| Place | Oceania: Pacific Islands, Solomon Islands |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | PR82/041 |
| Collection type | Private Record |
| Record type | Collection |
| Measurement | 1 wallet: 1cm |
| Object type | Diary, Photograph |
| Maker |
Kearns, Richard Hugh Bell |
| Place made | Australia, Pacific Islands: Solomon Islands |
| Date made | 1941-1982 |
| Access | Open |
| Related File This file can be copied or viewed via the Memorial’s Reading Room. | AWM315 419/054/034 |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copying Provisions | Copyright restrictions apply. Only personal, non-commercial, research and study use permitted. Permission of copyright holder required for any commercial use and/or reproduction. |
Kearns, Richard Hugh Bell (Leading Aircraftman, b.1914)
Description
Collection relating to the Second World War service of 28087 Leading Aircraftman Richard Hugh Bell Kearns, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Collection consists of a copy of a personal diary and scrapbook covering Kearns' service in the Solomon Islands on Tulagi as a radio operator with the RAAF Advanced Operational Base Signals Unit. The diary includes regular and descriptive entries of air raids and contact with various coast watchers, and also includes captioned photographs. Within the diary Kearns documents the days leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbour, and the evacuation of Tulagi and escape to Australia (the unit was evacuated just prior to the Japanese landing in May 1942). The scrapbook portion of the collection contains newspaper cuttings with articles that tell the story of the war in the Pacific and the Battle of the Coral Sea.