting messages] and that of the 2/21st Infantry Brigade. They needed to move their station on at least six occasions before they finally lost their transmitter to gunfire at Deniki. Both were awarded the Military Medals for ‘Courage and resourcefulness at Kokoda in July 1942’.