Last week Shane from Trade In Military Ltd made contact with me regarding a postcard that he acquired. Written on the back of the postcard was a message that stated “3 of the Knuts of the No 1 ASH Heliopolis Egypt XMAS 1915, Yours Cyril”. Shane quickly worked out that this Cyril must be a member of No 1 Australian Stationary Hospital.
This led him to my website which lists all known personnel and quickly found that there was only one Cyril amongst the list. PTE Cyril O’Malley joined No 1 Australian Stationary Hospital most likely after the unit returned from Gallipoli. He had enlisted in October 1915 and was allocated the 13th reinforcement to the No 1 ASH. As the back of the postcard indicates that he must have arrived in Egypt just in time for Christmas in 1915.
This is the photo of Cyril and two other members from No 1 ASH. Unfortunately I do not know which one is Cyril. We can assume he is the one sitting down but I hope to confirm this in the future. If a relative of Cyril O’Malley sees this then please get into contact. I love the red cross patch on the sleeve of the sitting down member but also the No 1 ASH colour patch on the sleeve of the man on the right of the picture. Great Photo!
Thanks again Shane for sharing this photo with me and allowing me to ultimately use it in the book.