| Places | |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | AWM2019.22.255 |
| Collection number | 3DRL/3660 |
| Collection type | Digitised Collection |
| Record type | Item |
| Item count | 1 |
| Object type | Diary |
| Physical description | 95 Image/s captured |
| Maker |
Cowan, Gerard Henderson |
| Place made | At sea, South Africa, United Kingdom: England |
| Date made | 1916-1917 |
| Conflict |
First World War, 1914-1918 |
| Source credit to | This item has been digitised with funding provided by Commonwealth Government. |
Diary of Gerard Henderson Cowan, November 1916 - January 1917
Description
Diary relating to the First World War service of 6733 Private Gerard Henderson Cowan, 11 Australian Infantry Battalion.
This diary, written by Cowan between 29 November 1916 and 11 January 1917, contains details of his voyage to England aboard the HMAS Argyleshire. Cowan records experiences such as going ashore at Cape Town, South Africa, doing physical training, learning Morse code and French, attending YMCA services, seeing interesting marine life, doing laundry, attending concerts and sports events, fatigue duties, landing at Sierra Leone and his impressions of Freetown, encounters with other ships, being on submarine guard, rations becoming poorer in quality, encounters with rats, and disembarkation at Plymouth, England.
This diary also contains a section of notes on Morse code and French language. Gerard Henderson Cowan joined the Australian Flying Corps and became a pilot in 1918, but died of illness on 22 February 1919.