Artillery officers waiting to board the ULYSSES
Photographer
Josiah Earl Barnes
(Australian, 1858 - 1921)
Date25 October 1916
Object number00027617
NamePhotograph
MediumPhotographic print on paper
DimensionsOverall: 114 x 151 mm, 1 mm, 0.04 kg
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionThis photograph by Melbourne photographer Josiah Barnes depicts seven artillery officers standing in a row underneath the terminal waiting to board the WWI troopship ULYSSES. They wear the full military uniform and three of them carry white canes. The reverse of the print has a handwritten inscription in pencil that reads: "ULYSSES 13 artillery officers". These men may be officers of the 2nd Field Artillery Brigade who embarked on HMAT ULYSSES on 25 October 1916.
A bag in the background (left, seen between the shoulders of the two men on the left) has the service number 5852 and the word 'miners' printed on it. This bag is probably that of Herbert Horton Tomb who was a sapper with the tunnelling companies and left Melbourne on ULYSSES 25/10/1916.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.
ULYSSES was a twin screw steamer built in 1913 in Belfast by Workman Clark for the Blue Funnel Line. ULYSSES had accommodation for 350 first class passengers and was taking over for use as a troopship in 1915. ULYSSES resumed work as a passenger liner in 1920 servicing the Far Eastern service for Blue Funnel Line. On 11 April 1942 ULYSSES was sunk by a German U-boat while steaming south of Cape Hatteras, USA.
