Hawkey, Francis Henry (Sergeant, b.1911 - d.2008)

Collection relating to the Second World War service of VX30460 Sergeant Francis Henry Hawkey, Australian Army Pay Corps, Second Australian Imperial Force, Australia and the Middle East, 1940-1941.

Wallet 1 of 1 – Contains one diary of Sergeant Francis Henry Hawkey, consisting of small lined pages bound with string [two loose pages]. This diary contains entries dated between June 1940 and November 1941, and covers the period of Sergeant Hawkey’s embarkation and service as a clerk in the Middle East. In his diary, Sergeant Hawkey writes about his enlistment, embarkation, having leave in Colombo, arriving in Egypt, his impressions of Palestine, descriptions of local environments, camping on a First World War battlefield, being inspected by General Blamey, sightseeing in Jerusalem, participating in route marches, having leave in Cairo, having glasses fitted, being transferred to several different units, and experiencing air raids.