Sullivan, Edward Gordon Patrick 'Pat' (Private, b.1902 - d.1978) Accession Number: 3DRL/6768

Description

Collection relating to the Second World War service of NX55741 Private Edward Gordon Patrick 'Pat' Sullivan, 2/18 Australian Infantry Battalion, prisoner of war, Malaya, Singapore, Burma and Thailand, 1940-1946.

Wallet 1 of 2 - consists of illustrations, postcards, souvenirs and documents relating to Private Sullivan's service in Malaya and experiences as a prisoner of war, dated 1940-1946. The collection includes four postcards from Sullivan to his wife, N390398 Emily Violet (Mason) and his mother, Susan, including two novelty postcards with the portraits of Sullivan, Emily and Sullivan’s father superimposed on Malayan currency. His messages home are brief, yet affectionate and reassuring in tone. One letter to Emily, indicating he had received her photos and letters, was written on flattened cigarette paper packaging. The wallet also includes 25 envelopes illustrated by Sullivan during the Malayan campaign, four of which were addressed to his wife. Often accompanied by a humourous caption, the colourful sketches feature servicemen, self-portraits, tropical animals and scenery, and a recurring lonely female figure waiting on a beach. The wallet additionally contains a blue New Testament Bible, originally owned by a member of the 2nd Battalion Gordon Highlanders, which is annotated with names of British and Australian personnel serving in Malaya. The deaths of two Australians in Thailand - SX10925 Ross Wright and NX37334 Ernest Hurry - were recorded by Sullivan in 1943, by which time the Bible was in his possession. The wallet also contains an air-raid themed poem entitled 'Blitz Krieg', several small, annotated pieces of ephemera, and an address discussing Sullivan’s handicrafts at an exhibition after the war.

Wallet 2 of 2 - contains a linen-bound album of illustrations and prose, created by Sullivan during the Malayan Campaign, dated 1941-1942. The album contains approximately one hundred poems and songs written by himself and other men stationed in Malaya, and was later hand-stitched together by Sullivan, possibly at Changi Gaol or on the Thai-Burma railway. Sullivan’s colourful illustrations and original compositions often incorporate Australiana, featuring native animals, bush landscapes, the Anzacs and diggers, swagmen, Australian humour and slang. Other themes throughout the album include conditions in camps, fighting in Malaya and abroad in the Mediterranean and North Africa, superior officers and bureaucracy, separation from families, flirtations and sweethearts. Several compositions also reference the personnel and campaigns of the 2/18th Battalion and the 8th Division.

Details

People

• Private Ernest Edmond Hurry
• Private Ross Kelvin Wright

Conflicts

• Second World War, 1939-1945

Units

• 2/18th Australian Infantry Battalion

Tags

• Aboriginal
• Prisoners of war
• Souvenirs
• Illustrations
• Changi Gaol
• Indigenous serviceperson