Darge Photographic Company collection of negatives

Studio portrait of two 31st Battalion soldiers, 2954 Private (Pte) Leslie Alfred Harrison from Dulwich Hill, NSW and 3006 Pte Frederick John Oldfield from Bourke, NSW. Pte Harrison was an 18 year old labourer prior to enlisting on 3 February 1916 and Pte Oldfield was a 21 year old typist prior to enlisting on 15 January 1916. Both soldiers embarked for overseas with the 5th Reinforcements from Melbourne on 14 March 1916 aboard HMAT Anchises. Pte Harrison served in France with the 31st Battalion and after taking ill was medically evacuated to England. He returned to Australia on 19 July 1917 and a month later was posted as a deserter. On 21 July 1920, Pte Harrison was discharged in consequence of being an illegal absentee since 27 August 1917. Pte Oldfield served in France with the 8th Machine Gun Company and was killed in action near Bapaume on 3 May 1917. He is buried in the Queant Road Cemetery, Buissy, France. 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. The names are transcribed as they appear in the notebooks.