National Gallery Art School

Honour Board

Background

The Honour Board to the students of the National Gallery Art School (1867-1973) who served during WW1 hangs in the foyer of the Dame Elizabeth Murdock Building, Victorian College of the Arts (VCA).

Below are the stories of those students during the war and afterwards.

Of note:

  • Served at Gallipoli: 12 (A = ANZAC of Gallipoli)

  • Served for other countries: 4 (UK & Canada)

  • Wounded in Action (WIA): 4

  • Killed in Action (KIA): 3 (Montgomery, J Paterson, Dobbs).

  • Bravery Decorations: 4

  • Served in WW1 & WW2: 3

  • Archibald Prize Winners: 1

694 RQMS Francis ‘Frank’ William Sutherland Noonan

b. 1887 (Richmond, VIC) d. 1950

Unit: 6th Battalion

Service Record: WW1 (23 pages), Repat (10 pages),

Links(s): AWM Record (incl The Dinkum Oil & Ca Ne Fait Rien), WW1 Unit Newsletter, Son William’s WW2 Record,

1049 SSGT James Stuart McDonald

b. 1878 (Melbourne) d.  1952 (Melbourne)

Unit: E Company, 5th Battalion

Service Record: WW1 (71 pages),

Links(s): Wikipedia, ANU Bio, NLA Papers of James Stuart MacDonald, Biographical Notes,

  • Director National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) 1936-41

  • Commonwealth Art Advisory Board, 1947-1952

1228 GNR George Garden Colville

b. 1887 (Scotland) d. 1970

Unit: 6th Battery Field Artillery,

Service Record: WW1 (40 pages), Repat (112 pages),

Links(s): AWM, Art Digest Bio,

+929 SGT William Montgomery Jnr

b. 1890 (Auburn, VIC) d. 5 Oct 1918 (France)

KIA: 5 Oct 1918 (Battle of Montbrehain)

Unit: 21st Battalion, 6 Brigade.

Service Record: WW1 (62 pages),

Links(s): Image - Virtual War Memorial, Y’rs affectionately, Mont’, Hughes. B, SLV, AWM Roll of Honour,

882 (WW1) & V81245 (WW2) SGT Hector McDonald Paterson

b. 1888 d. 1957

Unit: 22nd Battalion, 6 Brigade

Service Record: WW1 (20 pages), WW2 (23 pages),

Link(s): Image,

  • Served at Gallipoli 1915, and Japan 1948.

  • Medically discharged at 63yrs, 7mths on 24 Sept 1951

63160 (WWI) & V4797 (WW2) LT Cyril Leyshon White MM

b. 1896 (Melbourne, VIC) d. 1962

Unit(s): 6th Field Ambulance,

Service Records: WW1 & WW2 (pages 31),

Links(s): Image, Trove - ANZAC Book, Artist shows Bravery, Artists at Gallipoli,

MM Citation: PTE CL White. These two men during the Lone Pine Bombardment were doing duty as dressers at Brown’s Dip advanced dressing Station. They continued to dress and evacuate patients during the bombardment. These men were especially conspicuous being under shell fire the whole time.

789 LT Frank Rossiter Crozier

b. 1883 d. 1948

Unit(s): C Company, 22nd Battalion, 6 Brigade.

Service Record: WW1 (24 pages),

Links(s): Wikipedia, Defence News 2023,

538 DVR Jack Sommers

a.k.a. John Archibald Douglas SOMMERS

b. 1877 d. 1934

Unit(s): 2nd Company, Australian Army Service Corps (AASC).

Service Records: WW1 (40 pages),

Links(s): Historical Society, AustLit Bio, NSW State Library WW1 Letters,

SGT Charles Arthur Wheeler OBE DCM (UK Army)

b. 1880 (NZ) d. 1977 (Melb)

Unit: C Company, 22nd Battalion, Royal Fusiliers.

Service Record: WW1,

Links(s): Wikipedia, ANU Bio, Select Works, Trove: Artist turned Soldier (Incl photo), Medal Set, Portrait of PM Robert Menzies,

Archibald Prize: 1926, 1930 Self Portrait, 1933 Winner,

DCM Citation: For conspicuous gallantry. He volunteered for and carried out two very risky reconnaissances after a successful assault by his company. Later he guided an officer of the R.A.M.C., and remained with him, under machine gun and rifle fire, till the last wounded man had been brought in.

1073 PTE Christopher Murray MM

b. 1887 (Geelong) d. 1959

Unit: 19th Battalion

Service Records: WW1 (34 pages),

Links(s): AWM Reference,

DCM Nomination: For conspicuous bravery during period 25/28th July 1916. During a 48 hours intense bombardment of POZIERS Pte. Murray displayed great gallantry and ability in attending to wounded and carrying them in by night and day. To do this it was necessary for him to move outside the front line and on the garages and also to bring his wounded men across open ground. He carried out this work with the utmost coolness under heavy shell fire.

*PTE Murray was award the Military Medal (MM)

14309 SSGT Granville Dunstan

b. 1891 (Albury) d.1952

Unit: Australian Army Medical Corps (AAMC)

Service Record: WW1 (19 pages),

Links(s): Student Register 1910, Image, AWM Record,

Archibald Prize: Entrant 1930

67031 LT Henry Gibbons

2180 (WW1) & W237689 (WW2) CAPT George Courtney Benson

b. 1886 (Collingwood) d. 1960 (Perth)

Units: 4 Division Artillery,

Service Record: WW1 (50 pages), WW2 (28 pages)

Links(s): Image, Wikipedia, AWM Bio, AWM Note, Trove - 100 Artists, Virtual War Memorial,

20178 BDE Mervyn Napier Waller CMG OBE

b. 1893 (Penshurst) d. 1972 (Melbourne)

WIA: 12 May 1917 (Bullecourt, France)

Unit: 111th Howitzer Battery, 11th Field Artillery Battalion

Service Records: WW1 (76 pages), Repat No. 1 (34 pages), Repat No. 2 (6 pages),

Links(s): Wikipedia, Newspaper House mosaic, State Library mural conservation, Hall of Memory construction, Waller House, NGV Collection,

4028 DVR Arthur Lancelot Cash

b. 1891 d. 1958

Unit: 2nd Tunnelling Company,

Service Record: WW1 (21 pages),

Links(s): Image (A. Cash rider on bike), Virtual War Memorial, 1917 Christmas Card,

5 SGT Theodore Penleigh Boyd

b. 1890 (Westbury) d. 1923

WIA: 9 Sept 1917 (Gassed)

Unit: Electrical & Mechanical Mining Unit

Service Records: WW1 (38 pages),

Links(s): Wikipedia, Tiffany Jones Bio, Salvage, Image - Penleigh Boyd - War Artist, Image - Virtual War Memorial,

2960 LT Vernon Lorimer

b. 1888 (Maryborough) d. 1978 (Sydney)

Unit(s): 5 Field Ambulance, Army Pay Corps

Service Record: WW1 (61 pages),

Links(s): Image, Met GEN Birdwood, RBA Illustration Work, Bio Collections WA, Art Sales Digest,

940 SGT Fredrick Charles Collis

Fredrick Collis used the pen name ‘Ted Colles’ during and after WW1.

b. 1887 d. 1952

Unit: 3rd Light Horse Field Ambulance

Service Records: WW1 (presumed file for F.Collis, a.k.a. Ted Colles),

Links(s): ‘The ANZAC Book

+5992 PTE John Martin Paterson

b. 1889 (Lillimur) d. 11 Aug 1918 (France)

WIA: 5 May 1917 (Gunshot would to hand and thigh)

KIA: 11 Aug 1918 (Battle of Amiens)

Unit: 2nd Machine Gun BN

Service Record: WW1 (100 pages),

Links(s): Trove - WIA, Trove - KIA, Virtual War Memorial,

351 LCPL Hugh Montgomery McCubbin

b. 1888 d.

WIA: 1 May 1915 (Gunshot wound left knee, Gallipoli)

Unit: 5th Battalion

Service Records: WW1 (56 pages),

Links(s):

+17085 PTE Daryl Wilson Dobbs

b. 1891 d. 4 October 1917 (Belgium)

KIA: 4 October 1917 (Third Battle if Ypres)

Unit: 1st Field Ambulance

Service Record: WW1 (56 pages),

Links(s): Red Cross reports of PTE Dobbs death, AWM Roll of Honour, Commonwealth War Graves - Menin Gate Registration

16698 PTE Alfred Samual Horace Picking MM

b. 1887 (Newmarket VIC) d.

WIA: Nov 1917 (Gassed), 20 May 1918 (Gunshot wound left hand & thigh)

Unit: 5th Field Ambulance

Service Records: WW1 Pt1 (47 pages), WW1 Pt2 (7 pages)

Links(s): Gradia Militaria Medal Set, AWM MM Nomination, ‘Abroad with the Fifth’ newsletter illustrated by ASH Picking,

MM Citation: Pte PICKING volunteered and went out into no man’s land under heavy high explosive and machine gun barrage, near Daisy Wood East of ZONNEREKE, on the morning of the 10th October 1917, and dressed wounded in the open and brought them back to the lines. His actions undoubtedly saved the lives of several men who could not crawl into our front lines, had been lying out all night in the cold and wet and were now without cover from the barrage. His conduct was a splendid example to his fellows of self-sacrifice and devotion.

J Johnson

b. d.

Unit:

Service Record: WW1,

Links(s):

6607 PTE John Brahms Trinick

b. 1890(Melbourne) d. 1974

WIA: 23 Apr 1918

Unit: 23rd Battalion

Service Records: WW1 (36 pages),

Links(s): MelbUni Catalogue of Papers, John Brahms Trinick and World War I - Cathy Mulcahy,

Dennis Connelly

G F Kitchen-Kerr

*Likely 888 CPL George Ernest Kitchin-Kerr, 14th Battalion, recorded in National Gallery 1909 student log as ‘Kitchin’ but recorded in Service Records as ‘Kerr’. The Australian War Memorial has a record of the diary of George Ernest Kitchin-Kerr he kept while a Prisoner of War in Turkey. He was captured in August 1915 and released after Armistice Day in 1918.

The only other Kitchin-Kerr found is his younger brother, 517 CPL Hedley Vernon George Kerr, killed in action on 25 April 1915, the day the ANZAC’s landed at Gallipoli.

b. - d.

Unit:

Service Records: WW1,

Links(s):

7977 SGT Clarence Boswell Campbell

b. 1876 (Ballarat) d. 1944

Unit: 5th Division Train

Service Record: WW1 (21 pages),

Links(s): National Gallery Student Roll - 1900,

Montagu ‘Monty’ Marks

b. 1890 d. 1972

Unit: Canadian Royal Flying Corps

Service Records: WW1,

Links(s): Image, Wikipedia, Monty and Stella Marks, Biography, Trove - Exhibition in Perth

Students not identified on the Honour Board include: