Handwritten Letter From Raymond WARBURTON to Patsy Adam SMITH

In October 1978, Raymond Parker WARBURTON read an article in the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper about a book, titled ‘The ANZACS’. He wrote to the author, Patsy Adam-Smith and in this letter Raymond states that he had participated in the ‘historic event’ of the Gallipoli landing and that he had kept a diary. Raymond’s diary, dated between 22/10/1914 to 04/06/1916, is a bound book with copies of his letters that he sent home, mostly to his mother. The diary provides details of movements between Australia, United Kingdom and Egypt, during the First World War. Raymond was employed as an Electrical Engineer on board the HMAT A4 Pera, a transport ship owned by P&O London, which was leased by the Commonwealth during the First World War. The HMAT Pera was part of the first convoy to depart from King George Sound, Albany Western Australia, on the 1st November 1914. Onboard was 90 soldiers, 6 nurses and 391 horses. The Pera was torpedoed and sunk on the 19/10/1917, and later Raymond was transferred unto the ship, ‘SS Shropshire’. Raymond was discharged on the 13/06/1919 at Sydney, Australia.