Souvenir of Sinai & Palestine. Compiled by Tpr. J. Ellis, 7th L.H. [cover title of an album of photographs] [2nd Light Horse Brigade]. ELLIS, Trooper J. [likely 564 Private Thomas ELLIS] Australia,First World War,Militaria,Original Photographs,Photography

[Egypt? Privately Published, circa 1919]. Oblong folio, an album containing 96 original gelatin silver photographs (each approximately 66 × 110 mm) loosely inserted behind window mounts (each with a printed caption), four to a page, on both sides of 12 leaves. Burgundy cloth lettered in gilt on the front cover (beneath the Rising Sun emblem); covers slightly worn, with some tarnishing to the gilt; occasional inoffensive silvering-out; in excellent condition. A scarce self-published photographic record of the 2nd Light Horse Brigade in the Sinai and Palestine campaign, from the Battle of Romani (3-5 August 1916) to the capture of Gaza (1-2 November 1917), by way of Al Arish, Rafah, Khan Yunis, Deir al-Balah, and Wadi Gaza. Apart from a dozen 'local colour' photographs, all relate directly to actions of the ANZAC Mounted Division, including snapshots taken in action, ambulance and field hospital units, troop movements, captured Ottoman and German soldiers, the daily life of Australian Light Horse men (including horse races and surfing), and railway and bridging projects. The lettering at the bottom corner of the cover has led institutional and trade cataloguers to attribute this album to 'Tpr. J. Ellis'. No Ellis appears in the nominal roll of the 7th Light Horse. However, one 'T. Ellis' is listed as wounded in action in the official history of the regiment, and a search of service records leads us to suggest that 564 Private Thomas Ellis is most likely the compiler and photographer. After enlisting with the 2nd Light Horse Field Ambulance in December 1914 he served at Gallipoli. Attached to the 7th Light Horse Regiment (also part of the 2nd Light Horse Brigade) in August 1916 he was wounded in action soon after (a gunshot wound to the neck), before returning to active duty with the 7th Light Horse until the middle of 1918, at which point he returned to the 2nd Light Horse Field Ambulance. The preponderance of photographs showing ambulance units would seem to support this attribution. The album must have been compiled for presentation to fellow Light Horse men in a period of leave, most likely in Egypt between February and April 1919 or possibly afterwards in London. Comparison with other examples suggests that Ellis had identical tooling applied to a range of similar but not identical commercial albums, accounting for the different appearance of the covers and mounts in other copies we have traced (the mounts in this example have a Vidalon-lès-Annonay watermark). All copies have 'Sent by [Name]' inscribed on the front pastedown; although this is in a uniform hand, it is not written by Ellis (see his digitised service record for examples of his handwriting). Provenance: 'Sent by Lcpl. S. Vohr' is inscribed in ink on the front pastedown of this copy. Sophus Carl Vohr of Jamestown, South Australia, enlisted at Morphettville on 19 August 1914; his service number - 32 - is a reflection of his very early enlistment. A Gallipoli veteran, he saw action in the Middle East with the 3rd Light Horse Regiment.