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Men from the 10th Field Company Engineers wait to board HMAT RUNIC
Men from the 10th Field Company Engineers wait to board HMAT RUNIC

Men from the 10th Field Company Engineers wait to board HMAT RUNIC

Photographer (Australian, 1858 - 1921)
Date20 June 1916
Object number00027615
NamePhotograph
MediumPhotographic print on paper
DimensionsOverall: 112 x 150 mm, 1 mm, 0.04 kg
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionMen of the 10th FCE waiting to board the troopship HMAT RUNIC, Melbourne, Victoria. Three of the men in the front row are identifiable from the information on their kit bags. Third from the right, front row is Driver Herbert Vincent Helliwell 10266. Fifth from the right is Driver Russell Peter Thomson 10361. 10th from right in the front row (excluding the two men in the foreground) is Ernest Lewis Albert Thomas 10369. Helliwell returned to Australia in May 1919 as did Thomson. Thomas died in England in June 1917 from wounds he had received in action in France several months earlier.HistoryMelbourne based photographer Josiah Barnes had two sons, Norm and Victor, who left for war in 1916 (both returned to Australia after their service). Barnes appears to have taken an interest around this time in photographing the troopships as they departed for war from Melbourne. RUNIC was one of five new steamers built in Belfast and incorporated in Australian trade routes at the turn of the 20th century. RUNIC was designed to carry cargo primarily, however the vessel did include passenger accommodation for over 400 people. RUNIC was requisitioned by the Australian Government during WW1 to serve as a troopship and was later sold and converted into a whaling factory ship, renamed NEW SEVILLA in 1930. NEW SEVILLA was torpedoed by a German U-boat on 20 September 1940 near Malin Head, Galway.