A panoramic photograph of 'Officers, Cadets, N.C.Os. & Men, Australian Flying Corps, Wendover, March 1918'
Wendover, 'Photo by Panora Ltd., 60 Doughty St. W.C.', March 1918.
A vintage gelatin silver panoramic photograph (visible image size 185 × 952 mm), recently reinserted behind glass in a contemporary polished wooden frame (external dimensions 273 × 1040 mm); in excellent condition.
The Australian War Memorial has the following caption on an example of this impressive group photograph in its collection: 'Wendover, Buckinghamshire, England, 1918-03-11. Large group portrait of officers, cadets, NCOs and men of the Australian Flying Corps (AFC), together with two women (centre), in front of a B.E.2 aircraft at Halton Park Camp. In the centre sitting are Major A. Broun, Officer Commanding Depot; Major Henley, Commissioner of the Australian Comforts Fund; Mrs Henley; Miss Henley; Lieutenant Colonel E.H. Reynolds, Staff Officer for Aviation; Major Brooke, Australian Army Medical Corps (AAMC). Fifth from the wing is Wesley William Jones. The unit is an AFC Training Depot where aircrew and mechanics are trained. The men wearing wings badges on their uniforms (right) are flying instructors, while the men with white hatbands on their hats (left) are aircrew cadets who are being trained as pilots and observers. Sitting in the front row of the group are the members of the AFC band with their musical instruments. Laid out on the ground in front of the group are three flags, two Union Jacks and an Australian flag between them. Behind the flags is a large stack of gift parcels provided by the Australian Comforts Fund. They are labelled: "Australian Xmas greetings"' (AWM reference C303998). English-born Sir Thomas Henley (1860-1935) migrated to Sydney in 1884, and became an influential politician and building contractor. In 1915 he 'volunteered to go to Egypt as a commissioner for the Citizens' War Chest Fund. Organizing the distribution of comforts from Alexandria, Marseilles and Le Havre, France, and London, Henley personally accompanied the goods. He was gazetted lieutenant-colonel to overcome objections to civilians entering the battle zone and was appointed CBE and KBE in 1920' ('Australian Dictionary of Biography').
Item #128889
Price (AUD):
$2,500.00