| Places | |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | AWM2016.797.1 |
| Collection type | Private Record |
| Record type | Collection |
| Measurement | Extent: 1 cm; Wallet/s: 1 |
| Object type | Diary |
| Maker |
Capner, Frederick Charles |
| Place made | Australia, German New Guinea: New Guinea |
| Date made | 1914-1915 |
| Access | Open |
| Conflict |
First World War, 1914-1918 |
| Copying Provisions | Copyright restrictions apply. Only personal, non-commercial, research and study use permitted. Permission of copyright holder required for any commercial use and/or reproduction. |
Capner, Frederick Charles (b.1888 - d.1970)
Description
Collection relating to the First World War service of Frederick Charles Capner, Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF) 1914-1915. Capner was recruited as police master to establish a police force in and around Manus Island during the AN&MEF campaign from 1914-1915.
Collection consists of a buff-coloured German 1908 'Routen Aufnahme-Buch' (travel record book), with the initial advertising pages and information relating to sea journeys, written in German. The diary contains detailed notes spanning the period 5 August 1915 (the declaration of war by Great Britain), to Capner's return to Australia, subsequent work for the AN&MEF and then discharge on 11 March 1915. The diary contains a detailed list of people within the AN&MEF and their positions; a daily log of events that occurred while he was on-board HMAS Berrima; his duties; enemy engagements; the capture of German soldiers who remained in New Guinea, accounts of food, casualties, and the training of a local police force. Also included are mentions of skirmishes and engagements with German forces, including the ‘Battle of Red Cross Hill’.
Capner discharged from the AN&MEF in March 1915, and worked as a lawyer in later life.