Old photos 'hidden in plain sight' give glimpse into WWII history

Lloyd Evan Davies was a well-known violinist, but according to his family, what was less known was his time serving in World War II.

He had four children, but according to his grandson Peter Davies, his war service was something "they knew not to ask" about.

Now, decades after his grandfather's death, Peter has been delving into his family history, and buried in a drawer at his aunt's house in Adelaide, he has found a treasure trove.

"They're sort of hidden in plain sight around all these other photographs," he said.

"Auntie Pat opened the drawer one day, and she knew that I was really interested in family history, and then she came across this."

In the drawer she found an old brown Kodak camera box, full of photos she had never looked at before.

Lloyd Davies was a signalman who served in Egypt, Palestine, Syria, New Guinea and Borneo.

Peter had managed to trace his service through war records, but the photos put flesh on the bones of what he knew.

"Now, rather than just looking at a black and white war record that said he was in Beirut at its liberation, I can go, 'Oh my God, Lloyd snuck a sneaky photo of Beirut during its liberation in here,'" he said.

Peter said his grandfather should not have taken a camera with him, and thought that may have influenced the kinds of photos he took.

"Australian soldiers weren't actually supposed to bring cameras at all. It was contraband. And more so than that, if you did somehow get away with taking photos, you still got to get them past the censors," he said.

"So what we find in these photographs then, rather than photos of tanks or military columns or anything like that, what we find is basically war tourism in a way."

The photographs were of buildings, landscapes and everyday scenes in 1940s Syria, Lebanon and Gaza.

But Lloyd also captured some candid moments of Australian soldiers, including his unit having a snow fight near Aleppo.

Peter sent copies of the photos to the Australian War Memorial, which has shown an interest in acquiring the snow fight photo for its collection.

"I was so happy when they showed interest in that," he said.

Peter Davies now lives in the UK, where he works as a filmmaker.

But he is hopeful his family history project will help connect his two sons to their family history in Australia.

Bedtime stories have now become stories of Lloyd.

"If you're still trying to figure out who you are, I think it's super helpful to have a little bit of an idea of who your dad was, who your mum was and who came before," he said.

"Because if your grandfather was brave and he fought in a war, then maybe there's something in me that's brave and that's what I try to tell my kids."