| Accession Number | P02551.015 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Black & white |
| Physical description | Black & white |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Miretin, Czechoslovakia. 1945. Local villagers around the grave of Australian soldier Private ...
Description
Miretin, Czechoslovakia. 1945. Local villagers around the grave of Australian soldier Private Lawrence Phillip Saywell, 17th Brigade Company, Australian Army Service Corps, in the Evangelical Cemetery in the village of Miretin. Private Saywell was murdered - shot in the head by a German SS Patrol on 8 May 1945 (VE Day). Private Saywell, Sydney (Mac) Kerkham of New Zealand and two Russians, escaped from Kommando E7010 (a prison camp in Bohemia), and were sheltered by the villagers of Miretin. In return Saywell Kerkham and the Russians offered to assist the Czech partisans in their sabotage operations. Five months after his death, a memorial was erected in his honour by the "grateful inhabitants of the village of Miretin". In November 1945, the President of the Czechoslovak Republic awarded Private Saywell the Czechoslovak Military Cross for his "brave and eminent services to our State in the battle for liberation".