Darge Photographic Company collection of negatives

Portrait of or for H Bloxham, and of Corporal (Cpl) E Ellis. The soldier on the left is wearing civilian clothes and has not been identified further. It is not known if he later enlisted. Cpl E Ellis (right) is probably 3252 Corporal (Cpl) Edward Ellis, 6th Field Ambulance. (See also DA09172.) A railway clerk from Ballarat, Vic prior to enlistment, Cpl Ellis embarked with B Section from Melbourne aboard HMAT Ajana on 4 June 1915. Later promoted to Sergeant , he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal (MSM) for "gallantry and devotion to duty particularly during the action at Pozieres from 16th to 27th August 1916 when he supervised the transport of wounded by stretcher bearers from Regimental Aid Posts through the Pozieres Wood. He continued his work visiting the various posts under heavy shell fire showing great determination and devotion to duty combined with gallantry." He was subsequently awarded the Military Medal (MM) "On 6th and 7th May 1917 this NCO was on duty under heavy enemy fire for 36 hours without rest organising and directing stretcher squads who were continually suffering casualties in carrying the wounded from the Regimental Aid Post east of Bullecourt to the Advanced Collecting Post at Noreuil. At the end of the time although obviously exhausted physically, he volunteered to carry on the duty. He at all times set a splendid example of coolness and bravery to his men. On many previous occasions Sgt Ellis has shown great devotion to duty and power of successful organisation in emergency with complete disregard to personal safety in dangerous parts of the line." On 28 September 1917 he died, aged 21, from wounds received in action and was buried in the Lijssenthoek Military cemetery, Belgium. This is one of a series of photographs taken by the Darge Photographic Company which had the concession to take photographs at the Broadmeadows and Seymour army camps during the First World War. In the 1930s, the Australian War Memorial purchased the original glass negatives from Algernon Darge, along with the photographers' notebooks. The notebooks contain brief details, usually a surname or unit name, for each negative.