| Accession Number | AWM2019.936.7 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | |
| Conflict |
Period 1890-1899 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
| 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. |
Child portrait of 5561 Second Lieutenant (2Lt) Roy Lytton Cummings, No. 5 Training Squadron, ...
Description
Child portrait of 5561 Second Lieutenant (2Lt) Roy Lytton Cummings, No. 5 Training Squadron, Australian Flying Corps. On the back of the image is caption reading "To dear Auntie with love from Roy". Photograph is stored in a formal portrait card and includes a slip of paper from "Petty France, Badminton, S.O., Glos." with 23 crosses and Cummings name writted on it.
An orchardist prior to enlisting on 18 August 1915, 2Lt Cummings embarked from Melbourne aboard the HMAT Ballarat (A70) on 9 September 1915. He originally enlisted with the 3rd Field Ambulance and saw a short period of service in the last months of the Gallipoli campaign. In January 1916, he successfully applied to be remustered as a Driver and saw service in France with No 4 Ammunition Sub Park at Rouen until July 1917, when he applied for a transfer to the Flying Corps and was accepted on 29 September 1917. Assigned to No. 5 Training Squadron, Australian Flying Corps (based at Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire), in early 1918, Cummings quickly displayed an impressive flair for flying. Second Lieutenant Cummings passed his instructor's course in May 1918, and actively trained student pilots at Minchinhampton until he was killed on 28 August 1918 in a flying accident. He was 24 years old.
This image is part of a larger collection relating to the service of the Cumming brothers: 5561 Second Lieutenant Roy Lytton Cummings, No. 5 Training Squadron, Australian Flying Corps; 1026 Second Lieutenant Eric Douglas Cummings DFC, No. 2 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps; and the First and Second World war service of 131/1457/N272662 Second Lieutenant Mervyn Harold 'Laddie' (or 'Lad') Cummings MM, No. 5 Training Squadron, Australian Flying Corps.