WA Genealogical Society project manager Chris Loudon stands in front of an image of some of the men from the 11th Battalion.
Camera IconWA Genealogical Society project manager Chris Loudon stands in front of an image of some of the men from the 11th Battalion. Credit: Supplied/David Baylis        www.communitypix.com.au d435358

Shot of mateship

Natalie NazzariCanning Gazette

The image shows 704 men assembled at the Great Pyramid of Khufu on the morning of Sunday, January 10, 1915.

The pyramids at Giza formed a backdrop for the thousands of Anzac troops at the Mena training camp on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt.

Three months after the photo was taken, several of the men were amongst the first Anzac troops to land on the beaches of Gallipoli in the early hours of Sunday, April 25, 1915.

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The exhibition Together, 100 Years Apart is presented at the Bentley gallery to commemorate the centenary of the Gallipoli landings.

Presented in partnership with the Western Australian Genealogical Society (WAGS), in collaboration with Curtin University researchers, the image will be on show until October.

WAGS 11th Battalion project project manager Chris Loudon said he hoped viewers would be able to identify some of the men in the image.

"We think the photo was taken using a quarter glass plate, possibly using an Eastman-Kodak camera," he said.

�Prints of the photo were distributed to the men, many of which were sent back home to family.

"One of these prints was donated to the State Library of Western Australia, which has been scanned and now used for this exhibition."

Mr Loudon said the high-resolution image was 10 metres wide by 6.170 metres tall, covering the main wall in the atrium.

"It gives a good view of what they looked like," he said.

�We know there were 350 men from this battalion that died as a result of the Gallipoli campaign, which was four months later.

"For some of the men, it's the last photo taken of them. I think this photo shows the camaraderie and mateship that existed between the men and you get a sense of their spirit."