WWI Life Aboard HMAT “Euripides” Carrying Australian Troops To Egypt
c1914–1916. Cloth-bound album containing 60 printout paper and three silver gelatin photographs; eight hand-written pages recording events during the voyage; and 18 annotated news clippings, most photographs annotated in ink, 23.5 x 28 x 2.5cm (album). Slight foxing to some photographs, foxing, old creases and tears to diary pages, wear to album cover. This album was created by Denver Wood Wansey (Aust., 1891–1949) who “served as a merchant seaman on the Euripides from 13 October 1914 to 31 May 1923. He was an amateur photographer and created seven albums of photographs recording life at sea aboard the Euripides as well as the ship’s many arrivals and departures. Wansey was able to develop negatives at sea using a propeller shaft space as a makeshift darkroom.” The Australian War Memorial holds negatives by Wansey which are identical to, or variant versions of, the photographs in the present album. This album documents a voyage from Australia to Egypt aboard HMAT Euripides. It includes candid photographs which capture the troops’ life aboard the ship, and their disembarkation in Alexandria. A collection of handwritten pages pasted into the album is annotated “Diary of events of trooping with the first Australian Expeditionary Force”, with dates spanning 24 August to 5 December 1914. The diary begins with the entry “August 24th: Ship taken over by Australian Government as a troopship and proceeded to Brisbane to fit out.” This, together with a photograph of Brisbane, shows that Wansey was on board when the ship was requisitioned and converted to a troopship. The final diary entry, most likely in Alexandria, reads “All troops disembark. We left next day for England.” The final ten photographs from 1915 to 1916 show the Leafield Wireless Station, UK. Ref: AWM, Royal Australian Navy, marconiheritage.com, geni.com.
Item #CL198-63
Price (AUD): $16,500.00 other currencies