P03078.004 Accession Number: P03078.004

Description

Members of the Australian Navy and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF) bringing Captain (Capt) Brian Colden Antill Pockley, the medical officer, on board HMAT Berrima, his face is covered by his pith helmet. Capt Pockley was wounded after he set out to find Able Seaman (AB) W. G. V. Williams who had been wounded by enemy fire during an Australian advance. Capt Pockley found AB Williams with Leading Stoker W. Kember who had carried him for nearly half a mile. Capt Pockley removed his red cross brassard and tied it to Leading Stoker Kember's hat, sending him to the rear with the wounded man, as he was returning Capt Pockley was fired upon and wounded. He was later picked up by an ambulance cart and carried to HMAT Berrima, where he and AB Williams died during the afternoon. AB Williams was the first Australian shot in the First World War and Capt Pockley was the first medical officer of the Australian Forces killed in the course of his duty.

Details

People

• Captain Brian Colden Antill Pockley MID

Conflicts

• First World War, 1914-1918