From the Collection: The Wartime Correspondence of Lieutenant Richard Cornish DCM

This display features wartime letters, postcards and official correspondence reflecting the life and service of Lieutenant Richard Cornish DCM. Richard Cornish enlisted to serve in World War I in 1915 at the age of 22. He served in the 29th Battalion and rose quickly through the military ranks. He was highly decorated and received several medals of honour. He was tragically killed in action in France near the end of the war in 1918.

A beautiful feature of this display is the series of embroidered silk postcards that Richard sent to his anxiously waiting Ballarat family. First made for the Paris Exposition in 1900, these postcards became extremely popular during the war.

Through his correspondence, Richard emerges as both a courageous soldier and a devoted son and brother, offering reassurance and comfort to his family despite the hardships and horrors of war.

His letters and postcards provide a poignant record of service, family, loss, and local wartime memory.

Image: ‘Good Luck’ silk postcard [detail], hand embroidered silk, mounted on card, France, c. 1917 Sent home to Ballarat by Lieutenant Richard Cornish during World War I. This postcard forms part of the Cornish Family Collection, Australiana Research Collection, Ballarat Libraries.