RAN Sailor's Cap; detachable tally band

H.M.A.S. CEREBUS (around rim) H.C.HART (hand-written, inside)

Aluminium army canteen

Nil

Steel Helmet, Model "M1916"

ET6 (small indented stamp inside near rim). Indicates manufactured by Eisenhuth Werke Thale (spelling?)

Navy blue pants

Size 10 Esquire Pty Ltd made in Australia

Shirt, Blue, RAN Sailor dress No.8

Badge Electronic Technician - Communication Badge Australia

Hector Charles Hart served in the RAN for 11 Years

Navy Blue

C.O.C.F, RAN Made in Australia

Photographic record of overseas places visited by local resident who was a member of armed service during WW2. Des Nicholson was born in Northcote in 1909. He enlisted in the military in mid 1940, having already served 2 years in the Citizens’ Forces. Before he signed up, he lived in Kew with his mother, Isabella. His enlistment documents indicate that he was employed as a transport driver, although his discharge papers state that he was a hairdresser. His photo album shows pictures of him demonstrating skills in that area in various deployments overseas; his enlistment documents refer to his unit being the 8th Division Petrol Company, while for much of his service he was assigned to Nursing Duties in the 2/7 Australian General Hospital. His overseas postings included travels through India to the Middle East, Egypt and Greece. While fulfilling these duties, he was an interested photographer, keeping records of the sights he saw in many of the places he visited, as well as photos of the military living conditions and the people he worked with on a day-to-day basis. The ‘tourist’ photos Des took would be of particular interest as a current-day comparison for those folk who might be familiar with the locations he passed through. After the war, Des again lived with his mother but eventually, in 1953, he married Kathleen Watson who lived in Eltham. The wider Watson family was well-known in the area, and the sisters Kathleen and Ruby were residents in the Glen Park area in Eltham North. After Des and Kath married they continued to live in Kath and Ruby’s house near where the current soccer and cricket sporting complex is now located. Ruby never married and they evidently stayed in the same place until, one by one, they each died in the early 2000s.

Photos taken by a resident of Eltham while on active service overseas

Photo Album

On Front Cover: DAVID'S TOWER JERUSALEM

photographs, ww2, overseas, india, middle east

Dark Navy Blue Wool Beret

Manufactured by Hills Hats New Zealand 1992 Name - ‘Pascoe’ written in marker pen. Size - Large. Number - 3806243. Internal badge mounting with black lining cover. Black ribbed ribbon edging.

Wooden shield with plaque painted onto haut relief carved badge

On Shield: USS FIFE DD-991 SUCCESSUM MERERE CONEMUR On Presentation Plate: PRESENTED TO NAVY LEAGUE OF AUSTRALIA MELBOURNE CHAPTER FROM COMMANDING OFFICER USS FIFE (DD–991)

Presentation to Navy League from representatives of USS Mount Hood

Ceramic Badge on Wooden Shield

On Plaque: USS MOUNT HOOD AE29 On Presentation Plate: PRESENTED TO NAVY LEAGUE OF VICTORIA 25 – 28 APR 97

Hellfire Pass was a location on the Burma Railway which POWs constructed under instructions from Japanese military.

Letter from Kevin Myers who was a member of the team that constructed the memorial at Hellfire Pass in 1989.

Fold-out sheet of paper showing and describing the details of locations along the railway; part of a numbered series of maps

Retrieved from original location by Kevin Myers during official military preparations for a Hellfire Pass memorial in recognition of the allied POW lives lost during construction of the Burma-Thailand railway during WW2.

Direct connection between local (Montmorency and Victorian) soldiers in WW2 and the work undertaken by allied prisoners of the Japanese Army.

Steel spikes used in construction of the Burma-Thailand railway during WW2.

None

prisoner of war, burma, ww2, railway

cordwell