Studio portrait of 658 Private (Pte) Hugh Lamont, 24th Battalion of Moe, Victoria. A farm hand ...

Studio portrait of 658 Private (Pte) Hugh Lamont, 24th Battalion of Moe, Victoria. A farm hand prior to enlistment on 16 March 1915, Pte Lamont embarked from Melbourne aboard HMAT Euripides (A14) on 10 May 1915. He arrived at Gallipoli on 30 August and was promoted to Lance Corporal just prior to the evacuation of the AIF in December. On 27 May 1916, Lance Corporal Lamont died of injuries in France, aged 25. After an inquiry into his death, a board found that he died as a result "of a self inflicted shot wound as the result of a mental aberation, as there is a complete absence of either motive or premeditation". He is buried at Erquinghem-Lys Churchyard Extension, France. This portrait was sent by an Australian relative to Hugh's brother, 1163 Pte Frederick Harold Lamont, 29th Battalion, who enlisted three months after Hugh and who was reported missing in action on 20 July 1916 at the Battle of Fromelles. Pte Frederick Lamont was officially reported a Prisoner of War three months later and was repatriated to England in December 1918.