Among a collection of deteriorating photographic negatives discovered in Bendigo, Victoria, I identified and preserved a remarkable series of images relating to the First World War. The remainder of the archive can be viewed within the collection titled Victoria, Australia – Kyneton, Bendigo & Healesville.

These photographs offer a rare glimpse into the experiences of Australian soldiers during one of the most significant periods in our nation's history.

Captured by an unidentified Australian soldier believed to have connections to Bendigo, the negatives were discovered amongst a heavily damaged collection dating between approximately 1912 and 1928. Many were deteriorating and dangerously close to being lost forever.

As the negatives were carefully digitised, scenes from the soldier's journey slowly emerged. Several carried handwritten captions scratched directly into the emulsion, preserving fragments of a story more than a century old. Among them were inscriptions such as:

"Scrap on board"

"Camp on Canal Suez"

"Fishing dhow"

"Ferry post on Canal Suez"

"Our means of crossing canal"

The photographs document locations associated with the Suez Canal and the wider Middle East during the First World War. At the time, thousands of Australian soldiers were stationed in Egypt, defending one of the world's most important trade and military routes. Many troops passed through the region before the Gallipoli campaign, while others remained to protect the canal and later served throughout the Sinai and Palestine campaigns.

The collection also contains photographs believed to depict the American battleship USS Nevada during an overseas voyage, providing further clues to the soldier's travels and experiences abroad.

At this stage, the identity of the photographer remains unknown. However, research suggests a possible connection to a Victorian family bearing the surname Warne. Like many archives assembled from forgotten negatives, the full story behind these images is still unfolding.

More than one hundred years later, the faces, landscapes, and moments captured within these photographs survive only because the negatives themselves survived.

For decades they remained hidden away, slowly succumbing to dust, scratches, and the passage of time. Yet within them endured a visual record of service, travel, and everyday life during a world at war.

Through careful digitisation and restoration, these fragile photographs have been preserved once more, allowing the stories and experiences they contain to be shared with the world again.

Each image serves as a reminder that history is not confined to textbooks or monuments. It lives within these fragile fragments of the past, waiting to be rediscovered.

Lest we forget.