| Accession Number | P02654.001 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Black & white, Landscape |
| Physical description | Black & white, Landscape |
| Maker |
Pledger, Athol (Tom) |
| Date made | 1945 |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
At sea. September 1945. Group portrait of recently released Prisoners of War (POWs) outside the ...
Description
At sea. September 1945. Group portrait of recently released Prisoners of War (POWs) outside the x-ray darkroom on board the Royal Navy Hospital ship Gerusalemme. The POWs had been held in a camp on Hainan Island near China, and were released by United States soldiers. The Gerusalemme was transporting 139 released POWs, 56 of them Australian, from Hong Kong to Australia, and was scheduled to rendezvous with the Hospital Ship Maunganui in Manila, when it was ordered to return to Hong Kong. VX39777 Private James W. Adams died of illness, while the ship was anchored in Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong. Most of the other Australians returned home from Hong Kong on board HMS Striker. Identified, back row, left to right: Neil McKellar, Charlie Woodward, H J Bransdon, Bill Petrie, unknown, Dalley Griffin, I R Fishwick, Vince Hubbard. Middle row: Frank Beddiscombe, unknown, Ken Alder, unknown, W D (David) Harries, C R (Clarry) O'Bryan, J D (Jack) Eckert, Clement James Righetti. Front row: Jack Craig, Bill Knuckey, J E McDougall, ? McDonald, T M (Tom) Phillips, unknown, Alan Brownley.