| Accession Number | P02607.001 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Handcoloured, Portrait |
| Physical description | Handcoloured, Portrait |
| Place made | Australia: Victoria, Melbourne |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Melbourne, Vic. 1940. Hand coloured portrait of VX94616 Private John (Jack) S. Stevens, 2/48th ...
Description
Melbourne, Vic. 1940. Hand coloured portrait of VX94616 Private John (Jack) S. Stevens, 2/48th Battalion, of East Malvern, Vic. Private Stevens enlisted in 1944 and trained at Cowra, Bathurst and Canungra before being sent to Tarakan where he was killed on 5 May 1945, before his nineteenth birthday, during his first encounter with the Japanese. In a letter of sympathy to Private Stevens' parents, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Ainslie said "Jack had only been with the battalion for a short while but already by his winning smile, cheerful disposition and general bearing had endeared himself to all those who knew him and his death came as a great shock to us". Private Stevens was buried in a ceremony conducted by Padre Bryson in a cemetery near the coast of Tarakan. (Donor C. Baker)