Edwin Maurice Little personal papers and photographs
Collection
The collection includes letters by and about Edwin Maurice Little during his service in Egypt and Gallipoli in World War I; photographs, telegrams, newspaper articles; and a manuscript of Little's fictional work "The Eleventh Plague".
Edwin Maurice Little (known as Maurice) was born in Barcaldine, Queensland, in 1893. He was the son of a Methodist minister, Reverend William Little, and his wife Caroline, nee Flindell. Maurice was educated at the Brisbane Grammar School and he later taught at the Brisbane Normal School. At the outbreak of World War I, he enlisted in Gladstone on 21 September 1914 at the age of 21 and embarked from Melbourne on the transport ship 'Ceramic' on 22 December 1914. Maurice was assigned as a sergeant to the 15th Infantry Battalion and, after training in Egypt, was part of the Gallipoli landing on 25 April 1915. Maurice was wounded in action at Quinn's Post, Gallipoli, when a grenade exploded in his hand. He suffered severe injuries resulting in the amputation of his right hand, removal of both eyes, and a serious injury to his left knee. He was treated at the 17th General Hospital in Alexandria, Egypt, where he was nursed by his future wife, Lizzie 'Bessie' Crowther.
Out of copyright.