Captain Brian Pockley was a doctor in the Australian Army Medical Corps (AAMC) and a member of the Australian Naval & Military Expeditionary Force. He was killed in action in the Battle of Bita Paka on German New Guinea on 11 September 1914, becoming the first New South Welshman and the first Australian officer to die in World War I.
A selection of photos of Sydney Harbour Trust staff killed in action in World War I. These oval shaped portraits are printed on thick card and have been cut out of an album or display board. The name of the person has been written in pencil on the back of the prints.
The war between the British and the two Dutch South African republics – the Boer War – began on 11 October 1899 when the Boers declared war on the British. It lasted until 31 May 1902 when Lord Kitchener and General Botha signed a treaty, the Peace of Vereeniging. Australia, as part of the British Empire, offered troops from the six separate colonies and from 1901, the new Australian Commonwealth.
