P05901.052 Accession Number: P05901.052

Description

Outdoor portrait of two Australian Prisoners of War (POW) at Schneidemuhl POW Camp, Germany. Identified on the left is 4854 Private (Pte) Robert Montgomery, 55th Battalion, from Auburn, NSW and on the right is 3430 Pte Charles Adam Seach, 53rd Battalion, from Paddington, NSW. Pte Montgomery enlisted on 23 September 1915 and embarked for overseas on 8 March 1916 aboard HMAT Star of England. He was captured at Fleurbaix, France, on 20 July 1916. He wrote from the POW camp at Schneidemuhl in January 1918 "My back is still troubling me. Personally I believe I am suffering from lumbago. The winter here this year does not appear to be so severe as the last, but still quite cold enough for the Australians. We held successful concerts for both Christmas and the New Year and I believe they will be continued throughout the winter. They will relieve the general monotony of camp life." Pte Montgomery was repatriated to England on 1 December 1918 and arrived back in Australia on 4 March 1919. Pte Seach enlisted on 3 August 1915 and embarked for overseas on 2 November 1915 aboard HMAT Euripides. He was also captured at Fleurbaix on 20 July 1916 and remained a POW until he was transferred to Holland in June 1918 and then repatriated to England in November 1918. He arrived back in Australia on 20 April 1919. One of a series of over 80 photographs of Allied POWs in the camp at Schneidemuhl, given to 3235 Corporal (Cpl) James Skelly, 55th Battalion, from Rockdale, NSW, by fellow POWs as a souvenir of their time together. Cpl Skelly was a self-described "special correspondent" for the Australian Red Cross while at Schneidemuhl and originally donated these photographs to the Ramsgate R.S.L. The original is stored in the AWM archive store.