Stanford, Edgar Roy (Trooper, b.1893 - d.1915)

Collection relating to the service of 433 Trooper Edgar Roy Stanford, 1 Light Horse Regiment, AIF, Egypt and Gallipoli, 1914-1915. Collection consists of a diary, postcards, photographs and negatives. Tpr Stanford was shot in the thigh by a sniper on 1 July on Gallipoli. He was evacuated to Egypt and died on 1 August as a result of complications relating to the amputation of his leg.

Collection consists of:
1. A handwritten diary commencing on 21 June 1914 just prior to Tpr Stanford's enlistment, covers his service on Gallipoli from May to July 1915 and finishes on 23 July 1915 with his acceptance that his leg would have to be amputated.
2. Two postcards written by Stanford which show scenes from Egypt.
3. A black and white studio portrait of Stanford dressed in civilian clothing.
4. A newspaper clipping showing a studio portrait of Stanford mounted as an in-memoriam card.
5. Collection of forty three black and white photographs. Photographs include: four Gallipoli scenes; seventeen depicting Light Horsemen in various situations; twenty-two depicting various scenes in Cairo, Heliopolis, Karnak, Alexandria, Upper Nile. Collection is enclosed in a brown paper Kodak wallet probably dating from after the war. As a Kodak camera was returned to Stanford's family in his personal effects, these photographs may have been taken by him.

Also included in the collection are:
6. Five postcards showing scenes from Gallipoli.
7. Three other postcards related to the First World War.
8. Three postcards showing scenes from Stonehenge. These are written from a training camp in England in December 1916. The author is unknown.
9. Nine negatives. These are unrelated to the photos above, and don't appear to be war related.

The diary contains some very detailed entries for the period from May to July 1915 when Trooper Stanford was at Gallipoli. The entries describe conditions, operations and military technology in some detail, including the Turkish attacks and fighting at Quinn's Post. The last entry by Trooper Stanford (when he learns he will lose his leg) is especially poignant, as up until then his entries had been quite cheerful, despite being injured. It is a well written descriptive diary which provides an excellent account of the experiences of a member of the 1st Light Horse at Gallipoli, in particular the Turkish offensives in May 1915.

• Diary of Edgar Roy Stanford, 1914-1915
• Postcards relating to Edgar Roy Stanford, 1914-1917
• Photographs relating to Edgar Roy Stanford, 1915
• Miscellaneous file relating to Edgar Roy Stanford, n.d.