| Places | |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | PR00815 |
| Collection type | Private Record |
| Record type | Collection |
| Measurement | 6cm (three wallets) |
| Object type | Letter, Newspaper cutting, Papers |
| Maker |
Saywell, Lawrence Phillip |
| Date made | 1919-1957 |
| Access | Open |
| Related File This file can be copied or viewed via the Memorial’s Reading Room. | AWM371 96/0005 |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
| Copying Provisions | Copyright expired. Copying permitted subject to physical condition. Permission for reproduction not required. |
Saywell, Lawrence (Larry) Phillip (Private, b.1919 - d.1945)
Description
This collection consists primarily of letters written by Private Lawrence (Larry) Saywell to his mother Mrs Gertrude Saywell (Gert), his brothers George and Preston and to his aunt in England between January 1940 and December 1944. Private Saywell, a member of the Australian Army Service Corps, served with the 6th Division in Palestine, Libya, Greece and Crete, where he was taken prisoner in May 1941, by advancing German forces. In January 1945 he escaped from German captivity and joined with Czech partisans near the village of Miretin 90 miles from Prague. Private Saywell was shot on May 8 1945 by retreating German troops after taking part in the ambush of a German transport convoy. The villagers of Miretin erected a memorial to Saywell on the spot where he was shot. The collection includes newspaper clippings relating to the erection of this memorial and the awarding of a posthumous Czech Military Cross of Honor to the Saywell family on Lawrence's behalf. A number of post-war letters to Mrs Saywell from Czech villagers who knew Lawrence and Lawrence's friends complete the collection.