| Accession Number | AWM2023.6.72 |
|---|---|
| Collection number | PR05370 |
| Collection type | Digitised Collection |
| Record type | Wallet |
| Item count | 1 |
| Object type | Letter |
| Physical description | 6 Image/s captured |
| Maker |
Longstaff, Richard John |
| Place made | Egypt |
| Date made | 1915 |
| Conflict |
First World War, 1914-1918 |
Wallet 1 of 1 - Letters of Richard John Longstaff
Description
Collection relating to 640 Private (Pte) Richard John 'Dick' Longstaff, 13th Battalion (Infantry).
Wallet 1 of 1 comprises a six page original handwritten letter dated February 1915, sent from Egypt by Pte Longstaff to his step-sister Edie. The letter provides quite detailed descriptions of the conditions in Egypt, particularly Cairo, as well as his trip to the pyramids, climbing the outside and crawling along a passage inside. He comments about Cairo that 'There are soldiers everywhere and it is marvellous how the city...[is] getting Australianised...shops have Australian names such as "Pitt St Cook Shop" the "Kangaroo Dining rooms" [and] the "Wooloomooloo Bar". Mention is made of his visit to see his brother Will who was also serving with the AIF, and his visit to a cousin of his step-sister, Ruby. Pte Longstaff was killed in action in Gallipoli on 4 May 1915. His brother 69 Pte William (Will) David Longstaff, was also killed in action during the attack on Lone Pine on 8 August 1915.