Montmorency Eltham RSL - The Nicholson Photos

The Des Nicholson Photo Albums

Prior to WW2, Des Nicholson lived in Kew with his mother. After enlisting in 1941 he eventually received an overseas posting, traveling to the Middle East via India. During his time away he took many photos which he eventually added to a couple of albums. He married Kath Watson, an Eltham resident. Kath's cousin was the grandmother of the husband of Sally Ann Ahern. After Des died, Sally Ann and her husband tidied up the Nicholson house where they found two photo albums. There being no other relatives to whom they could hand any memorabilia items, Sally-Ann's husband kept them. After her husband died, she contacted the MERSL to see if there might be a place for those albums within our collection.

Des NICHOLSON, an Eltham resident for almost 50 years

Desmond Nicholson enlisted in the Army in 1940 and served in a number of places overseas, including India, the Middle East, Greece and New Guinea. He returned to Australia a couple of times between 1940 and 1945, and finally was discharged in October 1945. He was attached to 2/7 AGH (Australian General Hospital), sometimes as a driver and at other times undertaking nursing duties.

In 1953 he married Kathleen Watson, a member of the Watson family which was well known in the Eltham area for many decades prior to that. They lived with Kath's unmarried sister, Ruby in a house in Cedar Ave (now part of the Eltham North soccer and cricket grounds complex). Des died in 2001, followed by his wife in 2003, and then Ruby finally passed away in 2008, after which the house was demolished.

During his overseas postings, Des took many photos which he kept in a couple of albums which he bought while overseas. These albums were retained until after Ruby died, but Des and Kath had no children or direct relatives so they came into the hands of a more distant relative (Sally-Ann Ahern) who helped to tidy up the house after Ruby died. The connection with Des is as follows: Sally-Ann's husband's grandmother had a cousin who was Kath Watson – Des married Kath. Alternatively, looked at from Des' point of view, his wife, Kath, had a cousin; she (the cousin) had a grandson who was Sally-Ann's husband.

Sally-Ann was unsure what to do with the albums after her own husband died, and so she contacted the MERSL as it was the closest organization she could find to where Des lived after he married. She hoped that we might have some interest in the historical record displayed in those war-time photos which Des kept.

The albums provide an interesting record of some of the places Des visited, and something of the life and living conditions both in the Army and for the locals who lived in those locations at that time. The photo collection can be viewed as a 'slide-show' by clicking on the arrow at the right of each picture:

Below is a photo of the Watson/Nicholson house and surrounds in Eltham North (click photo to see larger view) ...

The photo above is the first in a series which can be viewed as a 'Slideshow'. Click in the photo area then click on the right or left arrow (> or <) to progress through the set.

Alternatively, for a closer look at each photo, select it from the list below (scroll down for more pictures) and it will open in a separate window. From there, the photo can be increased in size, or downloaded.

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