Darge Photographic Company collection of negatives

Studio portrait of 2746 Private (Pte) Alfred Charles Mitchell. A saw miller from Stratford, Victoria prior to enlistment, Pte Mitchell embarked along with his brother, 2714 Pte Sidney James Mitchell with the 6th Reinforcements, 22nd Battalion from Melbourne on HMAT Ulysses on 27 October 1915. He later served briefly with the 57th Battalion before transferring to the 59th Battalion. Subsequently reported as missing in action a later court of enquiry determined that he had been killed in action on 19 July 1916 and had been buried in no-man’s land. Having no known grave he is commemorated on the VC Corner Australian Cemetery and Memorial, Fromelles, France. Pte Sidney Mitchell was killed in action on the same day as his brother. This is one of a series of photographs taken by the Darge Photographic Company which had a permit 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.