State Library of South Australia

Formal group of uniformed soldiers described as reinforcements [PRG 280/1/15/344] • Photograph

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Summary

A formal group of uniformed soldiers described by Searcy as 'reinforcements' for the World War I conflict. The location has been identified by a researcher as the Mitcham Camp, and has suggested that the group appears to be the 2 Army Medical Corps. The officer in the front row, fourth from left, is Renfrey Gershom Burnard, who enlisted 14/8/1916 and embarked for overseas on 19 February 1917, which puts the date of this photograph within that time frame. [A photo featuring some of the men appeared in 'The Chronicle', Saturday 13 January 1917, page 30 under the heading 'November reinforcements for the A.M.C.; another appeared in the same paper the following week (Saturday 27 January 1917, page 28) under the heading 'Men of the A.M.C.' See also PRG 280/1/18/32.]

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Physical description

photograph; 15 x 20 cm

Dates / Publication details

Approximately 1917

Collection

Part of Searcy Collection

Subject

World War, 1914-1918
Soldiers -- South Australia

Catalogue record

Return to catalogue

Historical information

Another group photos featuring Burnard appeared in 'The Observer', Saturday 16 August 1913, page 29, under the heading 'Members of the Narracoorte Mutual'. Biographical note by R. DeG. Burnard: Renfrey Gershom Burnard born in Adelaide in 1882, of school-teacher parents, was third in a family of five. Two did medicine and one became a doctor of music. Renfrey graduated in Adelaide in 1904. He worked in several country practices and was at Naracoorte when World War I broke out. He served in France 1916-19 with 27 Battalion and 7 Field Ambulance and played some part in saving the life of private Tom Playford, who became a chess opponent, a friend, and later, the longest serving premier of South Australia. He moved to a busy suburban Adelaide practice in 1929. He was a voracious reader with a preference in his practice for medicine. He had an urge for further training, but family commitments, the Great Depression and an almost total disregard of and contempt for money matters prevented him from satisfying this yearning until 1937 when he passed his MRCP at the age of fifty-five years. Probably wisely, he continued in general practice, with an increasing leaning to medicine. Soon after his return to Australia he joined other practitioners in his district in forming the Western Clinic, one of the earliest group practices in Australia. World War II brought extra work in the practice as well as some military duties, but he apparently thrived on hard work because he lived to be eighty-nine. He had a good tenor voice and loved to sing and was a knowledgeable philatelist. He was a keen churchman with a strong Christian faith in God and in his fellow man. He was very trusting, and, particularly in the Depression, was an easy `touch' for the down and out. In his practice, nothing was too much trouble. His time, day and night, belonged to his patients. He was popular and truly the beloved physician.

Digitisation information

Date

03/09/2001

Format

image/tiff

Resolution

3,007 x 2,183 pixels (6.6 MP)

Size

6.57 MB

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