Message Recorded at Mena Camp, Cairo by Second Lieutenant Henry Miller Lanser

This is the only known audio recording that contains the voice of an Australian soldier on his way to fight in the First World War. It features the voice of Lance Corporal (later Second Lieutenant) Henry Miller Lanser, 1 Infantry Battalion, who embarked from Sydney on 18 October 1914. Lanser had been a mechanic in civilian life and it may have been his interest in mechanical devices that led him to make this recording. Lanser completed his training in Egypt and went on to the Western Front. He was killed in action on 5 November 1916 in France, aged 26.

This recording is generously provided by the Australian War Memorial. More information about Second Lieutenant Lanser, and a transcript of the recording, can be found on the AWM website.