Loney Letter

At the outbreak of the First World War the threat of enemy naval attack was high with members of Australia’s Permanent Force not permitted to volunteer for overseas service in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). This restriction led to some deserting their service roles, which if caught, would have been a court-martial offence. This letter written by Peter Loney Jnr. describes how he travelled around Australia to desert from the Permanent Force at the Princess Royal Fortress and joined the AIF in Cootamundra NSW. NB: Father Private Peter Loney Snr 6277 who enlisted on 14 April 1916 gave his son Peter as next of kin; his address at the time of his enlistment was at the Forts Albany, Western Australia.