The Australian War Memorial Collection. Test site
Collection relating to the Second World War service and experiences of QX23961 (1/9424) Staff Sergeant Ernest Harper and his family, 2/3 Australian Ordnance Stores Company, Malaya, Thailand, Burma and Australia, 1940-1964.
Wallet 1 of 3 - consists of 24 items of correspondence, photographs and documents relating to Staff Sergeant Harper's service in Malaya and experiences as a prisoner of war, dated December 1941 to October 1945. Four photographs and eight letters precede the fall of Singapore; Harper describes to his daughter, Pamela, the noise of air raids, food supplies, the environment such as rubber trees and local animals, learning Malay, sending home souvenirs such as postage stamps, jewellery and a sculpture, and his longing to be reunited with her and her mother, Eva. Following his capture as a prisoner of war in February 1942, Harper was permitted to send five postcards to his family, briefly conveying his condition. One telegram and one letter from September 1945 relay Harper's liberation by the British and his anticipation of their reunion. The wallet also contains a copy of 'Instructions to be Given to War Prisoners' for Thanbyuzayat camp, diary entries outlining his movements and experiences in Thailand and Burma between 1941-1945 (likely written after his liberation), a Malay phrasebook, correspondence relating to his repatriation, and a compact New Testament.
Wallet 2 of 3 - consists of 36 letters and postcards sent to Staff Sergeant Harper from his wife, Eva, and daughter, Pamela, dated 1942 to 1945. Pamela writes of their new pet cat, growing taller, and wishing he was home. Eva provides updates on their daughter, such as her education and saving pocket money to buy him a special tin of tobacco, performing home maintenance jobs in his absence, and her longing to have him return. The wallet also includes one torn envelope returned by the 'Dead Letter Office' in May 1942, a blank prisoner-of-war postcard, several envelopes and one letter to Ernest from a relative, Ethel, upon news of his liberation.
Wallet 3 of 3 - consists of 26 documents and items of ephemera relating to Harper's service, reimbursement, repatriation, and re-engagement with the Regular Army Special Reserve, dated 1941 to 1956. The wallet includes one record of service book, four paybooks, one identity book, a uniform receipt, a returned prisoner of war pass, and financial documents.
Carved wooden sculpture of a Chinese fairy standing on a small plinth. The fairy is in the form of an elderly man with a long flowing beard. The beard is draped over the fairy's left wrist. This sou
Collection relating to the Second World War service and experiences of QX23961 (1/9424) Staff Sergeant Ernest Harper and his family, 2/3 Australian Ordnance Stores Company, Malaya, Thailand, Burma and
Collection relating to the Second World War service and experiences of QX23961 (1/9424) Staff Sergeant Ernest Harper and his family, 2/3 Australian Ordnance Stores Company, Malaya, Thailand, Burma and
Collection relating to the Second World War service and experiences of QX23961 (1/9424) Staff Sergeant Ernest Harper and his family, 2/3 Australian Ordnance Stores Company, Malaya, Thailand, Burma and
Collection relating to the military career and Second World War service of NX34999 Lieutenant Colonel (later Colonel) George Ernest Ramsay, 2/30 and 2/18 Australian Infantry Battalion, 17 Infantry Bat
Collection relating to the Second World War service of 29161 Sergeant William Bruce Minchin, Royal Australian Air Force, Australia and the United Kingdom, 1940-1949. Wallet 1 of 3 – Contains two fold
Collection relating to the First World War and Second World War service and maritime career of NX101575 Captain James Henry Wilken, Australian Intelligence Corps, Australia, Egypt, Palestine, Netherla