Archive of Handwritten Postcards with Heartfelt Correspondences from a W.W.I Australian Soldier during the Gallipoli Campaign and Going through Europe and Northern Africa,

ANZAC Australian Soldier

Archive

Australian Imperial Force soldiers postcard correspondence Archive, 1915 to 1916, documents ANZAC service during the Gallipoli campaign and subsequent deployments across the Mediterranean theater through sustained communication with a civilian recipient in Sydney. The archive centers on letters addressed to a woman identified as Olga, written by multiple soldiers including her brother Eric and another correspondent, George. The material records trench conditions, troop movement, and the transmission of news from the front, including the report of Eric’s death. The correspondence situates individual experience within the Gallipoli campaign, where Allied forces sustained heavy casualties in operations against Ottoman defenses, and traces the continuation of service across France, Egypt, and Greece following the withdrawal.

Archive of 54 handwritten postcard letters. Europe, North Africa, and the Mediterranean, 1915 to 1916. Each message is written on the verso of a period postcard, most measuring approximately 5.5 x 3.5 inches, with photographic views of cities and towns including London, French villages, Cairo, and locations in Greece. Several images depict damaged urban environments. One postcard bears a censorship marking with portions of text obscured. The correspondence includes multiple authors, primarily Eric and George. In one letter from France, George writes, “Thank you for the pose…We are having beautiful weather at present. Just like an Australian spring. Love from George.” Eric, writing from Egypt on April 16, notes, “We are once again in the trenches where we have had a very lovely time for a few days.” A later letter reports Eric’s death, stating, “You need have no fear that he was decently buried,” while subsequent correspondence reflects diminished communication and shifting personal relationships, including George’s inquiry, “Do you ever write to me Olga… I wish a few letters from you would turn up.”

The Gallipoli campaign, fought from April 1915 to January 1916, resulted in extensive casualties and became central to the development of ANZAC identity, commemorated annually as Anzac Day. Following the evacuation of Gallipoli, Australian forces were redeployed across multiple theaters, including the Western Front and Middle Eastern campaigns, reflected in the geographic range of these postcards. The archive documents the function of wartime correspondence under censorship and the role of letters in conveying both military experience and personal loss to the home front. Light wear consistent with handling; overall very good condition.

Item #20733

Price: $550.00