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Photographs and postcards collected by John Berchmans Kiley while serving in the Royal Australian Navy

Date1925-1932

Object numberANMS0823

NameArchive series

MediumInk on paper, Black and white photographic print on paper.

ClassificationsPhotographs

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from John B Kiley

Terms

DescriptionThis archive collection contains 196 photographs and 66 postcards collected by John Berchmans Kiley during his service in the Royal Australian Navy. They depict scenes, landscapes and tourist attractions from around the world, including Canada, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, United Kingdom, Singapore, Jamaica, Malaysia, United States, Malta, New Zealand and Australia. The collection also features HMA Ships SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, CANBERRA and TINGIRA.HistoryJohn Berchmans Kiley was born on 29 January 1910 and joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1925. He began his naval service on HMAS TINGIRA, a ship for boy sailors moored at Rose Bay in Sydney, where he trained for 15 months. He went on to join HMAS SYDNEY and travelled to England, returning home on HMAS AUSTRALIA. Kiley also served in HMAS MELBOURNE, and undertook four years of training at HMAS CERBERUS studying a range of gunnery courses. Kiley reached the rank of Leading Seaman, and to his great disappointment was invalidated out of the navy around 1930 due to respiratory illness.SignificanceThis collection of photographs and postcards provides insight into daily life in the Royal Australian Navy in the early 20th century through the experiences of John Berchmans Kiley. The photographs of travels abroad provide clear visual evidence of the places visited by Australian naval personnel in the 1920s and 1930s.