Summary

Postcard dating from World War I, showing a black and white photograph of a monitor ship, The Tarantulla (HMS Tarantula), on the Tigris River in the Middle East. The photograph is a duplicate of MM 88670 (and also MM 88801), which is inscribed: 'One of our monitors - The Tarantulla / you have probably seen her mentioned in the papers in connection with her dash up the Tigris & capture of several Turkish river boats. She had just been firing into [Illegible] when I took this. You can see them unfastening the moorings to allow to get away out of range.'

Part of a collection of World War I photographs associated with the service of Lionel Knox Trezise (service no. 14340), father of the donor John Trezise. Lionel was a 'reliving postmaster and telegraphist' when he enlisted on 22 March 1916. He was placed in the 1st Australian Wireless Signal Squadron as a sapper, serving with the Mesopotamia Expeditionary Force. During his service he apparently took photographs in India, Sri Lanka and Mesopotamia (Iraq and neighbouring regions). After returning to Australia in 1919 he married and became a public servant. He died in 1972. Lionel's brother John Gordon (Jack) Trezise also served in World War I (service no. 5105). He enlisted on 2 March 1916 while a 26-year-old shop assistant in Broken Hill, and was killed in action in France on 1 June 1918.

Description of Content

Monitor ship called The Tarantulla on the Tigris River in Iraq, occupied by military men. There are soldiers and two sailors standing on the bank of the river in the foreground.

Physical Description

Post card featuring a black and white photograph. The photograph has faded with damage to the lower right corner.

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