'~';7 _. ~--' ..... -' ..... ~ gsa 1. tCtet e '.,. \ DIARY WRITTEN BY JOSIAH OOOKING" senior, FROM WED.JUNE 12,1940

TO ~ j A lV. IS"' I q 4 3. Wed. June 12, 1940. On tne 4th of June Florence visited us &: >

stayed until the evening.~At·her home in Maitland, at night, she' became' ext remely iLL &: had to be taken to ttJe Maitland hosr

i1ial for treatment. She was operated on,&: is ,now on the way to' recovery. To-day she is to leave the ,hospital &: retumn to her Maitland home. Mum has gone to Maitland to-day to see Florrie, &: Ivy is here in the meantime. ' I have received the following letter from Mrs. Webster;) "15 Greenfield Terrace, Portreath,nr ,Redruth" Cornwall •. April 29th 1940. ' Mr .. Oocking, dear Friend, We are all wondering where your let­ter Llas gone. We h~ventt heard from you,I don't think, for the I.

year, &: now we are at the end of April, &: it's been a lovely month for the gardens--everywhere looks lovely. Well, Mr. Cocking, Pa thinks you must have sent a letter &: its gone aS1iray, as we have reoeived 3.papers all safe, ~ thanks for them .One came to-d ay: Pa is Just reading it. Isn't the war too bad? Such a lot ,of our poor village boys have had td go, all through, our wioked rulers. Why not tbey all come ~o­gether&: fight it out ? It's them that caused war over greed. 'J Now 2.we'h'have to pay so 9-ear for everything we want ,&: you out 1

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there Just the same. : I had a letter last week from my cousin out there; he has a;, son in training for war work. heHope to keep nim out 01' it, he ,\ says. I wou1tpnot say he would, be able to.Are any of your sons in training, poor boys. My son Frank w9nt be wanted this~, yeax at any rate.He has to go now to a bone speoialist. The j

bones haven't united, so he has to have the silver plate taken 1 out &: all done over again. I don't know'what the end of it ; will be. He's been, I think, sadly negleoted. They let him , i go too I~ong. without 2!1n x ray. If we had plenty of money they" , would be more oareful--I am sure they would be. <

Now Mr. Oocking we trus~ you are better, &: all your fami.1y weI!". We are all enjoying gOOd health. My hubby is splendid--don' t 'j ~carcely feel his heart trouble. As you said, "rest &' a content-l ed mind are a good help".. Now we all Join in seng.ing you &: yours our kind regards &: best!

I Wishes, &: hope to hear from you soon again.As ever, your sin-cere friends, H. &: E. Webster." '

Ycs1ierday we received the following letter:-" 1st Avenue, "arrawong., June 7th. Dear Mum &: Dad, >.We recei ved your welcome letter so'rne. time ago. ,We are pleased'::to"hear that'! you are feeling a little better: we are all in: the;ih'~,t(;:,,~f heal t h. I don I t know whether you already know tha,~~J!fI'$\:I~I'!"'iite

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was buried last tuesday week. He met with an acciden"C',( . '," '·:'Z\{~~\/,*/.I:":

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urday before. He went out witb one of bis ~a:e:,-Shooting. --1 & nis mate accidentally shot him. He had 2 bloodtransfusi 1

ons & oxygen at Wollongong hospital on the Saturday night, . & he died early on tbe Monday morning, about 3 a. m. , & was \ buried on Sunday afte~noon at 1-30 p.m. He worked day sbift on tne satuciday, & when he came home he said to Nellie & Pe arl to hold t:ne tea back for a wbile till he went for a shoe .. t. They went after rabbits, over-near the creek at--tne back of Nellie's place, & while tney: were there i O'Leary's pad ... dock they noticed a cow bogged, so they went t0~Eelpx up & told the people. When they were coming back on their way ho­me his mate thought he'd load his-gun, because he might see something on tne -way, & he droFped a bullet--a.22 they call­ed it (I don't understand them) & he bent down to piCk it u­p, when the gun went off & -blew one of Bob's kedneys and sh­attered his liver, but he didn't get over it. Jack heard hi­m groaning & he said it was awful; he was in terrible agony till he died, so they say. The bullet went through the smal­l of the back & right out the front near his navel: it went in on the right side & came out on the left side at the fro­nt. I suppose Nellie will tell you all later. Love from Jack & the children to you all, also myself. Glad Oocking.xxxxxxxxxx. I didn't like to tell you about this affair, but I thought I better: It's a terrible thing I think."

On or about the bth I received the following letter from Pat O'Grady:- "19 Ohatham Street, Adelaide,S.A. Ju.b.e 4, 194 o. To Joe & Mrs. Oocking, Mayfield West. My dear friends, Your letter of May 27 to hand & I am pleased to find that you are on the way to your usual state of health. May you reach that desired journey's end &: long remain there t I also received the letter you had from J.F. Bowden U:k:n y~%Z~~ which was very interesting. Also the poem "On a Street", by Henry Kendall. And just h~re I want to know if you desire me to return them. The letter from Mr. or Miss Bowden (like yourself I am almost certain the writer is a lady) is of course your own private property, & the poem is a superfluity, as, thanks to you, I have it already in Ken­dall's Selected Poems. I am having a great time with Kendal 1 & his beautiful work. There are many of his poems that ap­peal to me, but none that come within miles of liOn a Street That poem I have always considered as the fines~ piece of literature I had ever come across. Always of an emotional temperament, it must haTe appealed to the youthful Oelt tha-t was me or I. But it had not in all these intervening year ~ gome across a single line of Kendall, ~hough ooc~sionall

passing incident would remind me of those few Ilnes ~x ~ I had during my youthful gropings after sweetness

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3. & yes goodness, read concerning II that gentle girl of bet .. t~r d~YS", & of her scandulous treatment by him wh?shOU~ d have 'been her protector & the protector of her cnlldren

And thougn I was at first, in my youthful, intoleeant way, unsparing in my contempt for him because of that treatmen~ t I relented somew hat, I remember ,w~en I came to those ~ words in the poem which he-penned in an apparently nopele­ss search for a word or two in extenuation of his conduct:

"Have I no word for him W'no used down feotid lanes to slink

"This much I'll say,that when tne flame Of reason reassumed its force,

The Hell the Christian fears to narne Was Heaven to his fierce remorse."

Yes, I relented--a little--, ana I am glad tlJat I did; & I an, thankful to Kendall for having sl10wn me at that early stage of my existence, the stupidity of intolerance. Also I must persist in my contention that there may be som­ething in the scientific theory that certain glands in the make-up of the criminal human are largely, if not solely, responsible for his misdeeds, or some av un. I am hoping that some day, "before I tumble down", I will ~e repaid for tolerance by_knowing for oertain that the gl­andular theory of science is correct & is being practised. In that event I am sure that you,Joe Cocking, would rejoic­e with me if only a small percentage of criminals were bei­ng cured of the orime disease by the simple process of hav­ing certain glands attended to. Just reflect what a blessi­ng it would have been if a certain criminal lunatic named AdOLph Hitler had those glands of his fixed up while youn~ g ! As for your statement, somewhat gratUitous surely, tha­t ~you have never known it (aloohol) to make bad people go­od~~, well, nei ther have I--unless by "bad" one means "ill. Bu~ we happen to have be~n speaKing, ~ot 9.f bad peopLe, bur ~ of abnormal ones. Surely there's a difference. Yet I recall ,one writer (a poet too) Omar Khayyam, who see\ med to think even that P9ssib1e,even in his day(the twelve th century)A.D.). In one of his stanzas in his "Rubyyatn 0 f Omar Khayyam", h~, on the subject of salvation or religi­ous ecstacy he~gaTe it as his opinion that

"One glimpse of it in the tavern caught (is) ~etter than in the Temple lost outright."

I hold no brief for the tavern or its wine,as I think you *now t espeCially as a beverage, but I know many otherwise

gooa" persons who revel in frequenting the Temple who I am convinced might oatch a glimpse of Heaven by a wee sip in the tavern,instead of continuing to pose as saints, as

4. a valuable aid to the exploitation of their "hands" & othe­r unfortunates. You know one pOison has been Known to kill another before to-day. I think you will agree that that wou ld be preferable to losing in the Temple outright any, gli .. mpse of It it". Those Oi,'j codgers might nave caug,L1t before -t' they'became old codgers. I . thank you for allowing me to keep, for my very own, "Kend ... all's Select Poems." Many of the poems appeal strongly to me, & many of the others the meanings of wIdcn tnougLJ ratll .... er obscure now, may, by persistence on my part, beoome 01-earer. Anyhow, one can always pick him up & spend a pleas~ nt & profitable hour with him. As you will have noticed, I have moved again, this time to tne west of the Holy Oity. I could no longer stand the goi­ngs-on of certain of my fellow lodgers at Hanson street,es­peCially the old curmudgeon in the room adjoining mine. She was ,an out & out believer in the wet canteen at all times & places. I could not induce her to have whatever of her glands were misbehaving tested with a view to having them removed or otherwise attended to, so I took the next best course & got out of it. Well, friends, thanks again for everytuing, & with kind re­gards to all I remain still your ardent well-wisher and affectionate friend,P.O'Grady,19 Chatham street,Adelaide,S. A. PrS.Not now having ay you to be a bit yyat" incorrectly.

a copy of Omar's poems by me, I must pr~ lenient with me if I spell the word"Rub­Savee vous ? P.O'G."

Frt. June 14, 1940. Yesterday Mum went to Maitland & visited E:'lorence at her home & returned:at night , & Jose brought Mum home from the Waratahstation. Ivy stayed here while Mum was away. Florence is recovering.

,This evening Fred was run over by Mr.Harmer's car in front of Hales'brass foundry,but escaped \,Vith a' few cuts & scratches. Mr. Harmer was dazzled, by the glaring head-lights' of a bus, & did not see Fred riding in front of him. He has promised to repair Fred's mangled bicycle. Fred has'been able to work since the

' ,accident, but his knees, are sore •

. Tuesday June 18, 1940. The French army has surrendered to the Germans, but the British will fight on-~alone. Florence is getting well, but she is still weak ' ~o-day we. received the following lett~r fromArt:~ ,

Post Offlce, Trangie,14/6/1940. Dear Everyone I know it's a " pretty long time since I w~ote to you. There hav~," been 2 reasons :; f~r the delay, a~though nelther constitutes a ve::ry good excuse •. ~ Flrst of all,livlng such a lazy life as I have lately, I've lost.~

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-.. , .. ,. \, 5 ~" .', ",---" ".. ,-" ," '- , ~ , ."" " the-'urge-- to'ltt:tK-'~write1''-:ft l!±ll:'do":"me~good- to (let in"to - a.~ '±gx b±g~BchooJ.:"'w:here"'I have to"woxk,;, At·tenda:l'lce lat'ei-y~has beenr Poor··--the·chi1:dren'haying--Fiu ·sore~·throats & ail-the oiher~~'" , , ". W±nter compia±nte, ~:o-I·-conldn·t go""on-'I'1±th new wott, "&"-itl-s I

not mU9h effort teaching half a lK..Ia school.. Tco help cor::bat thh~ a l

attack of chro~ic laziness I am now ridibg the bike out to school.A,hundred miles ridin~ a week will help to reduce the old corporation. The wea1iher 1S ideal, making one feel like lying in the sun & day-dreaming all the time. And I've some-thiUg to daydream about 1 , I received a Departmen1;al letter yesterday telling me that I would be transferred to a staffed school" as early ~s practicable' whateyer that may mean. However, xx%kx it's a bit more defin­ite, isn't it? I wonder where & when I,am going t Won't it be a perfect cow i:f they send me to Bourke,Hil1ston, Menindie, or Broken Hill ~ I don't think they will. That's my second reason for waiting. I thought each to-morrow would be the day for a definite reply from the Powers. In the very nature of things nothing -has happened out here; nothing ever does. But it won't be ~ong now, as the monkey said when his tail caught in the chaffc~t1ie~. I'm pretty sure I can stand It for a few more weeks. Merve is thinking of enlisting in the, A. I.F., while latest re­ports are th~t.Clarrie is going to join the air force. PerhapS neither res~lve will oome to anything. Whatever happens, any-., how, I am not going with either of them, xo let not your heart be troubled. Just'now I am pretty pally with t~e looal Salvation Army Cap­tain. We had a di fference not l~mg ago, but we parted amicably with mutual expressions of dsteem. ae's a very decent yOWlg fellow when you get to know him, & although ~e disagree on . most things I find he is a pacifist. I still go to Faix's pretty ofte~.J although the boys are no longer there •. Did you get the green ch~que in good order & condition ? I suppose you have heard of Bob White's death. Pearl wrote to me about it the other day. I didn't re~d about it in the pap­ers, but I don't read them very carefully. I hope that my next letter will be to tell you of my move. Yours Arthur."

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Frio June 21, ~940.ye6terday I receivecith~ following letter from Selina Murphy:-"June 16, 1940. Dear Joe, wife & faniily, Just a few lines ho':" ping they find you & your wife & family all qUite well again. Only just a slight cold in my head, but I am not ill with it but I have had a very crook spin, Joe. I was in bed ~ll the Easter very bad. I had liver & kidney & bl~dder trouble and

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erysipelas· all fnmy £ace-&ears;" it is' awful pain,'1 can' t~ll you. Well, I got,.1P after being in bed a::tlxxaexEa:s:.ltetlL"x a week & could not kee9 up; fainting off & no one to looK after me. So my son got a car & took me down to his place in the Mines & I was in bed there a fortnight, & have been home & taking tonic from the quack, thinking I would build myself up, & was just getting altx on, & I must havegot a chill & got the ery­sipelas back again on the right side of my face & my right eye was dreadful; but I was not so bad as at East~r time, as I was much better in body but bad enoug~ for me, as it is awful pain, & I could not keep anything down for 3 days. But I am much better now-- feeling my old self again. Well, Joe, I don't know what you are really thinking of me for not,writing before to thank you for sending me Florrie's wed­ding photo which I think is very nice indeed & just like her too. S~e looked very nice, I am sure, & I wish her the very best a f luck & happiness in her married 1i fe; & thank you, Joe, for tb photos. Ihave been going to write every day, but kept putting of ; too worrie9- to concentrate on anything, what with l.ne worry & ' the other, My daughter has 'ueen ver y ill, & has had another li ttle son. The returned man( s wife & my brother Jim in Ade­laide has been very low. We were Jus a.out all being sent for, but he has got over it again. This awful war gets. one so wor­ried. It. is looking very bad over seas.' Joe I w:r:ote. tQ you last, thanking you for the nice present you sent me, but I forgot to put N.S.V!. on it, & I don't know if you got it O.-K.

I have been expecting a letter every day, yet I_thought,"Well, I have not written since getti~g the photo.One of uncleSteve's daughters waS up here to Kadina from. Adelaide. last Sunday just for the day: it was Eliza (M:fs. Kelly) but I never saw her; she went down to my other sister,Mrs. Mowbray. There were 3 big buses came up,5/- return. ' I had a letter from aunt Lizzie Vercoe a few weeks. ag9., & she said she had 2 letters from you & she ~as quit~ pleased about it; & she said you told. her a lot about her brother Ohar1ie j& t then she said you never wrote any more. She hopes she has not offended you, in any way. " No one seems to know anything about the Miss Matthews you were asking about. My word, it is keeping very <irYi \f.ene(3d rain; it is so very cold, too. Well, Joe, I must bI'iI].g_1ihis to a close, as it is dinner time, & I, don't know of any interes1iing news I can write,So hope you are all well & happy.I remain your'loving COUSin Selina Murphy." 41 Digby Street, Kadina. Wri soo~. \I

Sat. June 22, 1940. Last night Walter came home from Sydney~ & brought me a 5/- copy of Byron's poems, which 'is a book'oI 750 pages, illustrated by 16 pictures. Ivy & Jose paid Mr. . . Stemler 42/- for me, & brought some more pOwder & pills.

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Wed. June 26, 1940. TO-day we received the following letter from Nelly White:- 211 prince's Highway, dapto,·Tuesday. Dear uncle Joe & aunt Jinny, You will have to forgive us for

not letting you know of our sad news, but Gladys said she would ~ let you know, & we left it in her hands, as Bob had such a large, family & I was trying to let them all know so they could get there. I won't go into details, as I know Gladys would have told you everything. Jack & Glad have been very kind, I don't know what I would have done without them. We were so terribly upset that we just couldn't think. I hope Florrie is feeling quite better by now, & I hope she is very happy. Thank you both for your kind letter. I oan't write any more just now as letter-writing is very painful. Fond love to all tile family. I remain your loving niece Nellie. I am very:r sorry, unole, I didn't let you know. Please explain to uncle Jack if you happen to see him. II

Brotber Jack called to see me to-day,but he did not stay tong.

Mon. July 1, 1940. Oecil visited us last night & stayed an hour. This morning we received the following note from Glad & Jack:- "1st Avenue, Warrawong ,27,6.40. Dear Mum, your wel­come letter to hand safely a few days ago. We received a let­ter,also the weddi~~lphoto, from Florrie; the' group looks lovely', I tbink. ~WIXl: Flo told me about Fred. She said that Jim & Etbel: had been U1) to seeher ,& they :Kulik.xx told her. He certainly was iucky; it's a wonder he wasn't killed. You can easily replace the bike.' Jack was working for the king's birthday; so that's why we didntt go up. How are you all 1. I hope you are tip-top. We are all well. It's like rain here to day; I do hope that we get some. I don't know when we will blow up your way. again; I hope it W9n't be long. The children & Jack send theirlove to you all; also from myself. Glad.xxxxx.lI.

Mon. continued,. About a week ago Mum bought a couoh for me to rest & sleep on in the dining room, & I find it very useful.

'to : Wed.July 3, 1940. This morning Mr. stemler visited me. He made

alteration in his treatment, except that in future I can have' rolled oats for breakfast, with prunes & figs (dry). Florence was here yesterday afternoon.She is almost quite well again.

w. Tues. July 9, 1940. Yeste.rday we called in dootor Bourke ,& ~e injected some hepasol< into 'my right arm,& ordered liver broth to be taken every day.We have given up Mr.Max Stemler as his treatment seems to·have suddenly failed.I am very weak & bloodless , but expect to soon get stronger through

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e'. ," dootor Bourke's treatment. Yesterday we r~oeived the foll­owing letter £rom Jaok & Gladys:-"1st Avenue, warrawong, »ort Kembla,5th, July, 40. Dear Dad & Mum,Idon't know what Glad has aeen tel\1ng you about sore legs & other things, but loan assure yo that all us here are in very good health & have not started to oraok up in any way, either physioallY,or finanoially.We sinoerely hope that all of you are well, particularly Dad & Florrie, whom we hope are getting well again. You,Dad, must get well /' again to enjoy something of the new era whioh must emerge from the :present blood-bath. We shall b,e up to see you next week-end (Saturday) & hope to see you all in the pink of oon­di tion. Best of love from Jaok, Glad,& the 3 little savages."

Tues. Aug. 5, 1940. On the first of this month we reoeivwd the following letter from Pat O'Grady+}) "24 Sydney Plaoe, -Adelaide, S. A. July 30th, 1940. Dear Joe, Mrs. Oooking & family, I am writing youa speoial letter for the purpose. of aoquainting you with the faot that I have onoe again ohanged my address! Tis a detestable habit, but I shall try hard to break myself of,it. No, I am ~ diffioult to get on with, but many, landladies ~ ;& I,deoline to allow myself to be sat on. I am now oo-oooupiex, with a photographio pen­sioner, of a 3 roomed oottage, & am very oomfortable. He seems to be a man of sensible, tolerant views. When I t;old him that I found it rather trying to be Irish & half mad, he roared as though it were a rare bon ,mot. . I' Now, Joe, this is the last page of my writing-pad, sO I have a gOOd exouse for not writing at greater length. When I hear from you again I shall try to make up the shortoomings o:r what Mr. Mioawber would oall "epistolary nigardliness". Now, doni t forget 'the ne!, address, & write soon _ to your sin­oere, if somewhat diminutive friend, P. O'Grady,

, , 24 Sydney Plaoe, Adelaide, - S. Australia. II

This morning we got this letter from Art:-"Post Offioe, Trangie, Tuesday. Dear Everyone,You were right ~ I was xi wro~g. I wrote to you that time I told you that I aidn't owe you a letter, but I didn't post +t. On looking through my pookets I found a very orumpled letter whioh must have been the one in question. How I oame to forget to post it I . 'don' t kno'r- I suppose it was oommon or garden variety thiok­headedness. It's wonderful that Dad is so muoh better,isn't it ? I am glad you have a bona fide dootor treating him. Those quaoks, I reokon, treat symptoms rather than oauses. Of oourse I don't know any-thin~about ,it, but I suppose my guess is as good as the next man s.- There is still no notioe of transfer. I don't knOll

""" 9. that I want a move now, but it.s too late to alter things at

I this stage. I still have piano lessons. You should hear me on ,1. Gibrielt~ Morel's "Angelus". It, would bring tears to your eyes. ~ You might even recognise the tune. NO,news is.good news: I have I gi v"."n you none. Yours Arthur. It I ,

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Mon. Aug. 12, 1940. Florence & Bill came down from Mai.tland last Saturday evening & stayeg ~til last night when they went back. Both are well. Walt also returned to Sydney last night by train., He is quite well. He brought home & gave me 2 books- "Rio Grande" & 43 other poems by A.B. Paterson,(1/6 ) & "When Th~ Wof1d Was. Wide", & 50 other poems: by Henry Lawson. (2/- ).

Thur. Aug. 22,1940, Fiurence vislted us yesterday on the way to Newcastie ~o ge~ ner nair waved. She & Bill were here on Tuesday. Last night Fred went to Hamilton' &: aSKed Miss Watson to send doctor Bourke here to see me as my baCK and fingers are out of order. She said the doctor would oall on Friday.

Mon. aug. 2b, 1~4v. Las~ ea~Ll.rd.ay we received trle fOllowing:­"The Cna.J.et, Cnarlolite pass, Mount KosciUSkO, 21-8-1940. Dear ~ otkS, Arrived flere to-day, & am very ent.J:1usiastio. Snow at the hotel is poor, but some wonderful runs are availa,ale, & the ski lift is a big nelp. We are in fine cond~tiQn, & are definitely improving our ski-ing. Very hot here, & we are fair­ly welJ. burnt, aJ.tnougn it may be snow to-morrow. 'iill possibly be back to hotel & run away someWhere else next week. Hope Dad & all the rest of you are well. Some of tne other boys would enjoy this plaoe. Wal."

We also received tne following letter from· Gladys & Jack:-"1st avenue, warrawong. Dear Mum, We were pleased to receive yOUL: J.etter yesterday to near how Dad was getting on; we are real pleased ne is on tne mend. I suppose it will take a w.nile before he feels as strong as ne'(i like to. We are very pleased he is no worse, anyhOW. When we, get a Ohance we will go up & see you ~ll. My word Jose was iuoky ne wasn't killed. I bet it gave Bert a soare all rignt; ne'd naturaily think it was Jose. I hope f .. Ivy & the Kids are better by the time this note reaohes you. We are geliting our Holidays on tne 27th October, it all depends on now muon petrol we can get, as to wnere we'll be gOing for tnem. I nop Wallie nas a good noliday, & wish we were on ours now. I nope Bill Purdy is better: also that Flo & all line boys are weli at nome.

r have enclosed a little snap of Adell; she wanted so badl;,- ~o

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send l.1;. I 1;' S not mUOh good, bu'!; she thinks it's lovely, & s~ I wanted to send bOliil !ler grandmothers one eac.l..!. 1 suppoee Art I'

oan't wait for Sunday to come to ge-G nome, & I bet yOU, all Wl.sn 'ti

he was at home now. Dad will be pleased to see him. I bet. It 1

mig.n1i liven bid Dad up a bit 'to nave him at llome. f

I will say gOOd bye. From Jaok, the ohildren, & myself. G~ad. jll

John xxxxx. Adell xxxxx. Alma xxxxx."

Last Saturday dootor Bourke oalled & onwlged my medicine from green tablets to a very nasty clear fluid tnat I have 'to take a table spoonI'ul of 3 times a day. Art brought Lindsay Orane to Killingworth by oar, on laXm~daJXXxgax Friday night, & on Sat­urday .ne too Mum & me to Maitland 1;0 visit Florence & Bill.We stayed tnere untill about 4 p. m. <::: then came bome.

j Wed. Sep. 4, 1940.Walt & Art are at home for their holidays, & have been visiting several places. Walt & JOhnny Rose went first to Kosoiusoo , then to Me.lbourne, baok nome;; tnenWalt

took someone 1iO Gloster & back. Art tOOk a frtend to Taree & baok. Art took Mum & me to Mai tlznd, & Florence & Bill have viaited us. My baokhas been very sore inside lately, so we called doctor Bourke in, & he presoribed medioine. As it is all taKen we have oalled the dootor again, & he is to oome ~ to-morrow.

Oopy of a letter tp Florence & Bill;-".lst Avenue, Warrawong, 2( th June, 1940. Dear Flo & Bill,

your weloomed letter & photo ,to hand safe~y. We are very pl­eased th hear you are -both well, also to have reoei ved the ph .. oto in good order. I think it is a very nioe group; everybod y looks very nioe. Alma said that aunty Flo,aunty Ivy, & her seif look the best. She's oertainly proud of herself. Every­one I ShOW the photo to, Alma always says,"Look, I'm the flow ... er girl; aint I lovely 1" Ireoeived a letter from Mum & she told me about Fred; he w~s certainly lucky he was not Killed She says Dad had be.en siok, & is on the mend again now, & tha" t WaLly had been nome for the long week-end. I was sorry I wa" s unable to be present at sister Violet's wed~ing; I believe it was beautiful. Jack was working, & I didn't have too muoh money to flash abou~, sO I wouldn't go in any old olothes. I burst a blood vessel in my left leg about 5 or six weeks ago, & I'm under the dootor for my throat. One doctor said I had a gOitre; the otner one wont tell me but is treating me; so be- II

twwen the lot I stayed at home. I would havegone LIp in tne

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train if r I had more Money &t the time. Never mind , they 1 are coming to aar. us; so that wont be too bad. '! We expect to gel, our full wagee next pay, all reeing well l'

It's very cold here of a night-- in fact all day. It~terribl' .. !

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, 11.; ~ hard to get out at six o'clock on day shift. I'll be glad ~en the Summer comes. Any time you feel inclined to come to our place you are both welcome. When we go to Newcastle aga ... in, if we have time we'll pop in & see your place for a'..f'r holiday, as we've promised to take them to see you. We are all well just now. I will nave to conclude with best of love to you both. From Jack, tne children & myself. (Glad) xxxx. We'll swop you,some,of our wind for your fog If you like. It's very mucn like rain to-day. Hope Bill is worA1Hg ail right."

Copy of Glady's letter to Mum:-"1st Ave. Warrawong, 2(-0 - 1940. Dear Mum, your welcome Ie t ter to hand safely a few days ago •. We received a letter, al­so the wedding photo from Florrie last Monday. The group loo­ks lovely I tnink. Flo told me about Fred; they said Jim & Ethel had' been up to see her, & they tqld her. He certainly was lucky; it's a wonder he wasn't killed.: you can easily replace ~he bike. Jack was working on the.king's birthday, so that's WhY we didn't go up. HOw are you ali? I Hope you are tip-top. We are all well.It's like rain here to-day: I do nope that we get some. I don't know when we will blow up ~ur way again; I hope it wont be long. The cnildren & JaCK S'tlnd their love to you aJ.l; also from myself, Glad. xxxxx. II

Copy of a letter from Jack & Gladys:-1st Avd. Warrawong,5th July, 1940. Dear Dad & Mum, I don'-t know what Glad has been telling you about sore .legs & otne­r thi,lgS, but I can assure you that all of us here are in ve­ry good health, & have not started to crack up ill any way, either physically or financialJ.y. We Sincerely hope that all of youu are well, particularily Dad & F .lOrrie, Wllom we nope are getting well again. You, Dad, must ge~ well again ~a enjoy something of the new era wnicn must emerge from the pr­esent blood bath. We shall be up to see you next week-end (Saturday), & hope to see you all in the p1nk of condition. Best of love from JaCK, Ulad, & tne 3 .11 ttle sava6~s. II

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Tues. Sep. 10, 1~40. Last saturday Arthur left home to ret-urn to Trang~e via Syg.n~i with youfigMr. Crane, WHO lieacn ...

es scohhl at-Westella; & Walter .l~ft nere to return to Syd­ney witn a young man. On Friday, the bth, we received t.ue 1'ollowing letter from JaQk & Gladys:;o:-"1st Avenue, Warrawong, Thursday 5th S'ep. 1~40. Dear Mum, you will find enclosed unde~ separate cover a par­&~l ffort yourxmx~ birthday. We wish you many happy retur-

o he day, also that same will fit you. How Is Dad? .:t I hop~ he is still improving. We are all tip-top. We don't ,

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12. know when we will be up to see you all, but hope it wont b­e long. Remember us to all the family .• Love from Glad, Jac­K, & grandchildren, Adell,Alma, & John.xxxxx."

The following letter from Grace should have been copied be­fore:-"Ward B 4, Prince Henry, Little Bay,lO-7-40. I rec'ei ved a letter from Mum to-day telling me how siCk uncle Joe is. I fe~v I couldn't go to sleep without trying to scribble you a few lines. It is rather a hard job when you are lying on your back. I do want you to give my love to uncle Joe, & tell him r. can only pray for him, seeing we are so far away from each other. You know what my likeness has always been to uncle, . & I am looking forward to being at home next week-end-- the 27th July-. Natura.Lly you are feeling worried & perhaps very tired, aunt. Jinny, but these are the times when we must Just trust in God to keep us. I guess Florrie is at home with you. How lovely it is for her to bc able to nurse her Dad 1 She will be glad of her experience now. I heard from ~elly White the week before I came here. It's' time for the lights out now, so I will fin­ish up with lots of love to all. God bless you. Your lov­ing niece, Grace Cocking."

Wed. Sep. Ib, 1940. As yesterday was Mum's oirtIlday sne was presented witli a gold wristle~ watcu in a oox that contained a note written by Jose, w11icn was as follows:-II To our dear Mum from your sons & daughter, Wishing you many more happy birtndays.xxxxxxx"

Mum's initials:- 1I1LJ.C.1I l7-9-40~ are lllscrioed Oli tne baCK of tne watcH. It transpired t11at Walt bought the watch (,witl1 gold band) in Sydney, but Ivy,Florence, Jose, JaCK, Ii red, 8, Charlie paid for it__ Florence visited us yeSljerday, altnough she has a cold. My eyes have been very sore for about a week ,but Mum nas been was,uing tliem wi t.n a solu~ ion ot borac~c acid, &. putting ar­gerol lUtO tHem, &. now tne left eye is almos'{; well, & tne right (good Eye) is very mucn be~ter. To-day is Charl~e IS birtnday, &. Kei tn brougnt down sometl1ing for nim tnis morrung. Yest..erday Wa.Lter seHli tnis greetin6 by telegram:-"Mrs. M.J. OocKing. Best wisnes happy birtnday. Keep good time. Wal. 1I It was typ~d on pale yellow paper with a l~ttle b~ue OJ.rd at t.ue t,op. It is Oharlie's oir-cnda'y to-day, &. j'ose B¢ Ivy gave nim a pa~r of Singlets, & Mum also gave nim a prese~t.

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13. '1'hur. sep. 19, 1940. This afternoon we received tile follow-ing letter,in red "Lype, from Arthur:- .' IIpost Office, Trangie, Tuesday 17-9-40. Dear ./:!,;verybody, tH­e weather nere last week was as depressiHg as you can imagi­ne; pernaps it waS moreso tnan tIlose of you wno naven't bee­n out west can conceive. One day it was niether light nor. dark, but a sickly, grisly, gritty sort of twilignt. You couldn't cal~ i"L a duststorm; it wasn't as dynamic as that. Tne dust didn't come in gusts. Dust seemed part of the air, or ratner tne eartn. The air & all tne country seemed to oe made of dust--dust so fine it defied our attempts to keep i it out. It filtered under tne door, th~ough tne craCKS in tLe wall, in fact trIere seemed to be something unphysical about its penetration. "Man is but dust" seemed pretty appr­opriate, for it got' into our eyes, found its way into our throats, put a coating o~ slime on our livers, in fact I tnink it got down into our our vrey souls, :wiCLl it made dir­tot, dull & gritty. In tne vernacular twitll certain omission" s) it was a cow. of a week. But it's allover now. We had 40

t9 points of rain on Friday & the weatller now is beautiful. How' 8 t.nat-- a page on tne weather. A bloke needs it to fill ~ a letter. The trip up was delightfu~, & tne people I met from We~~ington up seemed genuinely g~ad to see me bacK. There'll be even more joy when tney see my back for the last ~ time at Christmas. Joke. Tne fellows at tne House con-nnut .flo to be good to live with, excepting, of course, the silent Dean, my room-mate. I think the poor cow is a patnolobica~ case--ill otller words, 8: bi t cracked. He will be one of tljeS~ ~ days. Not that I'll allow myself the pleasure, but for so­me unknown reason he has fallen out with one of the other fellows from wnose eyes flashes the light of battle every time he sees the silent scorn shouteq from tne Dean's lips. 'rhe poor old Dean. He seems lonely & dispiri ted. I'd like .-9 to help him, but I don't know now. Merv sends his regards to all. HOW's Dad? Better, I nope. Is he sticking to the doctor, or nas he gone baCK to the quack? Tninking tnat I was to be poll clerk this week,whi­cn I will not be, I went to Dubbo last week-end. A military camp is nearly completed, & the first couple Oi' batches to stay theI'e have already arrived. They made tneir presence felt round the town on Saturday & Sunday by flocking along . to the Army. Some of tnem, presumimg on military privilege, gave a good, or should I say tragic display of drunken clo­wnishness at· our open-air meetings. They behaved pretty well r, though, & are !;10re of an asset than a hindrance. On tlle whole we get a pre-cty good hearing, althougn tlleir excessive '> ~e,verence is, amusing: A group of uniformed drunks was sta .... ~di~Ct~~a~o~~_i~lihe rtng on Sunday night • The fellows were

ow sage & Wanted to know oefore we began

14. every tune. liDo we take off our hats for this? We don't want to be disrespectful ". You should have heard their at­tempts at IIdisrespectful. II Ken Franks, son of tnee x skipper of Mayfield, is one of l.,11e. chaps I met. I suppose I'll get to know many of them soon, for weill be naving meetings out at tne camp. By tne way, ~ our skipper gave as nis Sunday night reading, the part on "Resist not evil", etc •. I should label it "Joke", toO.1I Arthur. II

l'ues. bep. 26, 1940. yesterday we rece1 ved tne following lette~ from Glad & Jack,:-"1st Avenue, Warrawong" Sep. 20th, 1940. Dear Mum, Vie are pleased to hear you are well; also that you like your bir-t hday ; resent; you III find that it is verY:1:handy. I suppose you have wanted a wristlet watoh for years. I hope ifad's eye is better by the time this reaches you. We are all tip-top just now, & are looking forward to our nolidays. We don't know where we are going yet, as the benzine is the trouble. We were t!linlCing of going to Bathurst & Orange & then up to Katoom-ba, but we mignt have to be oontent with Just gOing to New­castle or Sydney. AnyhOW, it will be a change & do tne onildren good. Jonn is still under the dootor for his nerves; he's taken one bottle of medicine & has to take another. I:1th:iJ.n k he is getting better: he was squinting & twitoning terrib­ly. Love from Jack, the c.u11dren, & myself, Glad. Jonnxxxxx Adell xxxxx Alma xxxxx. II

Tues. continued. Dootor Bourke was here at dinner time la­st Sunday, & seemed well pleased at the progress I am ma­king towards recovery. He said that I snould spend as muoh time in the open air as possible, whether it is .not or co­ld. Brother Jack also visited me on Sunday afternoon. The Federal elections were held on tne 21st, but tne final result will not be known for a few days yet.

Wed. Sep. 25, 1940.This morningls paper comtains the fol­lowing news:- "ELDERLY OYer,IST INJUHED. Mr. John Oocking, of Myola street,Mayfield, who, at the age of 75 , still rides a bioyole, was injured in an aooident in Hanbury street, Mayfield, yesterday morning. His bioyole oollided with a motor-oyole driven by Oharles Smith, 30, of George street, Lambton. Oooking suffered oonoussion & shock He was taken by Newoastle ambulancemto Newoastle Hospital. The motor-oyclist reoeived contusions & abrasions to the left hand. He was treated by the ambulanoe' men. II·

This report did not mention the faot that brother Jack was

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15· I~.· rendered unconcious by the collision, & that he was vomiti­ng blood. This' afternoon Oharliebrought the news that Jack­~ had become conscious & is all right. Mum had just got rea­dy to go Jack's house to do what she could; so she did not go.

'.I.'nur. 00 G. j, 1~40. Last Sunday Mr. Augustus Cannon di4d on the way home from ch~rcn. He left a widow & grown-up family. Last WeeK Flo~ence visited us & told us tnat sne & Bill had bought a large block of land at East Maitland for £ 20-0-0. 1'ney intend to hav~ a new house built on the site if tLley oan borrow enougn money .to do sa. Florence has had a slignt oper­ation done on her nose, & it was sore wnen sne was nere. There has been very welcome rain in most parts of N.S.W., but it is not qUl te enough to fill the dams,creeks,& ri verso The weather has been very cold for a week. Yesterday we got the following letter from Art:­"Post Office, Trangie, Monday, sep. 31, 1940. Dear Folks, How is everyone? I'm nicely, thanks, altnough grossl overweignt. I rode out to worK 3 days last weeK, but it doesn't s~em to have made mucn difference. I'm sure to have to stay in Gin Gin until Christmas, perhaps longer. I received a let-f§er from the Powers a week ago, II it is necessary i'or me to re­main in Gin Gin at present", although "tne matter will come up for consideraliion at th~ end of the year." Still. tne thought doesn't worry me. Next Monday is a hOliday t8 Bour lY Day), but as I'll have to conserve stOCKS of petrol I donlt thinK Itll be going to any place. I'm allowed 10 gallons a month for private use, plus 11 gallons a month, for which tne ~ Department will send me ticKets. Nothing weird, wonderful, or romantic has- happened. t!lThe co~'" try lOOKS wonderful now, for we've had pretty good rains la­tely. Merve goes into camp pretty soon. It's qUite on the cards tnat L III be able to have almost normal use of the ca'Y" rnest holidays, for I have a StOCK of about l(:j gallons "on the the ice". Several friends are gOing to give me raliion ti­ckets that they don I t need, t(i)O. Y'ours Arthur."

Sat. Oct. 5, 1940. Last night Walt came llome by llimself in his car. He has gone from Mrs. 0' Oonnor' s boarding nouse to a placll. ~ at Rose Bay, kept by a man & his wife, whO cnarge nim £ 2 per weeK for board,lodgijg, & garage. He is the only boarder tnere. Yesterday Florence was here for a few hours. This morning Walt broug~t Berri~re for some flowers. They did not stay long, but went bacK to Newcastle. This is a lovely daY, ~, & I am typing in the garden.

19\ 16. Fri- Oct. 11, 1940. Les Duley has been sent wi til some otner meIl from Wollongong to tne Commonwea..Ltn Steel Products,worKs at Mayfield to learn how to use a pressing machiueThey are Doard:J.i16 a-c lirs. Hughes', boarding 110use in Berc1da street, & have to remain uere for a month's -practice; tuen l'e'Gllrn to tollongollb to work a simi lar macJ.llne tlJere. Les nas called to see

tWlce. He is well, & said t~iat tne Pettigrew :family at Dapto is well. Mum went down t-o Myola st.reet. tnis morri:u,e; to see now brother Jack is progressing. While Slle was away Florence arrived from Maitland, & began to do some sewIng on the mach­ine. Mum returned before dinner t.ime, & said -Ijilat Jaclc nas a cut on tile top of his head & has to be helped to walk. he can not remember roly~nlng about tne accident.

Fri. Oct. 25, 1940.The moulders at the Commonwealth Bteel Co's works at Waratah are on strike against the introduction of the roster system of working there. Les Duley is thereby unable to finish learning how to use a Hydraulic press, & will prob­ably return home to Dapto. He has visited us several times This morning I typed out the poem, ItRock Me To Sleepll in re: sponse to the following query in this week's "World's News":­"G.H~T. (:Sowen, N.Q.) Do the following lines l3uggest a poem to any of our readers ? Backward, turn backward Till Time in its flight Makes me a child again,Just for to-night ••• II If they do, tuis .reader would be glad to know something of their origin (al.so the complete quotation. II I have posted the poem & the Answer to it, .. ,with a suggestion that they be reprinted in the World's News".

Mon. Oct. 28, 1940. Last F:riday Florence & Bill came & stayed until this morning. Yesterday Bi~l had to go to Gosford to play cricket for the, Cash Order team, & got back here about 9 p.m. This morning Florence & Mum went to Newcastle to choose some dress-material for Mum. Walter came home on Friday night & gave us ten pounds. He was away somewhere nearly all day yesterday. This morning" s . paper announces the death of Jack Bower of Wallswnd. He was 85. Last week we received the follow­ing letter from Art:-"Post Office, Trangie, Saturday. Dear Everyone, Recently I committed the silliest trick of a not too sensible youth. I rode a bike in my sleep. Yes, I mean it 1 PerhapsI!'d better begin the story at the beginhing. Petrol rationing being in, I thought· I'd consider the nation's interests, & my own (but in t[:e reverse order) by using less petroL Since Monday was

a holiday, being 8 hour day, this fact wouldn't keep me in Trangie for the week end. What would reduce the avoirdupois bett er tl::an a nice bike ride to Dubbo? Nothing, within reason;

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17. so I saddled up the old iron horse,-donned a pair of wllite shorts, (again in tLe reverse order) & off I set soon after breakfast last 8at-~lrday. The day was not, but not unusually 80,

& the wind, as winds always are, was against me. All went well. I

I did 36 miles in 3 hours. Havin~ just passed the mile peg, I was star led by a voice bawling t I mean oawlihg, for it wasn't just saying)IIPut the bike on the back & jump u:o, lad ll • Well, you know how it is • I couldn't turn the poor fellow down. He might have been offended. So I accepted his lift & finished the journey at 55 m.p.h. Wal Cameron with whom I play tennis on Saturday afternoons lat­ely, had to go & chop wood, so that I had nothing to do but stay at II home II P: nurse my sunburn unt il nightfall. Was I a fright? The sun, having been on my left all the way, burned me on one side only, & this could be clearly seen. My nose was something like the Pied piper's clothes, although the color scheme was a bit different. Half of my nose was red while the other half was white. Strangely enough, I wasn't a bit tired. Sunday was a pretty big day for us, including an engagement at the hospital in the afternoon, where we played in the fry­ing sun. (I nearly said boiling, but I hope I was cooked in fat. My own.) There was no·point in my going to Trangie early on the Monday, sO since there was to 'be a Sunday School picnic near Wellington, & I was offered a lift withWal's mother-in-laws's people, I rose with the lark, or a little be­fore him, & buzzed off to Wellington on the back of a ton truck. We left Dubbo soon after 5, so you can just imagine how early I did fallout. The junior·Captain from Dubbo went too. He's a real scatterbrain. (By tile way, have you heard the song Scatter Brain? One line is bonser. A fellow says it ~ to his girl, I believe). Something like this!-"When you smile you're so delightful, wnen you speak you're so insane. 1I

{Any views expressed are not necessarily those of the man­agement.). Anyhow, he's a good fellow at a picnic & the girls fell for him. We were the only young bucks there, so we had to keep things moving. Not having had enough exertion during tne day, we had a social at night. This, followed by a drive to Dubbo, occupied time till midnight, after which yours truly prepared to ride home. It was half past 12 as I crossed the bridge out of town. About 2 I was so sleepy that I actually went to sleep as I rode. Going was easy, too easy. It just was~'t ha rd enough to_ liven me up. Pedalling had become au­tomlc. I pulled up wi th a Jerk to find I was riding off the road. This isn't as dangerous as it sounds. There are virtuall'! no hills & no bends in the road. Anyhow I had the wind up. . I wasn't sure tnat I'd have the presence of mindto fallon my head & tnus escape injury. If I had any matches with me or if it hadn't been so cold, I WOuld have camped for a while: I didn't, so I went on, pulling up every now & again to wake

18. up. Towards dawn, several oars ooming towards me made me real .... is~ that if I ~anted to stay healthy I had better keep awake. ThJ.s tnought 11 vened me up, so that, by trie time I reached t;O:~l

e at 5 otcloc~, I was almost awake. 24 hours out of bed is a bit too much. However, I was perfeotly jake when I got out

of bed 3 hours later & went to sohool. I'm staying at home this ~ week & oonserving money & petrol for it may be pos ible for a party of us to take a tour of South Queansland at Ohristmas. It largely depends on whether he oan get his holidays. It has just dawned. on me tnat the maohine didn't go along far enou~b beoause it has been hitting up against a family Bible I've be~n repairing. You've no idea what a handicap a thick head is. Oh' but I don't. nold the world's ohampionship for seiveheadedness: How about tne last letter, on whioh you forgot to put a stamp 1 There was no harm done, anyhow. The cover arrived safely ghanks I hope Dad oontinues to improve. Yours Arthur J. Cocking:" •

Tues. Nov. 5, 1940. Gladys, Jaok, John,Adell, & Alma were here twioe yesterday. They had ,been by motor car toOrange,

Bathurst, Lucknow, & other plaoes, & were on the way baok to Port Kembla. They all look well. Th~y took baok the gramo­phone that Jaok gave me long ago, as we never use it & John wants it. Jack has had his car repainted a oreamy white, but he is not satisfied with the job. Tney left here last night. We have reoeived the following letters from Arthur:-"Bonna, Trangie, Saturday. Dear Everyone, For onoe I am spen ding a week-end at home. MY,reason is twofo.ld. First, if I stay here I oan't spend anything;& seoond, if I .donit go.ar8y I I wont use any. petrol. Lately I am ge~ting petrol'; at 2/:12 per gallon, w.l:1iOll is, of 90urse,. a consJ.derable savJ.ng, for the ordinary retail 'Orioe is 2/9. Why do I get a reduction? For being a parasite on the backs of the wo~king olass.Those who use cars for Departmental purposes get cheaper petrol if they travel more than 3000 miles per annum. The ,car hasn't been going at all well lately, sO badly has it been running, in faot that I've had it'in dook for a week. You remember how I h~d oertain repairs oosting me about ten quid just be­fore last holidays? Well I'm reallyn no better off for it. The plugs are oiling up just as badly as before, & the pull­ing is nothing shO.rt of terrible. It looks as tbough I'll need to have it rebored to get really satisfactory re~ults. I told the fellow that did the last job that the funotioning of the car· was a pretty poor advertisement for him, but, nat­urally, he olaims my trouble is not his fault-- I stould have

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let him rebore it when it was down before. It seems that it sometimes happens that baby cars need reboring after about 300 00 miles running. A ohap round here had to have his Singer

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1.9. done after 20000. I'm seeking N.R.M.A. advice on the matter. It is a bit crook when new rings only do ab9ut 1500 miles, isn't it? Anyhow, I can't be worried. I'm never quite broke. The Inspector was at Trangie yesterday.I was speaking to him on the phone. He told me that as far as he knew I was getting a move at the end of tne year. At the moment I'm in pretty good nick. I have a swim with the boys from school nearly every afternoon, & then, of course,I have to ride ten miles home after that. Yes, I'm back toth~ push bike again, for I don't think I'll be using the car very much during the next ~ few weeks. Last Friday was egg day at the school. It was on behalf of the Dubqo Hospital. How is 10 dozen for a fair ef­fort? That's what the kids brought along anyway. Not wishing to involve the hospital in any expense, I took the eggs down ~ by car. I may go to Dubbo next week end. By bike ? Oh yes, I think so. This time Illl use a little more sense. I'll set out early Din the morning & reach Dubbo before the sun is very hot. I wont be sleepy on the return trip, for Illl leave just after sundown on Sunday. A new teacher has been sent to Trangie. That makes 3 girls & a man on the staff. It looks as though they are hard up for men teachers. I wouldn't be sur­prised if they resumed those special teachers' examinations. If they do it wouldn't be a bad spec if Deg & Ohip bad a go at it. Teaching is a pretty good game, you know,especially if you have a good boss like I have. There's really no news, so I'll dryuup, hoping everyone is on the improve. Yours Arthur."

Thur. Nov. 7, 1940. This morning.! received 2 copies of "Aunt Mary's Cookery Book" from Tillock & Co. Ome is for Florence ,& the other I gave to Mum. Each book contains 212 pages, 8: has some coloured pictures of cakes, etc. Mum was ill & in bed nearly all day yesterday, but she is much bet­ter to-day, B: is up again. Jack, Gladys, & the children were here again yesterday.I thought they had returned home to Port Kembla, but they had gone back to Raymond Rerrace. Les Duley? Florrie are soon to come & stay with us for about 3 weeks wIlile Les works at the Oommonwealth Steel Products works learning to operate a machine to press billets of s

steel. This afternoon we received the following letter from Art: _1I Weemabah St.,' Trangie, Tuesday, Nov. 5th, 1940. Dear Everybody, I may be going to Carlingford to teach. The accent is on the word may. I advertised about a month

ago in IIEducation" that I was willing to exchange with an assistant in a Sydney suburb. So that I couldn't be accused of "putting one over", I mentioned the difficulty of obtalhn-ing accomodation. Only one reply was received, tha~ from a young married man named Tierney. It seems that he has a sick mother to support, in addition to a wife & baby. Hence

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he needs the extra money that goes with the position of tea-cher in charge. My private guess is that he is a ~Y. young

man, Wi10, marrying while be was still on a very small salal'y, now finds nimself unable to make ends meet. Fellows \FO marry at the age of 20. or 21 in t:lis job often find they haven't eno ugh sheckels to carryon. To get bac.<: to tl1e story. This fellow seems fairly satisfied after my description of th~ plac~ which, after all is a pretty spot (if you like th eW~{ts..t west) but t11inks it is a bit far from Sydney. You see, he'll have to pay his own expenses if the swop comes off. I have to arrange for him to rent a house here, too. Nor am I quite sure I want to go to Oarlingford, but I sup­pose it's as close to Sydney as I'll have any chance of get t ing for a while. Even there would give me a chance ~of doin g night lectures at the University. Of course, if I went there I'd have ~o do military training, but the thougnt of it doesn't worry me unduly, in that I'd do it with the Uni regiment ,& I'd be able to get into the band & stretcher­bearers. Botb Tierney & yours truly are going to find out, if we can, what the Department has in store for each of us if we don't swap. If we can't do any better we will approa­ch the department about giving official sanction to our pri­vate arrangements. This may be my only chance of getting aw­ay from here for at least 12 months, for not many people ha­ve the means & the inclination of going ten miles a day to work. I'll only stagnate while I stay out West. You probablY ? heard all about the gale that struck Trangie last Thursday. ¥. It was a little beauty. Although it did very little harm at GinGin besides littering the road with road with fallen trees, it did hundreds.of pounds worth of damage in Trangie, ~;, & probably hundreds of thousands of pounds worth in uub­bo.Last week-end saw me in Dubbo. Did I go on the bike? You bet 1 Afour hour tripmeach way, it was, so you see I didn't burst myself. Merve hasn't gone to camp yet. . The kids & I are trying a concert again this year. Believe it or not, I tnink one of the kids is gOOd enough to have a go at lI~he Indian Lov~ Oall". Will some kind friend send it up, please? Oh, by the way, will you send "The Farmer's Boy II with it ? Thanks. You'll find them both among my mus­ic. ,which was on top of.the piano. I found my sleeve-links, due to the honesty of my dear departed room mate. He is not dead, but has gone to a place very similar to his inal des­tination--ooonabarabran. I now h~ve a new room mate, a fel­low called Burgess.A likeable chap, he seems, on one day's acquaintance. "The Dean" my silent room mate was transferre d to another room ~ome time ago. I am afraid I induced him to move. Fi ve weeks of this & then home.Hooray t Arthur. 1I

':--' --, , - - 21. t Sat. Nov. 16, 1940. Last Saturday (9th) Les Duley. Florrie, i & yeung Melville came to stay with us for a fortnight while , Les learned te use a machine at the Commonwealth works, but

,I now be has to return to-m0rrow to port Kembla; so tbey will 1 all go bome to-morrow. Walter brcugbt his landlady fromSyd ...

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.,,1,' ney last night by car. Heavy rain has fallen in the Hunter river valley, but more is wanted.

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Tues. Nov.19, 1940. Yesterday morning Les Duley,Florrie, and young Melville left here to return by train to Dapto.Walt was to have taken them to Sydney in his car, but as Berriss Magner & Walter's landlady had to return wit~ him there was no room for all of them. Walt left here about 7-15 yesterday morning. On Sunday Jose took Mum,Florrie Duley, Les,& Melville up to visit Florence & Bill at Maitland.Johnny Rose went with them. They all returned about7-30 p.m.

I

I Sat. Nov. 23, 1940 •. Florence Visited us yesterday morning & stayed until the afternoon. Jose &Ivy are off to.Harrington,near Taree, this afternoon, as he has a fortnight off work. The Com­

monwealth moulders are on strike again over the introduction of the roster system at the works. 1200 muni tion workers at Li thgow are also on strike overthe dissmissal of a man at the facto'ry. The Greek army is reported to have taken Corka,an Albanian town, & defeated the Italians with great slaughter.

Mon. Nov. 25, 1940. Yesterday I finished reading liThe Philoso­phy Of A Future State," again~ Rain began to fall, when Jose, Ivy , & Noel started off for Harrington on Saturdaw afternoon,

& by the/! gtime that they reached Florenee at Mai tland it was raining so hard that they stayed at her place all night. Kei th & Daphne slept here.Kei th was ill for a few hours, but recovered, but Daphne became ill with stomach trOUble, & had to stay in bed yesterday, & is not well yet. The trouble with the ironworkers at the Commonwealth works is not settled yet; and 1200 munition workers are also on strike at Lithgow. The Greeks are reported to have defeated the Italians & taken a large quantity of war material again. Mum consulted doctor Bourke last week about her indigestion,& he prescribed medicine containing iron. He also gave her a bottle of iron tonic for me.

• Mon. Dec. 2, 1940.We received the following letter from ~rt:­II Bonna", Trangie, Wednesday. Dear Folks, I am still in the - same boarding house, but to ensure prompt delivery of mail I have made the address more accurate. If a letter is addressed to "post Office", Trangie, I really should call for it. I'm not sure yet that my mail doesn't go astray at times. Oh by the way, did you get a request for liThe Indian Love Oail", and liThe Farmer's Boyll? They are

Lesile' R;"'yIDOnd' Davis, transfer ,car driver, ":, - '" I, em,ployed by' the, B.H.P. Co. Ltd., and resld. 22.

Jul 27 1940 ) Ing in' Grl1flths~street, Mayfield, said that at y, • 8 a.m. on July 2~ :the transfer, car was 60ft. bo th V"l' th" ill Y , from the dead-end. Electricians and riggers ' "

RS ' ADVOCATE SArrrrTRDJ·w.orIlIWI'-)tinll' to,do the repairs, He handed mUSiC, V"hl' ch ,I , .J,: v, ,", the car, over. When he went to the top of '. I ' , , ' , the inClined trestle, he saw a loco. propelling

foul' trippers of' coke up the Incline. He was' on top Of switched the points over so that the train MAN KILLED AT

STEEL WORKS

"Tragic, Event," Says Coroner .

would come on to the wharf side of the J.!> th e piano trestle. He climbed on to the loco. at

The driver asked him whether the trans- when I was fer car was right back at the dead-end, added Davis. He replied, "No. You have room to "'" home. last. get the leading tripper up to No. 3 coke ']' pocket With the, coke breeze tripper In front If i tIs no t of the leading tripper." Witness left the train then, lind It went on. While working too much tl'OU'" on the trippers flv'e minutes later he heard there was an aCCident. hIe would

Replying to Mr. O'Neill, Davis said that, ' when he left the transfer car he did not 0 n e 0 f you see a danger disc between the car and the

, t t . occun-ence-a approaching train. He dld'not consider look them up "TIllS is a mas ragIC anybody could' place the disc there after he man lost his life although h!! and others had gone past. It he had seen the disc It & e d til em if;!. with him took every. pr~cautlOn to ensure might have affected his estimate of the S n safety" said the Dlstnct Coroner (Mr. margin of safety. to me" please A G' Chiplin) at the inquest at N ew-, \ Oscar Hard, a rigger employed by the ca'stle' Courthouse yesterday in~ the de~th ~ B.H.P. Co. Ltd., of Myall-road, Waratah, said We wan t to of James Theopilus Davis, 39, an electrICal he was under the transfer car helping the h

. t t Ad stown electriCians., A shunter came along and pre sen t bo t mechanic, of V:ictorla-s ree , am k' asked how he could get past. He had hardly Davis was kIlled at the Steel War s finished speaking when there was a bump. in our bre ak

on July 24 when a transfer car ran ,He ducked down. 'The transfer car movod I'm "head two or three feet. He knew the loco Up concert tc7 OV':Th~ ;Iriver of, the train which hit must have come up. Davis was right under "

the transfer car and the shunter ~ne,% the Wheel of the transfer car. ff; be he ld a . . d n the Ime James Fitzpatrick, a labourer, employed by

the car was heIng repalre a 'the B.H.P. Co. Ltd., said he noticed the f 0 rtn.\ gh t to-added the Coroner. "I cannot under- shunter give a signal for the locomotive to II. stand why the shunter went past i~e stop, It did stop but only for a few secqnds. night. I' 11 safetv disc. If he had stopped at e The train followed the shunter and struclt the disc 'the accident would not. have occur- transfer car.. The train stopped again. It have to ~J go to red. There has been some dIspute about was moved back a little. , h the signals ,given, by the shunter •. The SHUNTER GAVE SIQNAL. fiI' Dubbo t e driver says 'he dId not see a!ly sIgnal~. Charles Edward Grimes, crumper, employed week-end aft-The conflict, between the WItnesses IS by the B,H.P. Co. Ltd., said he saw the eYident, but I".a,in,not prep,a,red to ,say', shunter give a signal to the driver to stop ,er next to

th the train. The train stopped. The shunter the driver was 111, e wrong. d t f "aid, "We had better go along and see If we t to s for

1{r Chiplin said it was the uy a could get the car shifted a little farther." ge y,' both' men to -take extra car~. It se.el;lled Just as they got to the front of the car, the the ki ds' questionable that they exerCIsed suffICIent transfer car was bumped. There was a caution. The death was not due t? gr~ss shout and a man was pinched under one of taJlkXla:traaB Ohr-criminal negligence but to II tragIc mlS- the wheels. ,

. In reply to Mr. O'Neill, Grimes said he saw i stmas tree understandmg. f accI'dental death was a safety disc' about 4ft. from the back of •

A finding 0 the car. The shunter did not give a signal' I I not tra:ve returned. for the train to come on. m -

Mr. H. L. O'Neill (Messr,s. Johnson. anrd 'Mr. Nathan: Did yoU see the safety disc 11l-ng round t-O'Neill) appeared for DaVIS s relatives, M. clearly all the time? A S Nathan (A. A. Rankin and Co.) for 'Witness: Yes. h' e country at th'e B' .H.P. Co. Ltd.', Mr. L. Wells for the ,

R Cecil Henry Lee, shunter, employed by the "I Electrical Trades Union, and Mr.' A. " ti H P C Ltd Id th t t 9 July 1 arge now as Middlemiss for the Department of Labo,!r D;.. O. ." sa a a a.m. on and Industry. Sergeant Gleeson assisted the 24 he tOOk .. train of four trippers of coke much as 't!:l dl' d

up the Inclined blast furnace trestle. He J.'"' Coroner. was on the front. or the' leading tripper. He b

Josiah Thomas Cocking, a leading hand got off and signalled the driver to stop by bu t I've e ... electrician, employed by the B.H.P. Co. Ltd., hand signals. The train stopped. He went i ' f and residing in Carandotta-street, Mayfield, un to see If the transfer car could be moved I en away or said that before they started work he veri- on. He had hardly, spoken to the men I . 1 t lied that the disc had been properly placed. A working when the ,transfer car was bumped. , t ne ast wo plank was placed across the two ralls of He gave no signal to' go on. ,I k d VI 1 railway track on which the transfer car was In reply' to Mr, O'Neill, witness said that I we e -en s. a standing, Davis was slttmg on the rail or the plank removing one of the casing bolts, ,wilen he gave t,J;le signal to stop he faced, 0 ameron mana~ He was just behind Davis when the ,car be- th" driver aud put up his arJUS to full I ) gan to move. The wheel ran over Davis's height. The driver had llever misunderstood " ge r 0 f Dub bo right leg, He shouted to the driver, "You ~ ,his signals previously, \ are on a man, Go back!" He realised that , James Wallace, driver of the lOCO, said the -'-p 1ume de po t Davis must be seriously Injured, and went ,transfer ilar driver told him the car would , to ring for an ambulance, When he returned ; ,be down' for six hours. The train went wi th whom I to the scene. of the accident he found the 'ahead slowl~. Lee, his shunter, eased him , , danger disc taken eastward from It~ first down to ~nnect to a breeze tripper. The play tenn i so .. position, B,nd crushed by the wheel of· the train did not stop. It continued moving transfer car. Davis was a careful and cap- 'until he telt' a bump. He asked the shunter "n Saturdays able man. I' why he did. not give him a stop signal ,

Replying to Mr. O'Neill, Cocking said the' before striking the transfer car. Lee said, let me have 4 danger disc was red, and was about 151n. In "I did, bUt' )'QP kept on ilomlng." The shunter ' diameter. It was 3ft, 6in. above the plat- was In his ,view all the time, but he did not' ,gallon ration form. It was securely placed on a sub-, see any slg",a! to stop. stantial support on the rall. It was cus- 'l Wallace told Mr. O'Neill that he was abso- tick e t s n SO I tomary to place the disc on the rall and lutely depenllent on his shunter. Until he , not on the platform. There was another bumped th~ car, he did not receive any stop took a trip t-disc available to put on the platform. It, slgn~1 ,frolll' the shunter. was not thought necessary to use It. .,' Mr, • Wells; ,Would' detonators be better 0 We 11 i n gton

than ,S8.te~,t, discs? ' , • Wltne~s': .'Ye~. 'rWhi 1st t.t1ere

...: ____ ~~ ~~&_~, .. _.l .. - . ... _r'·"

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f i I

23. I happened· to '. take Leila McGra thou t, 1,7111 ch was a good thing in the light of what I'm about to tell(You remember my ment­ioning Leila some years ago-- about 3 I think--when I was

younger and sillier). There lived in Trangie for a couple of monthsl a young lady (siC) of ordinary appearance & less than ordinary intelligence. She wrote to the Sallies in Dubbo, poin­ting out that she was living among pretty crook people( the phrase is hers), & if she could get a job no Dubbo she'd be deeply grateful, as it would enable her to lead a better life. The skipper asked me if I knew her, & whether she was a gen­uine case. I had never heard of her, not knowing many people .<. in Trangie. To shorten a long story, She got the job, & then, having tired of military & air force uniforms, decided to sheik some Salvation Army bandsman. She introduced herself to one of the bands men & invited herself to the pictures with him, but he, not being keen on a girl,who took a run and jump at him,left her in no doubt as to how she stood. Then came my turn. I received a letter which is bankrupt in spelling and syntax. It's a little beauty 1 Her spelling cou]d be forgiven (although the younger generation should be able to spell) b~ ~ her sentence construction is the best thing I have seen yet. I didn't knowwhether to be amused or annoyed. I didn't want to be too severe on my "loving fried" (her spelling), yet wanted her to get a definite impression that she wasn't wanted. A few a5ft~,.g~ yearsago I received a couple of unwanted lett~r~ from half-wittJd adolescents, but I just ignored them. perhaps I shouldn't have squibbed the issue then-- if I hadn't I might have been able to cope with this situation. The best plan of defence is to point out that your girl friend WQuld chew your ear if you wrote to another girl. But for that you must have a girl friend. She knew (everyone out here knows everyone else' s business) that I'm no ladies' man-- I haven't had a girl for the last year or so of exile. What was I to do ? Why use Leila for purposes of quotation.I've a fair idea she won't mind; so now the other fellows,when in sweet Kathleen's hear­ing, are to ask me frequently about Leila's health. (This was a godsend in a way,it has filled a letter which otherwise would have been empty. "Fate has orooll:.ed me pitch". I ,,§hink. You know how I was going to exohange with a married man living lin Eastwood. I can't get him a house in Trangie .Maybe I'll get a Change. Anyhow I can't be worried. Please find some sheckels {£ 3) enclosed. Arthur. P.S.Please don't send the Sunday papers. Thanks all the same, but w1get them out here.A.O."

r

l, . (Monday continued.) To-day we received the followimg letter from Flor~ie Duley: - "259 prince' s Highway, Dapto. Dear Aunt1e & Uncle Just a few lines to let you see we arriv­

\ ed home safely.We did not get home til' o'clock at night as we went to see Les' bro there He is in a terrible state· he t '

24" would be better out of misery. Les was very upset when he saw him. I don't think he is long for this world. we are all well here. Melville is very keen to write as he promised. He wants to know if Keith & Daphne are with you. I suppose Jose & Ivy went for their holiday. Vera took the pen I had; she wanted to do her homework • Then she is going to wri· te to Uncle Joewnen she has finished her exam. Les is still working well. I think he is leading tto a steady job, which will be very pleasant after so much strikes. Les is trying to get George a Job at Port Kembla. Nell & pearl are both well. That is as much as one could say about them. We have been very busy since ~came home, Les is busy atthe lawns now. I do the clipping, but hav e given up mowing. Give our love to Jose & IVy, also uncle. Ask him to wri te if you a;re' too busy, as i know you have SO-lMi:­much to keep ilYOU going. The girls & Melvllle send their love to Keith'& Daphne. Have you got Noel with you? Melville said he wi shes he was back in Newcastle, & wants to know when he w:i;· ..... 11 be going back. In a hurry, don't you think? Dad came back home the night after I came home. ,Lila & the children are well now. The, baby has been ill wi th a bad throat. I remaim your 10'" ving neice, Florrie."

Wed. Dec. 4, 1940. Florence came home yesterday & stayed until 10 p. m., as she had to wai t for Bi 11 to retum from a Newcastlt meeting. ,They are both well. She brought back Noel from Maitla­nd, where he has been staying with her while Jose & Ivy were holidaying at~arrington on the Manning river. Jose & IVy also returned last 'evening • They had' rainy weather' almost all of the time, but had a ~oodrest. Daphne passed her examination at the school, & is now eligib~ to go to a High .School to learn Domestic Science. Jose is to gi ve her a pound f,?r pass­ing.

Fri. Dec. 6, 1940. This afternoon I received some cOl~ured views of New York, & the 'following letter fromllMiss vera Duley

259 Prince' s Highway, Dapto!': - Dear Uncle Joe, You may, or you may not remember me, but I remember you. ,When Mother came home & told me you wanted to read one of my poems (which aren't very good) I decided to write to you. ' However, I've had no time before now as the examination has bee1\. ;fl' on. Uncle Joe, will you please crt ticise my poems, as I think one learns by mistakes. I attend the Wollongong High School, & I hope to be on the Intermediate ~a+ next year. The subjects I take areEnglish, French,Latin, History, SCience, Needlework, &' Mathematics 1 & 2.Mother would like me to attend a Business

OOllege after I have obtained my Intermediate Oertificate, but I would like to become a school teacher. I teach the Kinder­garten at the Dapto Methodist Sunday School. I like it very much. I am looking forward to coming up in the Ohri stmas hol-

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25. idays. I love swimming, & hope to· be-able to go' swimming when we

, come up. Every Wednesday, the sports day at school,we go swimming in the Continental Bathsat'Wollongong. There isa YOti

ng people's Club at the MethOdist Church, which meets every 'i'nur-:-. sday fortnight. We have d··bates, camp-fires,mock bl'oadcasts, etc & lots of fun. One Thursday night we had a debate, the subject being flWhich has the' most influence ,petticoats, pUlpi t, or press

) . ~ ~'. , I

". I was leader of the "pulpi tsll, & we were victOrious. tt school every Friday afternoon we stage a debate on the English lesson. The deputy headmaster says the second years, (that's us) have the best debating team in the school. I have a pen-friend ~ in the United states of America. Last Friday I received a let­ter from her • We exchange stamps. photographs, & souvenirs. It is real interesting. Now our examinations are over we have some important events at school: for instance, we have Speech Day. This is the day when the Mayor & Mayoress award urizes for school work. Then we have a Play Night, & at the" end of the term a Christmas party. I'm afraid I'll have to close now,ho0-ever. I remain your sincere niece, Vera. P. S. I am enclosing some 'views which my pen friend sent me. Will you please return them 1". .

The poem enclosed is as follows: - MOTHER. Our greatest friend is our Mother, That's how the saying goes,

And I think there is no other Who knows of all our woes.

She's by your side when ~u are ill, Soothing your heated brow. ~ , If you are big she loves you still; do show her your love now.

Confide in her when things go wrong; Tell her of all your fears: She gives you hope; she makes you strong, And wipes away your tears.

Whem Mother scolds or becomes cross At something done by you, Don't give your head anangry toss And feel impatient too.

She only does what's best for you, So help her on in life; She wants you to be loyal & true, And no t end up in stri fee "

26. Mon. Dec. 9, 1940. This afternoon I finished a letter to Miss

Vera Duley& included a copy of "Wha t Is poetry". I am returning­the views ofN.York.Ivy has been helping Mum all day.Jose started again,after his holidays, this morning. Florence & Bill were here from last Friday evenints to late last night. I have sent

3 / ~ to IIHanage r, II «fhe Aus traii an Woman's Mi rro r" ,Box 252lBB, Sydney, N. S. W. for a cOpy of the Woman' s Mirror. Cookery Book for Mum.

Tues Dec. 17 1940. Last Friday night Art returned by car from 'I'rangie by himself, as he had a lot of luggage wilicn lel't no room for a passenger, He does not kAow yet whether he will get a fresh a-ppointment or not. On Sat. ne took !.:um to Maitland to

vi si t Florence & Bi 11 ,. and the y all wen t out to see the Chine se dragon at the show g:cound, or the sports gJ.'ound. There was a great crowd tnere to see the great 70 feet long fiery dragon and the fireworks. The pricd of admission was 2/- each. Duri ng tne last' few days I have been ousy making an i~~e~ of the contents of my diary May 21, ],,920 to Dec. 20, 1921.I fUllshed tJ,e job yesterday. Walter has not come home yet as he has to work on until near Christmas day.Art has written a rhymed letter to Walt, of which he gave me a'copy. The coal min~rs here have gone on w:nat will probably be a !S~nera~ strike tnrought Austra­lia against tIle B.E.P. company, wnlcn wlll not observe thelllast to come first to goll rule or custom when mechanising its pi ts & di scharging men. It is reported that the Bri ti ~h army in Egypt has had a very great Victory over tne Itallans there

Fri. Dec. 20, 1~40. Florence came here this morning,& I gave her a cheese-knlfe as a Christmas present. She .has now gone to NeWcastle, f" will probably go straight back to West Maitland from there., Yesterday was very hot, but to-day neavy rain is falling. Tne colliers have gone back to work as their claim to have the last to come the first to go custom continued at the mines where men are cavilled out.

Tues. Dec. 24, 1940. This is starting a new ribbon. Christmas Eve, & all of the rush & bustle in preparing for to-morrow ! Mum

has received a Christmas card from Jack Weston & Mrs. snowing the old Jail at Hartley.We received a +arge parcel from Jack & Gladys containing gifts for all of us. Mine is a white shirt & a pair of sox. Mum's is a night dress & another garment. Art bought the Ohristmas number of the "Bulletin" for me, & now he has tal{en his car to West Mai tland to bring down Bill purdy & Florence Ellen this afternoon. Charlie has made 2 crystal sets for E~hne~ Keith & Noel. Noel is not well. Yesterday Art took

J.1um in his car to Newoastle; where, among other things,she bought a new ice-chest of Beberfald. From the manager of d" The Auseralian, W~, s Mirroe."Sydney,I have received a secon

,...

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'27. COpY of the "Woman's Mirror" Oookery Book, which I intend to give to IVy.

Thur. dec. 26, 1940. This morning between 5 & b o'clock Art started off with Florence & Bill for Harrington, on the Manning river, past Taree ,,' to' camp, f~r a week. yesterday Jose ,Ivy,Noel, Keith, Daphne, Bill,Florence, Art, Fred, Charlie, Mum, & I sat at our Ohristmas dinner table. Walt ~asnot with us , but was probably at Wagner's'place. Jose gave me a cOpy of "Lightrung Ridgell, by Ion Idriess. Fred gave me a big vyce. Noel, Daphne, & Keith gave me a pretty tin bux full of lollies.Walt gave me a set' of stocks & dies ranging from i:zzi~xxxxlzzzi to i inch. I gave IVy a "Wo~an' s Mirror Cookery" Book , & I am sending ~way 3/~ for gnothe+ cOpy for Mum, as, I g~ve Florence Mum's cOpy yesterday. I gave Ivy 10/- to get, Jose a,book on Electrici tJ Charlie gave me a 10/- note. Florence & Bill gave me a,white ~a.ndkerchief & a' bottle' of reej., scented' hair oil. Mum las gi v-en Florence tlle old'~ice-ohest as Mum has a new, better one now~ On Ohristmas eve I had a severe attack of wind in my stomach & was in great, pain for aboutlO minutes,but was right again' whEm I belched up the gas. Art was out playing wi th the ~y oarollers on Christmas morning. He played the big bass. .. also received a new whi te shirt from Mum. In the evening Berris Magner & Walt oame here, but as she had. to go on ~uty at the hospital at Newcastle she could not stay long. John Rose played a lot of tunes on the piano until after 10 p. m. Fri. Dec. 27, 1940. This morning Mum has gone to Newcastle to spend the day at the beach. The weather is beautiful. John Rose came this morning with 3 COpies of one book on the Douglas Oredit System for Jose, Walt, & me. I am still typing myoId diary. of 1921-2.

Mon. Dec. 30, 1940. ~arly this morning Walt let in his car to return to Sydney by himself. Florence,Art, & Bill have not returnE from Harrington yet. This morning Oharlie wen.t to Newcastle & bought 2 rings or springs for Jose to put into Art's car, which he has oleaned & repaired. I have just rec~ived. a. letter & a lot of views of Lake Winnipesaukee,N.H. US. A., from Vera Duley. Also views of the White Mountains, N.H. U.S.~ The letter is as fol10ws:-"259 prince's Highway, Dapto, 29th Dec. 1940. Dear uncle Joe,

:to t seems strange that on my second letter to y:,ou I have to make eXcuse for not answering promptly, but really I havellt had much 8ime what wi th Ohristmas oleaning, baking, sewing, & preparing for .the holidays we were IIflat out", as the 'saying is.we went surfing on Christmas day & again yesterday,Boxing Day. Yester­day we had a lovely time, but got su~burnt as the result of

28. staying in the water too long.By "we" L mean Dad, Melville, Joy, Edna, Bill ( Edna's husband )June (Edna's daughter) and myself. Last night we were extremely luoky, for we won many prizes at

_ the carnival at Stuart park & South Beach, Wollongong. I must thank you, uncle Joe, for your greetings & good wi she s sent to me in that Ohristmas oard. I have to thaIlk you again for your criticism of my poem; you pointed out errors I had never tried to remove before. I have one of the books you recommended, namely pear's Enoyclopaedia. Dad gave me money to buy my own Ohristmas box" & I tried to get a-Rythm Book, but was unsuccess­ful. I purchased instead Henry Lawson's "While The Billy Boilsll. I am enclosing in this note more views from my pen-friend. r was unable to find them before, but recovered them while Ohristmas' cleaning. The club which I was telling you about in my last let­ter became quite gay towards Ohristmas & organised a treasure hunt. The girl who was my partner was very unfortunate for she slipped into a pond, whil.e we were searching for a clue, l r went home with her while she ohanged her clothes, as she lived near the church. We missed the hunt, but that didn' t r~n:t&%~.thex5am& x really matter. The same night when the hunt was over & we had all eaten the ioe blocks whicn were supj lied for refreshments, a court case was held & I Was accu~ed of going about without my appendiX. (r was eperatedon last ~ril). Grandad has Just arrived home from work & I have to get tea, so I will olose now hoping you have had a merry Ohristmas & wishing you a happy new year. Yours sincerely Vera. II Yesterday we received the following note from Adell Oocking:-II 1st Avenue, Warrawong, port Kembla. Dear Grandmother, I want to thank you for your lovely birthday present; also for Alma's. ...., She can't wri te herself. We like it very much. Mummy hasn't had time to make them up yet. John's shirt fits him lovely. He saic to thank you for it too. we are waiting for Santa Claus to come. Grandmother, I'came top in the test. How are you & Grand­father? I hope you are all rlght,also my uncles. I hope you all come down for Christmas .• xxxxx.Love from Adell. Thank -you Grand­mother for our Ohristmas boxes. II

The views (colored) sent by Vera Duley are:-"steamerHt. Wash­ington at Alton Bay, Lake Winnipesaukee,New Hampshire; Moonlight

on Lake winnipesaukee,New Hampshire; Scenic Splendor On Lake l'tinnipeBauk~e, New 'Hampshire; Spindle Point Observatory, the . W'eirs,Lake vYinnipesa.ukee, N.H. ; Robert's Oove, Lake iVinnipesauket: N. H.; Moonlight on Lake Minni:sauatt pe saukee, N. H. ; Steamer M t. L Washington at Wolfboro,Lake Winnipesaukee, N.H.;Kimball's Castle t & Lakel&Unntbesaukee ,N. H.; Mount Washington snow-capped, from Lake . Winnipesaukee, N.H.;The OSSipee Range, from Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire;Steamer Mt. Washington leaving the Weirsl,Lake Win­nipesaukee, n.H. ; Sailing on Lake W. N.H.; Red Hill & venter _, I

Harbor,Lake W.; One of the beautiful views of Lake Winnipesaukee; J I

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29. The Weirs, frOI::1 W'hi te oaks -Road, Lake W. ;Endicott Rock and U. S. mail boat,Lake W.; Lake Winnipesaukee,N.H., from Meredi th neck; Moonlight on Lake Winnipesaukee,N~H;; scenic Splendor-,on Lake W. ;Mount Lafayette & Echo Lake, frOt'! Artists' Bluff ,Franconi a notch, Whi te Mountains, N.H.; Jacobi s Ladder ,M t. Washington Oog Railway, Whi te :Mountains,N. H. ;Mount Washington, Whi te~j.M. ; The Mt. Washington & the presidential Range,Bretton Woods, Whi. te Mts. N. H. ;Orawford Notch, from Mt. Willard, Whi te Mts. ,: Whi te Horse Ledge & Echo Lake,North Oonway, Whi te Mts. ,N.H.; Franconia Notch, from pemigewasset Valley, n.H. ;Indian Head, Franconia Notch, Whi te lfountain; ° ann on Mount ,Aerial passenger TramwaY,Franconia Notch, White Mts., ; The Great GUlf,Jlt. w.; Lower Falls of the Ammonoosuc,Brettcm Woods, Wh1 te Mts.N. H. ; Upper ~allsof the Ammonoosuc, Bretton Woods.' Down Tuckerman' 8 Ravine,Mt. Washing ton, Whi te Mts.; Mount Oh~corua ..... Lake 1M

Mts.,N.H.; paradise Falls, Lost River,W. Arts.; The'F1ume Go;ge, Franconia Notch,;Glen Ellis Falls, Pinkham Notch,W. Mts.;The Old Man of the Mountains,Franconia Notch.; Oannon Mt. Aerial Passenger Tramway, Franconia Notch. '

Thur.Jan. 2, 1941. This morning we received the following 0 on a letter-card:- Taree, 31-12-40. Dear Mother & Dad, We ha ve shifted camp ~o-day fromHarri~gtQn & are in T~ee trying to find the way to a waterfall in the head waters of the Man ... ning. I t was good at Harrington, & we caught several good fe ... eds of fish, but want to eXplore the plaoe a bit. I t is rain ing here, & if it keeps up I suppose we will have to cut our holiday short, but all being well we shall be home on Sunday Hope you are all O.X. Love from us a11-- Florenoe."

The morning has been fine, but rain is falling this afternoo~ lit. This morning percy & Oharlie put our old ice-chest on Per cY's lorry & took it up to Ivy; but it has been given to Flo­rence. She does not need ft yet, as there is an ioe-chest in the house she is living in at Maitland. I have been tyPing my

.:y. old diary of Maroh 1922 to-day.

rri. Jan. 3, 1941.This morning Florenoe,l3~ll,& Art retur"nea f.rom Harrington,Taree,the Comboyne,Oedar party Oreek,Dingo ck. & other p1aoes.They enjoyed the trip, but rain oaused them to return earlier than they at first intended.We received the 3rd copy of the WWoman's Mirror Oookery Bookll this morning. I gave rvy,Florenoe, & Mum one eaoh.

Mon. Jan. b, 1941.0harlie reoeived the following letter from Gladys & Jaok :-lst Avenue, Warrawong. Dear Oharlie,I wish to thank both you:eself & Ma for the money you both sent for ° :-:::hristmas boxes for the family. I wish to thank you for the ohildren, also for Jaok & myself. We saw the police at port

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~ o. Kembla about the air-gun, & they said no, John had to be 14 + years old, but another one said; "the sergeant, I presume it was" yes he could have providing Jack or a responsible person went out with him,& he didn't shoot cows or horses. So we went in & bought him one to-day; it's a 500 repeater. John will think you are the best in the world when he sees it. We bought the girls a stroller each for their dolls, & a new frock each, & books,dlblls, , ribbon, socks,etc. We also got John a wristlet watch & a big thick book, also other little things.We had bought them Christ­mas things ourselves before your present arrived, so now they are getting a double share. Don't forget to let Ma know, & thank her for us all. If any of you feel inclined to come down this way come by all means, there will always be a bed a feed for you at any old time. We Will be at home for Ohristmas & New Year. There's a Ii ttle parcel gone up by po'?t: I hope you rece­ive it safely. Hoping all are tip-top, & wish~ng you all the compliments of the season. Love from Jack, the Children, & my­self. Glad. John will think you're the best Uncle Oharlie in the world when he gets the gun. His ,eyes nearly popped out when we ment- ~, ioned it. He still believes in Father Christmas, you know. II !

This (Monday) morning we received the following letter from I· Gladys & Jack:- "1st Avenue, Warrawong, friday 3rd. ~' Dear Mum, Your letter to hand safely. We are sorry to hear you & Dad are not too well. We are all tip-tap. Jack is off for 3 days the week-end after this,ll th,12, th, 13th; so if everything is aJ. ' I right we will be going up to see you all. We thought that Art would have brought you & Dad down for a run, but seeing he h.~ s gone to Foxster he couldn't do so. Anyhow, you can get ready I & come back with us if you like. Dad can sit in the front seat near Jack, & he will be quite comfortable. A dell is as proud as a peacock about that letter you sent her. I made their fro­cks up between Christmas & new year. They have worn them-- in fact they need a wash. I Just had enough stuff for them. Jack was off last Sunday, so we went to Sydney, & the girls wore their frocks. They thought that they looked very nice in Sydney, in fact the Davids remarked several times how pretty they looked in them. I don't think they're too bad. I made them a bit on the big side, that's the only thing wrong with them. You'll see them on them when we go up. I was going to wash them, but I've changed my mind.I think they'll get an-

other turn out of them before I do. It was raining here yesterday, & it looks very much like it to~day. I will conclude with love from us all, & wishing you the Uompliments of the Season. From Glad. Jack & the children wish you all the best for 1941 also.xxxxxxxxxx." Last Friday Art 'brought Bill & Florence down from Mai tland. They stayed here until yesterday, when Art took them back to Maitland,& took the train to Sydney from there. Bill seems to

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31. have oaught a chill while on their holiday trip to Harrington, & he had. to remain in bed here on Saturday. Florence telephoned to-day & said that Bill is a bit better. Yesterday I read a pamphlet enti tled"Atheistic Oommunism". It is "The Encyclical "Divini Redemptorisll pope pius Xl".It contains 40 pages of lies & truth mixed together to denounce Oommunism, but it is very unconvincing. I also finished IIOry Havoo", a book of 256 pages by Beverly Nichols.It is against war for Oapitalism, but not against war for Justioe & freedom. Art gave me several books including liThe Concise oxford Dictionary Of Current English", adapted by H. W. & F. G. Fowler from the "Oxford Dict­ionarY" .. The Fowler book consists of 1507 pages, & cost 11/3. Art al~o gavE3 me "pear's Oyclopaedia" ,consisting of 960 pages. I twas given to h~m by Pearl Oarpenter( nee Oocking) who got it for tea coupons. Jose gave Bill purdy some stramonium plants which, when dried,& smoked like tobacco , will relieve an at­tack of asthma. Stramonium plants are weeds that grow on rub­bish heaps & beside creeks, & bears a large round prickly fruit which is poisonous. I believe it is used to dilate the iris of a patient' 8 eye t'? let more light enter the eye for examinati(

Sat. Jan 11th, 194~. Arthur returned from ~ydney yesterday, 7& fOl,lIld that he was ~ransferred from G'-nGin to Oampsie, nElar Sydney. He was muon pleased wi·th the ohange, as he has been 4 years out in the West. Bill & Florenoe came home from Ma­itland yesterday, went to the piQtures in NeWcastle, & return ed th Maitland at night. yesterday we received the following note from Gladys & Jack:-"Lst Avenue, Warrawong Thursday 9th Jan 19A.l. t5ear Mum, I am wri ting to tell you not to expect us'up th.is week-end, as Jack has a broken spring-- the main leaf it is. He's order­ed one, but of course we coUldn't make the trip wi thout:li t being fixed. The car is all right otherwise. Jack has found eo­out he only hasaSunday & Monday off, & goes back on Tuesday afternoon, but nniversary week-end he has 3 whole days off; so we may be up then. Hoping you are all well. Love from Jack, the children, & myself. Glad. xxxxx." h%d:XB.xtlll

Art is to be "Best Man" at a wedding this evening, & I photo­gfaphed him i~ a black ,swallow-tailed ooat, white vest, & white shirt this afternoon. He has taken Mum out in his car this afternoon, just for a run.

Mon. Jan. 13, 1941. Art returned to Sydney by train yester­day afternoon, as he wants to qualify for a pass in music oonnected wi th the Department of tducation, for which he mu­st be able to playa flute. He also has to find a house to board I lOdge in at Camnsie, or some oonvenient suburb. Bill ~ Florence were here yeeterd~y afternoon & ~tayed un­til n~ght, when they returned in Art's oar to M~t~and. Bert Cocking & the twins & the baby visi ted us yesterday.

-~un~-;an. 19, 1941. Yeste~day A;~3~rOUght Kei th,Mum, & me in, Jos'e'-i car to Bill & Florence's place in Hemphill street,westMai tland; where they had everything ready for us. Mum had previously sent UTI a bed & bedding by a carrier. Art & Kei th did not stay long, I

as~ Art wanted to get eack to Mayfield early. Mum & I intended at first to go with Art to Taree, as Mum had not been there, but there had been much rain & we were afraid that more would fall, so we postponed the trip. To-day I have been reading the "Telegraph" & "Sunday Sun" all day.

Tues. Jan. 21, 1941. Tbis morning I weeded a part of the garden & back yard of widow Mary Douglas'house (in which Bill & Florence li ve for 25/- per week) & did a bi t of lawn mowing, which was very hard work for me. I wrote a 4 page letter to Selina Murphy, Digby street, Kadina, S.Aus. Mum & I had a walk toward Rutherford in the evening.

Wed. Jan. 22, 1941. To-day I mowed a little more of the high grass In Bill's back yard wi th the lawn mower. Bill has not been well to-day: his asthma troubled him again as it did yesterday, but he was able to go out & do his work of collecting for the Oash Ord­ers Oompany. I wrote a short letter to th,e Websters in pO,rtreath, Cornwall, which is apparently too far away from Germany & France to be bombed oy Hi tler' s dupes. Fine weather. Mum ~ I h,ad another walk & wen t around the ha~1:tal.x&.x:maeltxIl7&Xxfi.xXCll.'lgx»n~gi:x.pl ac e.

Sun. Jan. 26, 1941.0n Fri. night Mum, Florence, & I walked to High street where I bought a square, rule, brace,l lb. of 2 inch I nails, & ~ medium size screwdriver, for Bill's use. We met Ella Morris(nee Robinson), but we did not talk long. Mrs.Jtu%Qex Doug- T,. las has raised the rent on Bill & Florence from 25/- to 27/6 a r week; so they Will get another cheaper house to shift into.

Mon. Jan. 27, 1941. Last evening Mum & I walked up to the hospi t­al on Oampbell's Hill & back over the lqng concrete bridge over the Hunte,r river. Before we left Mayfield a chair tipped back­ward & tore the skin on the SCal: on my left leg,I replaced the skin & applied COllodion. The little sore seemed to be getting right, but it was getting worse; so Florence has been putting hot fomentations on it. We expected to see one of our boys up here to-day, but no one came.I am sending 2 "Bulletins II to brother Bob. My back is far from well, but I c~ still eat well & Sleep soundly. Bill is searching for another house.

Thur. Jan. 30, 1941. This morning at 8-30 I photographed Douglas' house, & Florence took Mum & me together. This morning I finished reading the book that Bill borrowed from the lending library for me. It is entitled "permanent Way Through The Khyberll.lt consists of223 pages by Victor Bayl eYe

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33. Thur, Feb. 6 , 1941. Last sunday Jose brought up Ivy,Daphne,Noel, and Kei th ,& wal tel" brougl1 t up Johnny' Ro se to Mai tland to see us. In the afternoon we all went to the Maitland baths, where Walt & John Rose had a swim . They did not stay in the water long, as a sudden thunderstorm brought heavy rain. The baths were crowded with young p'eople, & there were many sheltering from the rain. Walt paid 27- for himself,John Rose, Mum, & me to pass through the turnstiles, Jose,Ivy, Bill ,Florence, & the 3 children retur-

~, ned to Bill's place while Walt ~x~~ took John, Mum, & me home to Mayfield in his oar. Walt left for Sydney alone early on Mon­day morning. Last Monday I pulled up over 1400 weeds from the gardE n.On Tuesday brother Bob visited us. He has quarrelled with Gladys (Bobby's wife) & has been liVing with Jim & Ethe! 3 weeks. He expects to be admitted to the Waratah Benevolent Home. I gave him a large parcel Ci)f papers and some books. Yesterday I walked down to the Mayfield post office & got a questionaire paper for Mum. I bought 2 tumbler glasses & a marked measuring glass at Fri the s shop. Ivy brought some ointment & powder for my sore shin. To-day I finished filling my questionaire paper and Mum's & took mine to Mr. Frith,J.P. & he signed it for me. pat Eastaway has married again & has taken the nearest shop to us. Banjo patterson has -just died. Eldridge, the officer in charge of the Mayfield Barmy corps, was here to-day & said that Eddie Brown ,bandmaster, is dying. Wilile we were at Mai tland Art sent the folloWing letter:-

"8 Tamar st., West Marrickville, Sydney. Dear Everyone, I have found a boarding house at the above address,near Dulwich Hill station. The household consists of a widow, pretty elderly,

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& a living advertisement fot the cooking,in the portly form of r the daughter. The latter weighs about 14 stone, so that it does no1 appear that food is lacking in either quantity or quality. There is a good big garage for the car; & the board, including washing & the use of the garage is 27/6 per week. Although the JOint is about 3 miles from the school I think it may be more satisfactory than a plaoe nearer to work. This house is handier to the city & to such places as Earlwood, Marriokv111e, & NewtGWon. Not hav­ing started work ye t, I don't know what olass I'll be teaching. I have made several friends already, or I should say, certain fellows that are friends to all the werld have already befriended me. One of~them is Frank Minnis who kn.ws all of aunty May's orowd. On unday morning last I went to Oampsie ArmY.Not long afteI the meeting started a smartly-dressed girl oame in & sat down beside me.I looked at her, she lOCi)ked at me, & then a smile of recogni tion showed in her eyes. nYGu're Arthur, aren't you ? 11 she said. Then I remembered that I esoorted her home onoe when I was yc younger & sillier but I hadn't seen her for about 5 years. Friend c number one. Then rrank Minnis oame along & asked me would I oare to go to his place for dinner. I would & I did. During the dinner , his wife suggested that I should go out to Cronulla the next day

3~ T as their guest. Naturally I gladly accepted as ± bad ne plans for i AnniveiSaxy Day.I've just returned, having had a bonser day with ~ them. J.l the crowd is the essence of friendliness & consideration_! Friend~number 2. Again, yesterday afternoon I went to Granville, 'here I had tea wi th the Olsens. Last night I went to Marrickville I ~m'-Y,&. who should I see but the former girl friend of tbe girl I . mentidned earlier in the piece. She introduced me to the Marric- I ville crowd, who werem()st friendly. Friend number 3 & umpteen. f' Am I glad I'm net in the thirsty west? Will you redirect any mail that comes for me, please? Thanks. Oh, by the way, Ohip, . have you still that straight saxe that I had for about a year ? lsi t in use, because if it ian't I can find a goad use for it. P e-rhaps you" CQuld put it in with the cleaned clothes & get Wal to bring it back next time he goes home. Thanks. If you send me a list of directions anent what I'm to do in Sydney I'll do it for you. The light is nGt too good,&, my eyes are sunburnt, so I think I'll close. Yours ,Arthur. "

Fri. Feb.7, 1941. I walked down to Frith's shop in Mayfield yes- I te,rday &: got Mr. Frith to sign my pension paper. I bought a sponge", sandwich for Mum. '

i I ,Mon. Feb. 10, 1941. Last Saturday afternoon

JO$e took Ivy,Daphne,Keith,Noel, ~fum, & me to Speers' point. The'place is very much different from what it was when I cam-

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1I, FEBRUARY 7,1941. (' p~d there to bathe my sore legs in the i --.:---====----.:...:-..:.. .... s1U t water. The old baths halle gone & new i

POLICE COURT ,baths made of concrete stakes have been bu~ . " . .' . . il t nearer to the pub. New roads have been 'I

(BEFORE MR. J. B: SCOBIE, S.M.> made, seats have been provided about the I "ROBBED OWN PEOPLE ... ~Leslle Thomas ·.1 I

, Gibson, 19, labourer, was sentenced to- six! ground & a place for women has been months' Imprisonment, with hard labour, -on a . , . charge of having, at West Maitland, on built There was a great number of cars February 2, stolen a box ot.- sPannels .. and ' • . .

~ ratchets and othel" tools, . valued at £5,· the I.. people there as th, ere was a picniC , property of William' Gibson. .. .. ~ , .. , • , Detective-sergeant A,. J. Barber said Gibson i We went out through Wall send & re turned went to his. brother's home, stole his ,tools ,

~ast~~~~in~.!'3yg~i~ret~~~c~~~t,lt;.stw~~~s~~ i via Adamstown. The weather was fine & was before the Court for robbing his father. I E A'd • B I bi t t··· He did rot secJIl to rob anyone but. his own I warm. U! le rown s 0 uary no lce lS ln people. He had been gl~en chances but 'would, to d' a . er Flor t d th not wor~. . '... ~ - ay s p p. ence sen own e be'<i" oy -caxiiex·-·tn"is·· .. morningj also a lot of ripe tomatos & some round cucumbers. She will come down to-morrow.

Tues. Feb .10, 1941. This morning Florence came home. She had done some shopping in Newcastle, wbere Bill ?as to attend a conference of the Oash Orders Company to-night. I sharpened my old Disston' s handsaw to give him as he has no saw. Flor.enoe ~ & Bill are to shift shortly into a house in Lorn where they WillJ have the use Of. 2. rooms (empty) for15/ - per week. The other rooms are occupied by Mrs Merrion & her son & husband who is a car-~~esman. My cold is much better to-day. Mum was sick t:J

35.; , Tues. Feb. 18, 1941. Last Sat. Arthur & Mr. & Mrs ~ Paix (Pay) ~rri ved by train from Sydney. They Went wi th Mum for a ride ln Jose's car around the sceni 0 drive to Belmont & baok thro Wallsend. On Sunday Art took our Visitors to the Mayfield hall & on Sun. night they returned to Sydney. Mr. Paix is a driver of locos on the N. S. w. railways, & works mostly in the west'. They own a house i~ Dubbo. Yesterday I felt fairly well & planted beans & potatos, tnough the sun was rather hot. This is a warm, olear, oalm day, without Olouds.The photos of our house tLlat I took wi th the half plate IIInstantograph ll oamera on Sat afternoon, with the Visitors & ~t in front, came out moderat~lY ~el1. Florenoe has shifted into Mrs. Merrion's plaoe at Lorne. Fred has not been.oalled up forenlistment yet, but I am expeoting that he will get lnto serious trouble through not enlisting Art has to be trained to kill at Ohristmas. •

Sat. Feb 21, 1941. Walter oame home by oar from Sydney last night, Billy pettigrew's death is announoed.He is older than his brother ~im, but younger than Matt. He married Grace Gardiner of Wallsend. :puring the last 4 days I have been working in the garden. :,:11 ..;l left leg is still sore, but is slowly getting better. Walt has appli ed for the po si tion 0 f 8ssi stant' engineer for the Sydne y CounCil, but is not hopefu~o1getting the appointment.

Wed. Feb. 2b, 1941'.Last Sunday Walt took Mum & me to Ih:aitland in his oar & John Rose took Emil paoey &: his wife & Yvonne (Evon) their daughter, & we all went to Florenoe's plaoe in

Lorne. I photographed the house wi th the Voigntlander oamera. F'lore~oe & Bill were at home, & in the, late afternoon we all drove to the baths, where John Rose & IVaI t had a swim. We all returned to Florenoe's plaoe, & sbe & Bill stayed there while the rest of us drove home. The day was hot. Urs. Palmer is still in the Mater hospital. Yesterday morning ~ I photographed a series if views looking from our front ver­anda, with theVoigtlander oamera.

Fri. Feb. 28, 1941.Last Wed. evening Bill & Florenoe oame home &- stayed until late last night, when they rewrned to Mai tland. Florenoe & Mum went to Newoastle on thursday morning, and Bill 1J!'ent to the annual pionio,at Wangi, of the Oash Orders Oompany Brother Jaok & Graoe visi ted us last night. Graoe is on her ho­lidays. Mum visited Mrs palmer,our next door neighbor, on wed­nesday, at the Mater hospi tal. She expeots'to be able to come home shortly, but she is very weak,& wil+ have to employ a Rer­vant for a while. Fine day. We have reoel ved a letter from mrSf paix eXpressing her thankfulness for our hospi tali ty to her & Mr paix during their late visi t. The letter is missing, 80 I cannot oopy it yet. B'lo l"iilliams is married to a. bank ~eller & they live at orange •• ::JI...C.. ~"'.;~ ~ AA ~ 8'H-

~ IJU.t1~ ~~~/l t'1~b%9~ .. 11~2..

36. ' I Wed. Mar. 5, 1941. To-day Fred's communication- from the gat!-g is as follows:- "Recei,pt is acknowledged of A.A.F. ( J!<nlistme!lt for Military iJervice for Home Defence).

mili tary J M 3 A

If you are required to attend for mediCal examination & enlist­mentyou will be notified direct of the time & place of such at­tendance. In addition press notices will be published. NOTE.- I~ you change your address occupation or get married you must DAMEDIATEL Y notify your area officer. Date Mar.4, 1941. AI' ea 6:rficer W. N. Coop." We received the following letter from Arthur:-"8 Tamar St. ,West Marrickville, Monday. Dear Everyone, I'll be going home With Pip for the week-end after next,but I thoug~Jt I'd bring the newsletter up to date for fear lest I for­get it when I do arrive at our "country seat". First, you remem­ber my telling you about going & seeing the military authorities about the compulsory call-up, don't you? I suppose you also reco] lect that I was' told I would be going into the camp until Christma s. Well, the silly cows sentnot) me a letter that it was desired \' that I should be ready to enter camp on or about 17th of March. ~ That was no good to me, so I jumped in the car & drove off to the '1

barracks to tell them so. It being Saturday the office was closed, so I had to wait until the Monday.On Monday I showed the memo to the boss, who suggested that I should go in & see the department Ii

that afternoon. See the advantage of working in Sydney ? !

Well, on with the tale. I went & saw the powers that be in the Education Department, who. directed me to the Leaves of Absence Branch. Having put my case to the young fellow there, I was told to wait awhile while he rang up the military authorities. Thinking I'd improve the shining hour,I went upstairs to the Examination' Branch to ascertain whether they were going to let me go to the University 01' not. They told me that it would probably be 0 K'ed, so, armed wi th this information,I went back to the Leaves Branch. The leaves man was talking to Captain Cotton,area superintendent, & was asking that I be left until the end of the year, then to undergo training with the University Regiment. I interrupted him to tell him that I was now a bona fide undergraduate, & he could tell Oaptain Ootton so. To shorten the story, I was told that I wo would nrobably have my wishes met, but to send them a letter sta­ting my case. I obeyed his instructions. Up to the present I have received no word from the militarY,but to-day I received a letter from the Eduqation Dept. exempting me from the payment of Univer­sity fees. bO you see, with a bit of luck Imay become a B Ec. yet. So long. Arthur."

Grace & Till paid us a visi t on tuesday, but did not stay long. Grace has to return "to her work shortly. Dorothy Oocking, Will's daugnter, visited us yest.erday.to get a parcel that Grace left here for her. I partly made a rubbi sh tin ye_sterd~y. Hy left leg is slowly getting better.

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37. Mon~ Mar. 10, 1941; I have finished reading a pamphlet lent by John Rose enti tled "Viotory Wi.thout Debt." 93 pages by C. Barolay-Smith. It is a plea for the use of national oredit. Jose took Ivy & the ohildren to Flerence' s plaoe at Mai tland yesterday. . The following reprint is a clever caricature of the stupid evol- . utionist theory:- "SUBSTITUTES FOR THE SCRIPTURES.

Lucifer reprints from a Oincinnati paper the following sci entific substitute for the first chapter of Genesis:-1. Primarily the Unknowable moved upon cosmos and evolved pro­tOplasm. 2. And protoplasm was inorganic and undifferentiated,contadning all things in potential energY,and a spirit of evolution moved upon the fluid mass. 3. APd the Unknowable said ,"Let atoms attract." and their contact begat light, heat, and elect~icity. . 4. And the Unconditioned differentiated theatoms,eaoh after its kind; and their combinations begat roCk,air, and water. 5. And there went out a spirit of evolution from the Unconditione d, and working in protoplasm, by accretion and absorption ,pro- ; duced the organic cell. 6. And cell by nutrition evolved primordial germ,and germ devel­Oped protogene,and protogene begat eozoon,and eozoon begat mon­ad, and monad begat animalculae. 7. And animalculae begat ephemera; then began creeping things to multiply on the face of the earth. 8. And earthly atom in vegetable protoplasm begat the molecule, and thence came all grass and every herb in the earth. 9. And animalculea in the water evolved fins,tails, claws,and scales; and in the air wings and beaks; and on the land they sprou ted such organs as were necessary as played upon by the envi ronmen t. 10.And by accretion and absorption came the radiata and mol­lusca; and mollusca begat articulata,and articUlata bdgat ver­tabrata. 11. Now, these are the generation of the higher vertabrata, in the cosmic period that the Unknowa01e evolved the bipedal mam­malia. 12. And every man of the earth, while he was. yet a monkey,and the horse while he was a hipparion,and the hipparion before he wa s an oredon. 13. Out of the ascidian came the Bmphi bian, and begat the pen­tadactyle; and the pentadactyle, by inheritance and selection, produced the hylobate, from which are the simiadae in all thei r

!~:bXHa out of the simiadae the lemur prevailed among his fel­lOWS, and produced the platyrhine monkey. 15. And tIle platyrhine begat the catarrhine and the catarrh-. ,

3S. ine monkey begat tfie anthropOid ape, and tCle ape begat tne longimanous orang, and the orang bega t the chimpan zee, and tlle chimpanzee eVOluted the what is it. 16. And tl1e wna tis it went In to the land o:f Nod and took him a wi fe of the longimanous gi bbon. 17. And in process of tbe cosmic period were born unto them and their children the anthrOpomorphic primordial types. 18. The bomunclus, the prognothus, the troglodyte, the auto­chthon, tbe terragen-- these are the generations of primeval man. . 19 • .And primeval man was naked,and not ashamed, but lived in quadrumanous innocence, and struggled mightily to harmonise wi th the environment. 20. By inheritance and natural selection did he progress from the stable and homogeneous to the complex and heterogeneous-­gor the Wicked di ed, and the strongest grew and mul tipli ed. 21. And man grew a thumb, fqr that he had need of it,and developed I capaci ty for prey. . j

22. For, bellold, the sm ftest man caught the most animals, and ~f the swiftest animals got away from the most men; wherefore the ,( slow animals were eaten and the slow slow men starved to death. 23. And as types were differentiated,the weaker t%~ types con tinuall y di sappeared. 24. A nd the earth was filled wi th vioilence; for man strove with man, and tribe with trib~, whereby they killed off the weak and foolish, and secured the survival of the fittest."

I t is announced in to-day's paper that Hi tIer has taken charge of all of Italy, and is now practically ruling the country.

Mon. Max. 241941. Last Saturday morning Mum & I went to Newcastle by bus & tram and went by the 9 a.m. train to West Maitland. We walked over to the house in Sempill street where Florence & Bill are living, & stayed until 4-30 when Bill ordered a taxi car, & the 4 of us rode to the High Street railway station. We all returned to Waratah railway station, & Bill again got '''I a taxicar, & we were driven home. Bill & Florence stayed here on Saturday night, & returned to Mai tland by train last night. in the 5-20 p.m. train from Waratah. Ihave made a new Dilly-cart with a box that Bill Stauffer brought last week.

Wed. Ap.2, 1941. Last friday afternoon Jack arrived home fro~.! m Warrawong by car wi th Gladys and the 3 children. They slep 'I t at Gladys' mother's house at Raymond Terrace. They went back to Warrawong on monday afternoon. They are all quite wel~ •. ~red has not been called for medical examinatmon by th e mllltary gang yet. Keith came first in his class at school

a few days ago. Daphne is attending Newcastle school to

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39~ learn Domestic Science. My left shin has not healed yet, but it seems to be getting better.

Sat. Ap. 5, 1941. Last night Art &:,;Walt came home from Sydney in Walter! s car. Both have colds,9therwise they are well. To­day Walt has gone to Newcastle:Art has taken Noel & Kei th there too. Rain fell last night, but we have had some very nice sun-ny days lately. Mum & Art are going to Mai tland this afternoon.

Tues. Ap. 8, 1941. Florence came home wi th Art & Mum last. Sat. night, as Bill was on business in Newcastle. Thlly returned to Mai tland on Sunday night. Art & Walt re:turned to Sydney o~ Mon. (yesterday) . Germany?· Italy have_ made war on YugoslaV1a. Mum is going to Newcastle this morning. Rain last night & yester-daY'On Saturday Art bought at the vo_op • store,for me, a oig flat file (l/lO),a ratchet brace (8/-),2 ddlls (1/2),2others 1/1, ) a32nd in. drill (bd), 24 chair tacks( 2d), a center punch

( !/4 ~~), & a drilling machine (£ 2-lb-b).The total cost was £ ~~~al&~£ 3-10- 7 ~.

Good Friday, Ap.ll, 1941. This morning I typed a reply to the foll01 ing letter from Mrs. paix:-11135 Bourke Street, Dubbo. 7-4-41. Dear Mr. Oocking, After Arthur left Dubbo he was kind enough to send me some books to read,& said when I had finished reading them, to send them on to you. I am therefore sending them wi th this letter, per parcel post: I hope they wi 11 arrive safely. Now I do hOpe that you & Mrs. Oocking are keeping well. We are selling out and leaving Dulibo for t:oe 01 ty shortly.; in fact we have sold tbe home, & our furni ture is to be sold in 2 weeks time. If you reply to this note please, address 0/0 Hrs. Green,137 Bourke St. , Dubbo. She will forward my mail on to me, after I leave here in 3 weeks time. I am naturally very busy ge tting everything ready for the sale, so wi 11 no t wri te a long letter. Trusting you receive the books,& that you are both well, I remain sincerely yours Grace Paix. My add. :.':r. H. A. paix, 135 Sourke ~t" Dubbo. II

Fred is busy at reconstructing the fernery to receive the new ferns that he J?aid a pound for for Mu·m. Oharlie was tishing all last night, & 1S now sleeping. Jose had to work at the steelworks t.ni s morning un til after 10 a. m. Thi sis an ideal day-not a cloud in tl1e sky, & little or no wind. Mum is now using white Ointment on my left leg,which is still very sore.

Wal ter' s addresses are:- Tenth Floor, A.P. A. Building,Martin Place , Sydney; and b K1 alIa Oourt, Oorner of plume r Be Balfour Roads, Rose Bay, Sydney. Tel. F.li. 5224.

Easter Monday. Ap.14, 1941. VIVIe edpected Floren.Ce & )3ill dow n n this morning, bUt Bill telephoned to say tnat she was doing her washing & could not come. Fred has made a new

40. downpi pe & fixed it on the back corner 0 f our house. I have

been typing my diary for Noveniber 1922. Last Sat. Bill brOU;l) down 2 fowls for us on his motor bike, & returned Boon after.

There is news of savage fighting between the ;Sri tish 8: German in Greece.

Frio Ap. 18, 1941. Yesterday Daphne got 2 new tyPewri ter rib­bons for me at the store. Mum went & saw Violet Sheldon & May. Violet is far fI'ombeing well. She has, had appendici tis. May has also been, i ll,'but is now fairly well. She has had. her '001

ttom teeth extracted. To-day I wrote, to Pat 0' Grady, Selina ; Murphy, & Mrs. Webster. 'Lovely weather. Fred had 2 teeth extract~ xasXxRxgkt.this evening.*~~xx*~~ ( 5/-)

.ri. Mon. A p. 21 ;941. John Rose brought a bit-holder for our drilling machine yesterday, & fitted it on. ,It is an Easter gift, he said. Last saturday morning Mum went to Mai tland by tLle 9 a. m. train from Newcastle. :J?lorence was fairly well. ' Bi 11 went to a f.@.Qtball match in the afternoon. 1,Ium returned at ~J nigh t & walked (il~t from Waratah station. Bro-ther Bob came thi s I.

morning & I gave' him some copies 0 f the "World's News". Sat. aun. & to-day the weather was 8: is ideal. May & Til aregetting ready to go to Dapto by car. Walt & John Rose spent 4 days at a house in Burragorang Valley & enjoyed the holidays greatly. I have begun to read a book of the "penguin" series entitled "Beli ef mn God", by bi shop Gore.

Mon. Ap. 28, 1941. Last Frida~ evening Art & Walt carne home from Sydney together in Walter's oar. Both were well. Art stay-ed until Sunday morning, & then re-turned to Sydney by train, as he wished to be at some Army function at Marrickville. Walter left here alone at about b this morning, in his car, for Sydney. Bi 11 & Florence ca:ne from Mai tland on Friday & stayed wi th us until last night, when they went by taxi car to Waratah station to return by train. Ivy, Jose, & the children came down too, so we had a house full. John Be se also came on Sat. & Sun. & went off somewhere wi th Walter. Art gave !i!um a pound, & Wal]; gave her five, & Fred gave four pounds. The Germans have taken Greece, & the British have been forced to retire. My left leg is. very sore & inflamed, but it is not so bad as it was during the last few days. We have been using too much meth­ylated spirit on the sore, & it has scalded the skin below the scar & produced a 'sore there. Jose has been called to si t as a juryman at Newcastle court to-day. •

Tues. Ap. 29, 1941. Yesterday afternoon sat as a Juryman at Newc~stle court hQuse on a. robbery casein which a man named Harrl s was accused OI robolng " , another named pemoerton.Harrls

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41. was acqui tted~ Jo se has to be on a jury again tni s.lmorning.

I have fini shed realiing the book en ti tIed "The Romance Of Runnibede ll ,208 pages by steele Rudd.

Fri. May 2, 1941. Yester'day Jose was on a jury at the Newcastle

ROBBERY CHARGE· ' . DENIED

Ses~ions Jury Acquits . Labourer' .

After a retirement of 20 minutes, " jury lreturned a verdict of not guUty at Newcastle . Quarter' Sessions yesterday before Judge Nield In the case In which Charles Harris" 39, labourer, was charg.ed with having a,ssaulted James Pembleton 'and" robbed him of a purse eontalnhlg £ 7/6/ on September 25, 1940, at Newcastle, Harris was acquitted,

Harris pleaded "Not' guilty," and challenged leven jurors. '

Mr; H.' L. O:Nelll' (Messrs. Johnson and O'Neill). appeared for Harris; 1:1:r. L. C. Hutchinson was CrQwn Prosecutor. '

Pembleton; a locomotive fireman, of Mc­Isaac-street, Tighe's Hill, sa.ld he went Into the Orient Hotel about· 6 p.m. on September 25 ,and met Harris, In the saloon bar. He had a drink with, Harris and another man. He left the hotel and was followed, by ,the two' men. The other man held him and Harris took his purse containing money' from hls'pocket .. Harris said to him. "Don't follow us or y(>u villi not live to tell the tale." ~eplylng to Mr. O'Neill, Pembleton said

he 'went Into the hotel to make a telephone call. He was feeling sick and had a drink otbrandy; .

Gertrude McInerney; barmaid, at the Orient Hotel, said Pembleton was <1rlnklng with Harris 'In. the saloon' bar of tho hotel about I 6.30 p.m.

DetectIve-sergeant H. A. Crampton, of the C.I.B., Sydney,' said he saw Harris ',In, a hotel I at Red(errt on January 23 .• Harris said he knew nothing of the alleged, assault at New­castle. He' was, arrested and charged at Cen-tral Pollee Station. '

In a statement from the' dock, Harrl.ald' be had' not seen Pembleton until h.as charged In Court. . He had been In the Orient Hotel before,but he. did. not meet Pembleton there lh was Innocent of this charge.

Mrs. Sylvia HarriS, ,. wife of the accused,' said she went to Sydney with her husband on September 26, On Septe,mber 25 she went to the pictures with her husband. They came out of the theatre at 6.30 p,m. and her ·husband accompanied her home. ,....,..,-... ..-. . . r'<""

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Quarter Sessions, & put in 12 hours on one case. The accused man.was acq-ui tted. Mum went to Newcastle to-day & t bought some warm clothes, & paid doc­tor Bourke, & left word for him to call & see my sore leg. Bhe ordered a II Dustm~ ster" broom (9/3). Oharlie gave me 3 nai 1 bits yesterday. The British soldiers 1 have been driven out of Greece & have gone to Africa. Hi tIer & Mussolini seem to be wi nning the war.

Fri, May 9, 1941. This is a CODY of the printed form I have filled'to­day for the II Sunil . compe.ti tion:­"WRITE A TITLE.No.l. No. of ti tles One. Amount enclosed sixpence. Date 9-5-41 I agree to accent & be bound by the c,ondition of this competition:­°ignature Name in bloClJ'k letters. Urs. F. E. purdy, Address Queen St., Lorn, W. Mait-land, N. S. W. Wri te in ink in block letters. Temptation, Hesi tation, Resignation, o onst erna ti on ~,

Do not use titles that have already been published. Sixpence entry fee for each ti tIe must accompany each title. •

I n the second en try the ti tIe suggested is:- ' I tis ten to one shet 11 10 se it!".

Sat. ;,:ay 17, 1941. Wal ter & Arthur came home from Sydney in Jal tt s cal' last night. Bothare well. Walt brought me 2 nai 1-bi ts &' 2 dies. Last Sunday week doctor Bourke came & ordered me to lie down with my left leg up on a pillOW, & have wet cloths applied to the sore every 2 hours during 4 or 5 days, & have zinc ointment applied at night. Then he was to come

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~. 1 & put an elastic zinc ointment bandage onmy leg & let it stay 'I on for sot71e we eks; but he did not come un ti 1 lastx&tix W ednes-day, when he put a bandage on me. My birthday was""on the! 11th I & all of our boys together bought an electric shaving machine' I or razor for me. ,i I I ha~e received the follow:Lng letter ftom Pat 0' Grady:-II (9 I::it. Helena Place, A<ielaide, S. Aus. May 7, 1941. Dear Joe & Mrs. Cocking & family. Your rather belated letter carne t:> hand about ? weeks ago. I do not keep in clo13e touch with W111 all the t1me; & be bad forgotten my address & so could not communicate with me until he met a mutual friend by whom he sent word to me. And so I called & collected your very kind let­ter. I was very sorry to read that you had been so ill.Hope you are still on the mend & will soon be back to normal. Yes Joe I did wonder why I had received no tidings of you. I being' such' an irresponsible sort of fellow,had come to the conclusion that I had unwi ttingly offended in the way of cri ticisllls of your relig­ious opinions. But, Joe boy, I have the greatest respect for your relig~ous opinions because they are yours. And I am as certain as I can be of anything that those opinions are sincere & could not be sbaken by anything I might offer in the way of cri ticism. I have had a piece of sad news this week. My brother Tom, 2 years my junior, passed away at Lidcombe State Hospi tal ,N. S. W. on the thi rd of last mon tho Hed had been living & working on the blue mountains for about 40 years when he left off work & took on the C old age p~nsion, he cracked up very quickly. He had a shaky heart for the last 2 or 3 years. There were 5 of us in the O'grady fa~ i ly-- 4 boys & one girl. Now there is only me left, & i t gives me a lonely, a rather uncanny feeling when I contemplate the pos- 1 ition. But I am not.grieving over Tom's eXit. In his later letters he declared he was ready, even anxious to be out of it all. Being bed-ridden the se last 3 or 4 months, 8: knowing that he would never leave his bed again, he expressed himself as being anxious to join Lily-- his late wife. Yes, _ my dear friend, it is dreadful to contemplate the wickedness 1

of the warring nations, but I cannot agree with you that"Russia has disgraced herself by waging ~otal warfare on peaceful work-ing men & women." Russia is none of your "mug" nations, but ~ knows exactly what this latest war was started for. Germany and I

the British Commonwealth of nations had no quarrels to fight. i And if you follow the hi story of the war from ~_~unich onwards you wi will see what the "little ll game was. Russia was the obJective. I

Hitler characteristically let his co-conspiritors down when he I saw what he believed was an Opportuni ty to gain something for (I

Germany~ And it begins to appear that he w~s not far out in his ' calculations. But Russia a nation of brutal savages! No, Joe, 1 I wi 11 not have that. Oapi tali st propaganda, my friend. And if j Socialist propaganda of any nation ever becomes dangerous to world Capitalism you will find the p~paganda of the big fellow

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43. wherever' gullible workers can be' reached by counter-propaganda. And, Joe-- but never mind, it's all too messy. Write soon again, my friend, & let us hope. real peace will soon b~ be here. Kind regards to all the fami ly, & hoping you are mended again I am fraternally yours p. O'Grady, 9 3( Helena Place, Adelaide, S. A. II I am in alm~st perfect health thank you Joe."

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(The letterabove is copied with a new ribbon.) I did not see the result of the IlGive it a title ll competition, as we could not get last tuesday' s Sydney Sun. We have been informed that Grace eocking is to be married to a man named Rixon who is a widower wi th 2 daughters.

Mon. May 19, 1941. Doctor Bourke ,called yesterday & put half of the elastic bandage on my left leg, over the first half that he ~ut on before My leg is sore but not painful. Walt

& Art le11i early this morning-with IVy & Daisy, in WaItt scar, for Sydney. Ivy has to interview a furniture f~rm ~here re s9m ~~tftrni~~!~~~~o~~rniture that she bought from tne flrm. She wll To-day I have fini shed the letter to Pat 0' Grady, which contain the !'ollowing:- "And had joined those who have stri ven To forgive & be forgiven For- the real or fancied folli es Who cl.'eui t the infexllal Qr the faults of married life, ' lie Wi th misunderstandings banished That landless slaves shot In a home where Strife has vanished Id fight & die By sweet love of wife for husband To benefit the shirkers. And of husband for his wife, t

~Iere this transient life extended Till the blazing suns were ended And black darkness filled the spaces Where the comets range above Life would not become unplea~ant While sweet Harmony were present I n a domici Ie devoted To the rule of Peace and Love ~"

There's ample room upon ~his ball, . And sustenance enough fo: for all ~ , ~

Though nations numbered double1 But Masters' statutes, old and new, Give land & power to the Few

I also sent him the following THE FOOLISH HUMAN RACE.

verses:_Whos~ greed makes

How foolish is the Human Race t Earth offers it abundant space And ample wealth for labors But multitudes of servile f~ols Continue making murder-tools To slaughter conscript neighbors • ~~ if ippossible to hide

e act that wholesal fratricide Is practised by the workers

world-wide trouble.

Vast tracts of land re­main un tilled Where hungry people could be filled,and clothed, & housed, and sated Wi th harrtlles.s pleasures, Cheaply nougnt·, Instead of being robbed

and fought, .i

And ignorantly hated 1

44. There's not a particle of need For myriads to fight· and bleed, Obeying martial orders, Or die with "garments rolled in O"ore u

b , .

Extending empires more and more Beyond their neighbors' borders • (THURSDAY.JlJL.Y·24.~·194·1'.

The fertile Earth has ample room Where food-producing trees could bloom In orchards flower-scented; And millions now in crowded sties Could live at large 'neath sunny skies, Rich, happy, & contented.

But workers do not understand That private ownership of land, And conscienceless ambition, With lust for power, wealth, and fame, And empire-building, cause their shame And destitute condition.

When workers of the world are wise 'l'lley' 11 soon a'boll sh and despi se The lalvs tllat force the many, From infancy, on sea and soil, '1'0 live in poverty, and toil For drones who don't do any.'.

Then statues of the martial bugs Now honored by admiring mugs I n parks and public places, Shall, in derision, be destroyed, And peace and freedom be enjoyed By all fraternal races.

No armies shall befoul the streets Of cities, and no murder-fleets pollute the blood-stained waters; 'No martial aeroplanes shall.fly On hellish missions, in the sky, To murder sons & daughters •

:{e :{e :(e

Ovenden-Sheldon ~any friends of the bride and bride­

groom were present at the Salvation Army Citadel, Mayfield, last Saturday, when Miss Hazel Sheldon and Mr. J. Ovenden·:were married by Major Eld­ridge. Duling the service Mis's M. Harris played and Mr. R. Bannister sang,

The bride wore a white slipper satin gown' fashioned with an embroidered train. Her lovely veil, which was em- , bossed in· flowers, ) was worn with a )" halo of hYltcinths. ! Sqe carried a ~ bouquet of stocks, ; camellias and hyacinths. Miss J. Young was the bridesmaid. She wore a cloque g 0 w n juserted with lace. Her bouquet ·was of red sweetpeas, roses and C!tmel­lias. Merle Greedy train·bearer was frockedto match Mrs: J. Overden. the bridesmaid. -Howard Harris.

The bride' was given away by her uncle, Mr. G. Sheldon. 'The bride. groom, who is the son of Mr. R. Oven­den, ot Newcastle, was attended by Mr. I G. David60n.

The reception was at the Marina Cafe, where Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon, uncle and, aunt of the bride, received the guests. Mrs. Sheldon wore a light :' blue frock and a shoulder spray of .' hyacinths. "

When leaving tor Sydney, where thP : honeYlolloon WitS spent, the bride wore ; a sweetheltrt· blue frock and a navy ! blue hat.

:to :to:to I !

When that long-looked-for time arrives, And slave 'gainst slave no longer strives, No border lines shall sever Nor idiotic wars disgrace The records of the human race, For peace shall reign for ever ~

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45. Mon. -May 26, 1941. Very early on last sunday morning Jose weny by train to Sydney to consult Walter about. Jose applying for a posi tion as em elictrical inspector for the Government. we have not heard the result, but it is likely that he will try to get the job. I am still wearing the elastic bandage on my shin which is not giving 11118 me much trouble. I have wri tten the following verses as a commentary on the part of pat 0' Grady's last let.ter in which he said:- "But I am notgrieving over Tom's eXit. In his later letters he declared he was ready, even anx­ious to be out of it all. Being bed-ridden these last 3 or 4 months, & knowing that he would never leave his bed again, he expressed himse.lf as being anxious to join L1ly-- his late wife. II

Tom's Hope. Should poor Tom be reckoned silly For his hope of meeting Lily In a Spirit Land supernal, With his loved-ones gone before, To enjoy the sweet communion Of a family re-union In that Land of Life eternal Where they'll separate no more ?

I s a silkworm, too, a noddy When it winds its hopeful body In its camouflaged protection, And awaits,within its gloom, Its transcendent transformation In its structure and its station, And its wondrous resurrection From its self-constructed tomb?

Is the creature's premonition Of its glorified condition Not an evidence conclusive That its hOpe is well adVised--That it's true instinctive knowledge ( Not derived from schbol or college) That such hopes are not delusive, Bu t are surel y reali sed ?

When the primal seed was moulaed An intention was e~folded Wi th its mystic vi-ta* powers, Of absorbing foods that suit By its radical extensions, And of reaching full dimensions To disp+ay resplendent flowers And proouce abundant frui t.

There's a hopeful pur­nose latent In each seed,that's ren­~ered patent When it it forms new seeds, unhurried, To perpetuate its kind; For to prOpagate and flourish, Not to weaken, fall, and perish, I s the hOpeful purpose buried In its wonder-working mind.

Since a seed is not mistaken In its longing to awak­en To a newness of eXistence In accordance wi tb aplan,

Surely hOpeful intui tion Of a glorified condition, That recurs withlong persistence Wi 11 be reali sed by :'£an t

Le-t us hOpe on in defiance Of the theories or science Of materialist professors Who are sceptical & slow-­Who avoid investigation Of. all nsychic demenstl'at-

~on, ~

And are thus the non-~ possessors

.~ tw Of the facts they ought to know.

46. --~---, Wed. ~.J Eay 28, 1941. Yester'day morning I .sowed a packet of peas neal' the hut. This morning I. sowed b~ets, carro~s, & par­

snips.Jose has wri tten' for full lnformatlon concernlng the inspectorship in sydney. The war continues in orete;.& . the Gel'­mans have sunk the Bri tish warship "Hood, How the Brl tlsh have s sunk the ship that de stroyed the HOod. we" are h?ving lo:rely weather this week, though it is cold during mornlngs & nlghts. Bill rang up by phone to say that Florence was all right; & sne also telephoned to inform Mum that she had consulted a doctor, who said she was quite all right.

Fri. ~ay 30, 19~1.To day I have answered the following letter fra ill Vera Duley, 259, prince's Highway , Dap to, N. S. W. :- '

"259 Prince's Highway, Dapto, 26th May, 1941. Dear Aunt Jinny, I suppose you have already guessed what this letter contains-­Well, last night Mum gave birth to an 11 pound baby bOy.lsn' t that great ? Both of them are real well, & Dad is as Dleased as pu nch. All the family is real well, except !.Ielville who' has an ' awful cough. Mum is afraid that he is getting whooping cough, I Came third inmy team examination, but I have not, as yet, receive d my renort. liill you Dlease ask uncle Joe if he recei ved the vie s which'I sent him from my pen-friend, & if he has will you kind-· ly ask him to return them as I want to show them to a friend who is interested in them? I hope you will excuse the writing paper, aunty, but I was unable to find the wri ting pad, & as I.!um asked me to wri te to-night I just used a page from my science book. I think I have told you all the news, so I shall close now with lots of love. YOU1'S sincerely Ve rae P. S. The baby is to be called John Royce, & I think he is going to be fair."

Mon, June 2, 1941. Yesterday Jose took IVY, Mum, & me to Mait-land. We went to lOUl Merrion' s house at 9 Queen street,Lonl,

, & stayed wi th Florence & Bill until about 5 p. m. Rain fell 'almost continuously from the time we left Mayfield until we got back. Florence & Bill were well.

·/ed. June 41 1941. Jim Oocking took Ethel & Mum to l,~ai tland yesterday,& returned wi th them in the evening. I tyPed

mo st of the day. Tour. June 5, 1941. This morning we received the following letter from Vera Duley:-" Vera Duley,259 prince's Highway, Dapto, .N. 8. W, 3rd June, ; 941. Dear Uncle Joe, I received your letter this evening when I arrived home from school. I was. rather late, as I had been around to see Mum. She is doing real well, & John is lovely. • We are waiting for Friday to come, as Mum comes hame on that day . I am sorry that I did not state whether I wanted you to keep the views or not, uncle Joe. I t was most forge tful of me. Mel­ville is not getting whooping cough as we thought, for his cold

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47. has broken.p ear & aun ty Ne 11 are real well. Wasn't ita co­incidence, uncle Joe, that the baby was born 2 hours be1'ore the anniversary of uncle Bob's death ? I'm afraid I haven't be en wl'i ting any ~)oetry of late, as I have be en ve ry busy wi th school \'\TOI'k .• The teachers do not let us forget that we are in tbird yeaJ intermediate year. Da~ is on ~ight shift this week,so he is in be d, & as Joy 8: Mel vi lIe sleep in hi s room (Joy sleeping in Mum's place ) they are also in bed. Grandad( he is fi ne & we 11) is also preparing to retire, so after this eXplanation which results in my being alone, & the time being almost 9 o'clock,I had better close. Give my love to all your family & ask aun ty to tell aunty May the good news. I remain yours sincerely Vera. P.S. I am sorry to hear that you have been ill,& I hope you will soon be well. V.D."

Kaiser Bill is dead, but I don't think many people will mourn over his departure. He & other public men instigated & aided the great world war of 1914-18 which caused the death of more than 10,000,000 men.It is a pity that Hitler, Mussolini,8~ all otber warmongers did not die too.

Sat. June 7, 1941. yesterday Mum went to Newcastle & bought pyj amas for Art & Walt. We expected both to COflle home last night, but Walt came up in his car alone. He does not know why Art did not come with him: perhaps Art forgot the date. This is a beautiful, sunny day. .

Mon. June 9, 1941. Last Sat. John Rose & walt went to see a game of soccer football played between a Chinese team & australian

s. The ClJinese won. Walt gave Mum £ 5. ,He left thi s morning at about 6 o'clock to return by car, alone, to Sydney. A very cold.-~ westerly wind is blowing. To-day I received the fo llowing letterfrom Pat 0' Grady:-

"14 West Pallant street,Lower North Adelaide,S. Aust. M:r. Mrs. & the Younger Cockings, Dear Friends,I was gladdened by receipt of yours of May 17, but saddened somewl1at by~eport of yot: r unsati sf actory condi tion as regards health, tnough 1 hope you wi will have got back to normal by now. I am in a fair way of health considering everything. You know~ my dear friends, we are all growing older all the time, & for that reason cannot expect to enjoy the health of younglings. I shall be 78 on the 12th August next, & I dare say you will not be far off that mark when I have reached it. But why worry? We can't go on for ever-- if we all di did how much room would there be in a ce~tury or two hence? My old pal, Peter Golding of 'Vallaroo lUnes,has l>eached 80 years c of age & is on his last legs. His dear old wife,who is 8a , cal­led om me at St. Helena Place a couple of weeks ago. They are

~- _.-.. --

48. Ii ving: by thernsel ves out here at thi s addre ss, & she said she was afraid to be alone withpeter,as he was going 1I0ff his bead"nC'l. hi So I packed up my 80 years of gathering & came out. She & I take alternate nights at keeping an eye on him & generally attending to his wants. He is very feeule physically,& .. E:. tally is very amu ing when not too pathetic. I am not sure that he bad arrived at K adina during your time. Anyhow I had not met him un ti 1 after you Had left for :rewcastle. peter & Alf Winter-- wIlOm you will re­member,& who died a little over a year ago, gave me valuable assi tance in the formation of the minel's' Union at the Mines. I,Ve 11 11e has about l'Wl his coul'se,but Ml's. Golding, who is some 2 years hi 8 senio 1', is remarkably strong & vi gOl'OUS. We would no t mind so much if the dear old boy had l'etained his reason, but some­times be does not even know hi s own name, not to mention mine. He asked :,£rs. Golding the othel' ~ nigtlt to tell him whether he was a gil'l or a boy~ I am glad Joe that YOUI' boys & girl are doing so nicely,& especially that Arthur has his tl'ansfel' to a r)lace where he can make mOl'e headway intellectually.I.lay his pro­gre sS be rapid & thorough. As for Florence, it being almost mid­winter now let us hope that the very intel'esting event t:nat you are all awaiting will soon be but a pleasant memory. Well, au rev. my friends & hope for the best. Your affectionate fri end p.O'Grady,14 west pallant Stl'eet,Lower North Adelaide, S. Aust. II

T:lesday, .June 10, 1941..Ihave written the following verses:­tri.ENCn; AND 'fVRI THER ?

This whirling planet rolls along And bears upon its face A semi-savage, motley throng

That's called the human race.

No living human being knows Vllien earthly life began, Nor whether Man's existence shows A DurUoseor a ulan •

." . The mystery of life is deep; And problems are profound Ooncerning ciistant stars that sweep Theii orbits round and round.

Remote beyond all human ken, In space too vast to span, Suns mystified the minds of men Since human life began •

No human intellect can solve The l'iddle of each stal'

Vrhere coun tIe ss myriads revolve And send theil' light

afal'.

Is ev'ry olazing orb that rolled

In its accus tomed cour<=! Designed,constructed, and controlled By mindless cosmic force?

Reflective minds repel the thought T hat ac t i ve If a tUl' e spends Its cnel'gy & time for nought But futile, aimless ends.

Hence thoughtful men may~ell surmise

1,

49. That some constructive Will, Divine, benevolent, and wise, Its purpo ses fulfi Is.

That some transcendent, vast design Too great to comprehend--Some purpose, loving and benign, 'I'hroughcosmos may extend.

Though sceptics ridicule belief And blindly doubt & grOpe, Their theories bring no relief, Nor Doubt a cheerful hope •

Bright Intuition sheds its rays Through human mental mists, And reverential Reason says That One Great Mind exists •

And though we know not where nor when Through future life we'll plod, Yet myriads of dying men

Thur. June 12, 1941. I posted a letter with cop.;ie s of "Whence And Whither ?", and "Tom's Hope." to Pat 0' Grady yesterday. Jim' COCking took Uum & E tL!e 1 to Maitland, i n his c aT, : e 8 t e:c day ~orni ng &: ijl0Ui {j t tnem home in the evening. Florence was fairly well. A cold _esterly blew all day & last night, & is still blowin~ A man came & in tervi ewed . Jose Yesterday concerninE his apulication an in­spectorship in Sydney.

K ei th len t me "Rumo roul Verse Sll, by Henry Lawson, & I have read them all.

Are cheered by faith in God ~

/t2/~,.l /1' ", C· '. . ?,./ "/"/L;"~~"'''':':~:/ /l ,~" After the E.EX::tX::tGXl;U::t 11th vers/o:f Whence And Whither,ua.ge 46, I have intel'Dosed the following.t:.verses before the last:-

"An Architect who built the frames Of monsters of the fen ¥fuose fierce, reSistless power shames The mightiest of men.

A Master Chemist who imbues The flowers on the trees Wi th nectar sweet, & gorgeous To tempt the busy bees."

hues

:F'r.i. June 13, 1941. This morning we re­

ceived the following note from Arthur:-118 Tamar St. '~est Marrickville, Wednesday. Dear everyone, I was sick both mentally & physically when Pip went

home last week--sick mentally, because I couldn't count up the week-ends properly,& sick physically-- oh well we won't go in to

that. Anyhow, I'm perfectly O.K. now, & only missed one day's work. I max come home this week-end, but I may not be able to make. The Sally kid,S are putting on thei r annt versary in a few weeks' time ,&, of course, I'm head serang-- unfortunately for all concerned. I could go away with petersham band this week­end, but, like a mug I've turned it down. I'll probably be tranfferred to Petersham (Salli es I mean ) early in July; after which I'll have more time to myself. There's no news. I only wrote to allay your fears that there might be something wrong •

. Yours Arthur. II

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50. -Thi s afternoon when I was weeding in the gar'.::.en, Ted Sinclair, tne organiser for tl1e Newcastle general hospital, came to cd)l­lect our usual subscri:,tion to the hospi tal. He stayed 9~ had a lon~: talk wi tb me on conscription. He was Oor" at Nal'rOlfline.

We,d June 18, 1941. Last ijunday night, late, Arthur returned from ~ydney by tr~n, & stayed at home until Monday evening, when he

went back to ~ydney by train. Walt did not come home. This week I have been weeding the garden & sowing se eds. To-day ( sowed French beans & epicure bean~., Jose nas been informed that he may now have a draw in the ~tarr Bowkett Society, but he is not anxious to draw as h~ may get the job in Sydney, &: would not need the money. The ~ecretary of the society told £Jim that there is no need to hurry--that he may wait a couple of months if he likes. The big book on Electrici ty ,for which I gave him the price, has now arrived, & he may get it at any time. The bandage is still on my left leg,which is not painful, but doctor Bourke will probably leave it on another fortnight,which will make six weeks ,as it was put on on the 18 th of l:ay.

Tlmrsday, June 19, 1941. Jim Oocking called this evening to tell Mum that he will take her by car to Mai tland to-mol'row at 11 a. m. to see Florrie. Jose has not had a rep]; y from

Sydney about his a~plication for tl:le inspectorshin.

Fr1. June 20, 1941. llum went to Maitland with Jim t:uis t:'lor·nin(~. The weat:ner is lovely. I have been tyPiIlg my diary for June, 1923 all day.

Tue-s~ June 24, 1941. Germany has made war on Aussia without any provocation. Fighting is going on along a very long front. England intenss to help the Russians. , Kei th has gone to the Mater hospi tal to be cured of kidney dis­ease & Daphne is also affected by the same ailment, but not sO badl Y as Kei the Jo se & Ivy mo tored to Mai tland on Sunday evening last to see Florence. I have written the following verses:-

THE NEW SOCl AL SYSTE;M. (Tune--"John peel".)

Have you read the news in the Masters' Press That an Order new all the earth shall bless, And that poverty shall grow less & less When the world-war ends some glad morning •

Ohorus--But the optimists never face a foe, For recruiting gangs,going to & fro, Never saytlCome til, but are bawling "Go ! II ,

While TheY're'safely.at home night & morning.

~ ... -- ~."-.!--

. 51. sweet prosperity shall be then enjoyed

Wi th abundant work for the unemployed, And no dupes to destruction shall be decoyed By recrui ters' lies night and morning.

There'll be no more hovels & no more slums Where rack-rents are paid in enormous sums, And no Jingoes beating recrui ting drums:}!; When sweet Peace shall arrive some fine morning.

Ev'ry man shall own a palatial home With its ornate walls & embellished dome, Or may cruise at large o'er the ocean's foam When lost peace shall be found in the mornill§; •

IDlen all enemies have been.overthrown EV'ry man shall reap what his hands have sown, And the victors rise to a height unknown When Mi11enium arrives some sweet morning.

There'll be no more want; there'll be no more waste, There'll be no profiteers getting rich in haste, But a f:mi1 free, sweet life all the world shall taste 1"then the mad war ends some calm merning., .

All insensate wars on the earth shall And the weary world shall have rest & While the nations' wealth shall again When mass-murder ends in the morning.

But alas ~ alas! and again alas!

cease, peace

increase

Such a welcome change cannot come to pass,; It's a vision seen through recruiting gas That impostors use night & morning !

I t is just a pack of delusive Ii es By which every jingo stay-hero tries To entice wage-slaves from their dens & sties To contend for the rich 1m:x.tnexmezum.gs nights & mornings.

There'll be navi es built to de stroy & slay; There'll be alps of debt for the poor to pay While they're ruled & robbed in the same old way 1'lflen the slaughter ends some bri ght· morning.

There'll be empires won as they were of yore 1.r.rhi Ie the earth grows red wi th the workers' gore, And young fools shall die for the rich galore, Asxx~~~x§l~ men did in the mad world's morning.

52. Ere the world is rid of foul Warfare's mess

\, We shall need wise brains, which but few possess, For it's commonsense that grows less & less When vast armies meet of a morning.

So believe no more the recruiting tales That impostors tell over hills & dales To entice a host of deluded males To a IIGloric:)Us " death some last morning 1

Fri. June 27, 1941.The latest report re Keith is that he is more cheerful ,the swellings under his eyes have subsided & he looks much,better. Florence said per phone yesterday that she was "too well ll • Mum'is going up Maitland with Jim this

morning in his car to see Florence. Yesterday was a cold,cloudy day, but thi s morning is nice & sunny. Charlie has bOl'rowed a lot of old "World's News' II for me to read & return. Douglas (Jocking was here ,last evening. He works at the Austin car gar­age, Newcastle.

oat. June 23,1941. Walter came home by train. last ni~ht.We have had no news of Florence to-day. The Russ~ans clalm to be holding back the Germans in Russia.

J,~C)n. June 30, 1941. walt left at 8 last nig'ht to 1'e turn by train to Sydne y.

~. '~:~_::,.,-.- • .) J •. J ·;l , ~~ly3, 1941.Thur. This morning we received the following let terfrom Ghadys:-"1st Ave. axrawong, Monday , June 30, 1941. Deal.' Ma, I SUppCX:lo. se you will get a shock to receive this note from me.l haverrt ~ written because I wasn't feeling'too good,before I went ~n to the hospital. I was in Wollongong Hospi tal for 15 days: it seemed months instead of a fortnight, too. I had the lum),,? taken out of my neck; it'was growing very fast before I went in. Dr. sent it to Sydney & had it X rayed & analysed: it turned out to be a cyst & not a growth, so thank goodness for that., although he says they sometimes grow again. I cam e home on Wed. & had to go to bed. I got. up on Sat. ,but my left leg is very stiff. They are both weak, but I don't to be able to put my weight on my left leg or bend it at the knee. I'm massaging it with some stuff, so, I suppose I will goon be right again. Evelyn has been here looking after the house

"',TI;& the family for 3 weeks. She is going to stay until I anl ri '-:,.,tJi;I,' strong enough. on my legs. Jack dresses my neck & puts the r'" hot foments on when he's at home; & Ev & I have to manage I

when he's at work. Dr. ~aid there is a bit of catgut that

hasnlt dissolved; that' s. why it is still swollen & dischargin g. Oonnie was here for 10 weeks before Evelyn came. The kid-

... --.-- ... -.---... - •... ~----.---,-.-..... __ .. _---YO' -'-,~

~ . 53. dies have had bad colds; in fact Alma was in bed for a week wi tk P cold & earache while I was in the hOSDi tal. They are all Q"et ting better now, thank goodness. How is- Dad & the family? I s'1:lppose you are all well. I suppose you already know that Dul­eys have a son (Jolm ). I hOpe you will excuse me for not wri­ting,because I didn't want to worry anyone. Love to you all f~ om all here; & I think we will all be tip-tOp again soon. Love from Glad,. Jack, & grandchildren. Also Evelyn.xxxxxx.

§at. July 5, 1941. Last' night Bill telephoned from Mai tland that FIGrence was in hospital with her baby boy, & that she had been tlnfortunate fGr 2 days. Mum will go up to-morrow, all being well. Just as we were getting the news Arthur arrived from Sydney by train. Barring a slight cold, he is quite well.

Mon. July 7, 1941. Yesterday morning Jose took Daphne, J~um, & me to Maitland in his car, &,with Bill, we went' to see F'lorence & her baby .boy at Nurse Bonfield's materni ty house or hOSDi tal. The baby was doing nicely, but Florence was suffering fro;[; a pain he l' side, & could not Ii e on her right aide for fear of vomi tinge j gave the baby 10j.-r We stayed about 30 minutes, & returned throt gh Larn. Arthur left in the afte rnoon to re turn to . Sydney by train. The aurora E6 Australis, or Southern Lights, was visi-ble from Newcastle on Sat. & Sun. nights, but I did not see it. ( The Russian army is delaying & blocking the advance of the Ger- c man army. Kei th is improving radidly at the Mater hospi tal.

Wed.. July 9, 1941. Thi s morning early l:;um le~t home to g_~ by bus & train to est 1.1ai tland wi th Ethel Oocklng to f38e J! lor­ence t!:.: her baby·7boy. Keith was not coming on well yef:tel'dc.y, ,~ a nurse said that be may have to stay at the hospi tal a long time'. Cha.rlie has broutht a great number of copies of the II World' B IITewsll home for me, & there are many more to corr:eyet. Fred has been examined by the mili tary bugs & has bean told to app ly for exemp ti on bec ause he is an employer of labor. He pos ted the for;'D last night.Mr. l£urphy,neXt door, is ill 'i'litl1 influenza..

Mon. July 14, 1941.J08e took l'f.um,Ivy, ,Noe1,& Daphne to ~.Iai tland last Sat. to see Florence. ~:lhe was progressinf,:. favor ably;a1so young ~::·-1.obert William purdy. On Sat. mornin:: I received the fol­lOwing' letter from cousin Selina Murphy:-

IIJuly chh, 1941. Dear Joe & family, Just a few lines in l'ep1Y',J to your very nice & ever we lcome letter· I racei ved a fai r time:~~ ago. I am sorry, ,Joe, to keep you se> long for a reply, but I can't of course , make much excuse, only tha.t I have kep t pU t­ting 1. t off & off. 'fwo Sundays following I had fully made up my mind to put in the afternoon writing letters, & I had myoId

5~ l pal come up,8.~ of course put it off again. She is a dear soul to I

me, & we have been fri ends for over 40 years--a Ers. Ge a.r. Tl1e y , lived down by your old home that you built. well, Joe, how a1'e yo getting o~ now? I do hOpe you are. eve:r ~o muoh oettt;:r in healt};1. You ceJ.·ta~nly had a very r0ugh sp~n ot ~ t, & I trust that a1.1 18 well again ;also that your dear wife has qui te got over her i 11-ness,& that the rest of your family are qui te well. Hyself I hav not been too good; I had a very crook oold, & I am suffering a lot this winter with the rheumatism-- I got all I can do to walk Some days it is cruel; the pain is awful. When the ohange s of weat er are on I just can't get abou t or sleep at nigh t wi th my legs & knees, 8: I'm sure I've got it in my back,for I am bent up lik a woman of 90, & I am only 65 on the 4th of september. Only for the .Jolly old SCI'ews I would be healthy, for I eat well. I have g;ot my oldest girl & her husband & Ii ttle boy li vinf:; wi th me now. They oame up from a plaoe called l'Unlaton, Yorke's penin­sula, so I got plenty of company now. And I have a new daughter­in-law.!.:y youngest son was married last January; she is suoh a 1 lovely girl, too. They are living at Curramulka, Y.P. One of my sons is over at Laverton, in the air force, He is married & got one little girl: he has been away 12 months. I do wish this dre ful war was over, for it does worry me to think of the lives tha are getting lost. I t is wioked to think suoh things are allowed to go on. Well, Joe, I have not heard. anything about aunt Lizzi Verooe for ages now. I wrote to -her bu t she never repli ed. She is getting very old now for writing. I would love to go down to Adelaide to see them all, but loan' t afford it just yet, as I only got my pension to oome in. I have just had to have the old plaoe done up: the outside walls have had to be all done up; & by the time I get the lime & sand, & pay a man, it ta,kes money. I'Iow I have to have a new oei ling in the baok bedroom; so a trip to tOWll i 8 a tlling of the past. _ My word, Joe, is i t oo~d over your way ? It is an awful day here to-day-- I am ~ust, aoou t ~_ro-' zen. T,'Te need rain badly; we have not had much th~s wlnter. Inis place is eoing to the pack-- f~mili~s leaving eve:y, day. " Fy son-i:1-law that is here wi tn me lS out of work. ile has oeen for a fortnight. He started to-day up at the tO~l hall for a weelr -"nay be Yr10re He is a good tradesman--a pa~nter--but too

,,- l. .l. " 0' t r " e money to 0'0 Ema illRYlY of ther:1 in one toWIl. b~Ie ; s r~rra~t-s gu t a~ sweek or so. b

to seek work; , so I khope ant ~ySn~~s I oan write only one's tr'ouble "T 11 Joe I clan' t now , lth e . ," _ " are getting on & that your hea & tne ot11ers' ; ilSO, -bofP~nhg Yfou'l 'Gi ve my love to your wife & a is better also allot e am~ y.

J' '1, of love & good wi she~ from your So I wi 11 say Cbeerlo, & ~ts J e I am longlr~g to hear

"" " H rphy Wr~ te soon, 0, Qusin, 0el~lla ,u.. 11 faring. Tata~1I from you to know how you are a

f llowing letter from Gladys:­"Phi s morning we received the 0 9' 1 De I' Mum YO'J.r we lcome n lst Avenue,warrawong, July 12, 14. a ,

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1

55. letter to hand safely. We were all pleased to hear fl'om you again. We are pIe ased Florri e is over her trouble: I hope by the time you receive this sbe will be feeling much better. The chi Idren are very pleased to hear abou t thei r new cousin-- in ( fact the girls want me to buy one. I don't know Florri e l s new add ress, so I a'11 sending a small parce 1 from the chi Idren to the baby; will you please give it to Flo when you see her? 1~y neck is getting better slowly; there is still a little dis­charge corning from it, & I still have to have it dressed every 4 hours, &: let the doctor see it every few days. We are all well, wi th the exceotion of colds; we just f;et rid of one & get an-o ~hel' on the tOp of it. I hope Kei th is out of hospi tal; also tnat the others are all well. Remember as all to all the fam-i ly at home •. We don't know when we wi 11 be up again; ¥o-'e are onlj get tint; /I gallons a month now. It is raining down he re, & it is a Godsend after the winds we've just had; it might clear a loi of the sickness away. I will conclude with best of love from JaCk, John, Adell, & Alma, & net forgetting myself. Glad. XXXXXXXX Tell Dad welre pleased he's well. Are you sure he's not using rouge & lipstick ? II

;:.: p. ::1. ::011. Jim is taking Mum, Ethel, & Marg:f;ry to Hai tland this; afternoon to see Florence & the baby. This aftel'noon at 2 0 1

clock the Newcastle Lime & Cement Co. sent ~ yds of i inch slag--£1-2-6; 1 yd. of sand-- 9/6; & 5 bags of cement--£ 1-5-0. Sales tax 2/5 .£ 2-19-5 less 1/6 . Total £2-17-11. Paid. " The materi als were dumped in the shed. I have wri tten the following verses:-

WHAT DO PADRES SAY?

When pious padres sail away To battlefields to preach and pray, I wonder what those clerics say

Told peter to "put up the sword II ? Or falsely say that He adored To soldiers who are dying t

Do they endeavor all they can To prove that Christ's salvation Embraces eV'ry fighting man Despite his God-defying?

A soldier who was willing Ian TG battle for the own­

Ping Few Who own most COUll tri es,

old and new, Do padres teach, when they arrive, Arid, disregarding babes The Saviour's laws, (see l.!atthew five) h~\ ~lew, H ,

Or scorn beati tudes and strive . Con1~nued ,!.,;.asters kil-Infernal rage to foster l~ng ~ Against conscripted fellow-slaves . Oompelled to fight:fm by cunning knavefii,l~ padres tell ea.ch sold And, dying, fill forgotten graves ~er lad To nlease some rich im astor? That God's "Thou shalt

~ p not kill II is bad--

Will padres mention that the Lord That Christ,in preaching peace, was mad,

~ And John's advice absurder?

56. Have they the impudenoeto preach

Against the laws that Christians teaoh, .Al1.d Ch1'ist' S divine commands impeach

That inteluict mass-murder?

Do padres tell thei1' dupes it!s right To wage a fratricidal fight And slaughter men by day and night, Thereby depriving mothers Of 'happiness,' & home, & health, And those who are their greatest wealth-­Loved husbands, sons, & brothers?

C an padres truthfully deny That Christian precepts they defy, And mostly for success rely On eulogistic stories ( Wi thholding any word of blame ) Of fools who played War's stupid game F 01' power, we al th, or marti al fame, 01' warfare's fancied "glories " ?

Are uadre s all devoid ~f xu th That- they decline to tell each yQuth The simple, honest, naked truth Which no impostors relish, That all the nations should combine TO banish empire-building swine, For warfare never was divine But absolutely Hellish?

Tuesday Junly 15 1941. ' Yesterday Jim took Ethel,Marg:ery, & ;,rum to Mai tland

The y found that Flo­r cnce had been ill but was then better She has to drink ba;­ley water on account of some kidney ail­men t. The baby is we 11. W'hen the y 1'0 tur- i

ned ;,:uln lost her han bag Con taining a to­ken of the Oo-op. sto & one pound. She went over to Jim's nlace this morning to see if she had left the bag in the car. She has put an ad. in the' paper aoou tit. I posted a renly to Selina Murphey's let­ter yesterday.fhe weather is nice to-d~ The Syrian war betwee the British forces & tbe Vichy soldiers

A P /6 ~. . . , . has ended, & an armii:!i a~,LJ-e.fl... ~J. l"t j lce lS oelng discussed in Syria. 1'11e HU8sians )

p reve;1 timg, tbe Ge~mans. from advancinf,; , though the yare said to l ~ave bro.l{en tne RUSSl an Ilne in some place s. Bri tain & Russi a have

slgned a pact of mutual assistance in the war. '

Wed. July 16, 1941. This morning' s paper contains the following adv81'tisoment in the Lost column:-"Lost, Mayfield West, Lady's black handbag containing money & sto1'e token.331 Mai tland Road, Mayfield. Reward. 11 A load Qf timber for the new fe1'nery came this morning.

Sat. July 19, 1941. Art came home from Sydney last night looking & feeling qui te well.He isthinking of taking a SCience course at the university instead of economics.Last Thur. I received the f.6llowing letter frcam Pat 0' Grady:-14 West Pallant st. Lower North Adelaide. July 14--41.

Dear Joe & Mrs. Cocking,Oh,& family. Your last letter, I have mi'

r···~····-57.

\ . >,

le.id it for the time, 8: therefore cannot refer to its date,came along & I Vias very pleased to get it. If I am the least bi t of a j judge of pGletry I should not hesi tate te pronounce that rhapsody about Tom & Li1 & tlleir Ieeunion over yonder as super-excellent. I often wonder, Joe, old pal,why you persist in your futile efforts to awaken a spark of--well of religious feeling in my bussum. And unless noetical expression may be classified as religion you my poor fl'iend are absolutely doomed to failure. There is some thing in poetioal expressiGn that wi 11 stir my innards more than any other medium; but in my Opinion poetry is of the earth earth y. Well, how are you all? Me ?, Oh I am O.K. My poor friend, Peter Golding, does not seem to improve any. This is the severest winter I have ever experienced I think. On Saturda.y last I thought we were Just about in Spring. It was a glorious day, & I had promised myself & others at least a week of such glory, but on awakening about 4 on Sunday morn ing I had to hunt for the rug & blanket di scarded on retiring the night before. Besides being· very cold it was raining stea di ly & continued in the same way all day & well in to Sunday nigh t. Thi s (Monday) morning when I awoke it was sti 11 st ead ily raining.Now it is.3 p.m. & it still continues. Thanks, J Joe, for that Ii st of penbuin publications, but p lease do not send any of them. One sees them in every bookshou in this be­nighted ci ty. Besides I have read many of those on your Ii st, 8: I can always callan son Wi 11 f'e bQrrow one; he has always a an up-to-date stock of good stuff •. Now, what of the world slaughter? I am thinking; that Adolph has at last bi tten off more than he can chew. I t seems to be a case of Il'Yhom the gods would destroy they first make mad. II

practically all the world had condemned Eussi a because she took the necessary urecautions by arming her'self against the onslaught that was certainly to be made by Germany, England, or America-- or all 3 combined & uni ted in an unlloly brother­hood. And I am not forgetting your own condernnation of the U. S. S. H. darin8 to nrepare to protect herself a.gainst blood­stained 08.]')i te.lism. And now practically all the world is lo­Oking to "Atheistic" Russia to save flChristiallity from destru ~tion ~ so-called Ch~istians have been continuosly praying J. or tIle over'throw of barbarous Germany. And God turned a deaf ear to them. And then came uAtl1eisticU :Russia wi th her well­equinpec.l army of millions. And on a memorable Sunday soon af ter hostilities began between Germany & Russia 12,000 "Atheis tic Hussians assembled at the cathedral in lloscow & fervently prayed to God for victory-- and He seems to be gi ving them th assi stance asked for.

Well, vlell tI tis a gr eat wo rId, & we are a great peOple. But pI: ase do no t try to convert me to the Ohri sti an" religion". I CLon't suppose you will wri te me again, but I must be honest & say what I fee 1 to be true. Yours for world 80ci ali srn P. oS Grady,l/j 1!Test Pallant st., Lower Nth. Adelaide, S. Aus. \I

J

58. . . sat,July 19 continued. Yesterday J.i"red partly bUllt a n~w lar ger fernery on the si te of the old one •. I placed s~me Wlre ne ttig alone: theEastern fence for peas & bealls to clull? on. ,?n frL T transplanted about 120 beetroot plants to a oed be!1and

the sh~d. -Arthur has to attend young Jack Overton's wedding this afterno on, so he has gone to Newcastle to buy a pre sen t.

l,fon. July 21, 1941. Art attended the marri age of Jack Overton to Hazel Sheldon on Sat. The ceremony was witnessed by a large con­gregation of Salvationists & others. H A:rt took Jose,Ivy,Daphne, Noel,!Tum E', me in Jose's, car to Mai tland yestel'day . We found Bil 1,lI'lorence & baby Robert William at home 8~ all well. Axt gave the baby 10/-. Vie returned in the late afternoon. Art left last ni;~)jt 0,/ train for Sydney. Fred is busy this morning bilding a new fe rne ry for ;,~ um on the si te of the old one.

Tues.July 29, 1941.New ribbom. yesterday week peroy Tooth took me down to Mrs. I sabel Lflngwo rth, in hi s mo tfl)r lorry, & she tGok out a teeth next to the incisor Qn~lthe right hand side (1)f my bettGm Jaw. (2/6.).peroy waited, & brought me home again •• The bottem jaw was very ,sore on the right side, but it is new al­most back to normal. Yesterday I teok eff the "Elasto" band­age that doctor Bourke put on my ~ore left legou_ the 14th of June last. I was verynmuoh pleaf3ed to find that thesore had completely healed. Keith is still in the Mater hespital, but he is much better & may come home soon. During the last few days Fred has been making a new fernery & oencreting the paths in it To-day he has nailed on the laths acress the top. Yesterday he

r '

put a oonofete top on the bach dOGrstep & raised the floor at t the bott~m of the step, but this morning he found that it was . net high enough to stGP water from making a pool at the step, so he has made the fleor higher again. The Japanese militarists have stolen French Inde-Ohina, & are now making demands on Siam or Thailandfor military bases. The whole British empire has fro- , zen Japanese oredits & refused to deal with the Japs. 'Jose is still planning about his proposed new house f Noe1 is ill now wi th gastriO trouble, & Mum went up yesterday & te-day to wa.t­ch him while Ivy went to the hospital' to see Keith. The weather is lovely to-da.y.

Thur. July 31, 1941. Yesterday I concreted 2 patohes of foot­path & cleaned up about the fernery. Fred was werking with percy. We received the fell.wing'letter from Glady:- .. \ "1st Avenue, warranng. nearMum, Your letter t. hand safely. We are pleased yeu are all well,as we are all here. My neok is ~.­ing real well now. The trouble was, 80 the Dr. s ald,that a pie­ce of gut of the inward stitches hadn't dissolved, & that was causing all the trouble. The pieces have worked out now, & it has stopped discharging. There is only one plaoe to heal now, so'

"IN PROPER PLACE"

Mr. Watkins on. Ratliff and Thomas

I

Mr. D. Watkins:M.H.R.. told the ~ ewe as tIe District AS, sa, m bly of the Offi­cIal Labour Party' yesterday that Rat­

,liff and Thomas were in their proper 'place, and should be kept there until

59. leao crall;, ·auu Ul"w uV 'or ~tt.u,Q.-·~"o-· rone succeeded in /entering, the har~o}1r. .R.A.F. fighters pursued . the remal,1llng \-boats, 'which were' trying to extricate ;lemselve~. They sank a further .four, nd, dama~ed others. ,Enemy, planes ~en ndeavouredto. support ,the .retreatmg uemy. R.A.F; planes shot down three ltO the sea. One R.A.F. fighter was .st, but the. pilot was saved. Thp Italian communique referred to ex­.0s,oy," In the harbour seen hy the esc~rt­g forces from a distance at sea; whIch .nfirmed the belief that none .of the aJian' forces survived.

that shouldn t t take

long. Duley's baby

had pneumonia; I be

Ii eve they ne arly

lost him,but thank

goodness he's well

now. I hope Keith

is well by thi s. the war was over.

"But that does llOt excuse the 1<'ederal Government's handling of' this matter," he added. "The Government blundered because it did not tell the people why it t.ook action al(ninst the men."

Italian Planes Raid Malta The Governor, of Malta has' cabled ,the Secretary of State. for the

%louies a graphic desc['ipti~u of the [talian air raid on the Island yes-

Love to you all fr~ .;p- all he re. I sen t

Flo a letter to-day.

The Assembly decided to urge all in­dustrialists not to play into the eneniy's hands by holdiulI: UD production.

Glad. xx-xxx "

Mr .. Watkins said that the Labour Party should give a lead. Industrialists had been given advice bt Mr. CUttin, who had asked the Prime Minieter to caIl Parlianient' together as soon as pos­Rible to deal with the matter.

;erday. He said that fierce dog iights o\,er Valetta between the Royal },fon A g 4 1941 Airl!'orce and Italian plaues were watched 1" • u., · ')y, thousands· of people in the Btree~s, Ye s terday morni ng llld on· the roof-tops. . There. was Wild p ,iithUsiasm···,Wne-n'one Italiap plane tlJ 0 se took rashed 'iIi 'the'Ci'ty.. Othllr. Itahan'· bom-.n". 'eriland~fighters w~rebrouglitdowri into' eJilum, ~ oe 1, qe s~a, all without lOBS to. the Royal : M ai tl and

IVY, D~hne & me to ,in his car

"For some time the Prime Miuister hus been looking tor a battleground," said 1111'. Watkins. "If he can find one he will spring an election. It will be much better for Labour if we can force

,11' l! orce. ,,,, f d _ • 7! e oun Florence

:eill, & baby Robe~t Willi am all well.

him to wnit until he presents the Budget. f' • MONDAY.. JULY 28. 1941. There will be 110 compromise with the next Budget. which will be so I1npopular that eVlIll the non-election sections of Parliament. wiII force an election.

"It is quite true that Ratliff lind Thomas had in their possession subver-' sive literature. Their Printing press was taken (lver by CommonweAlth Intelli·

"0 F.A VEMRNT.. ~nT'CES

BLESS R:A.A.F. CREWS, SAYS CLERGYMAN

g~uce officer~. que young lady associated SYDNEY, Sundny.-The Buggestion that WIth them IS stIll at large. ::rews of the R.A.A.F. should be blessed

L d· S· . II'US made yesterday by Rev. A. G. Rix,

Men ea mg tnke 1of St. ,John's Church of Englund, Bal· '[ '''. tk 'd tl I d' th ,111 a in. 1\[1'. Hix, who has conducted reo J~ r. vv a IUS eal le men ea lllg e ~ligiOIlB sen'ice at thc launching of !fJ

_trike 111 ~ewcastle had ~h;ays oppose~ .mrships ['or the Australian' Na"y. said ~he Labotu Pa.rty .. ~abo\u \I liS no ~oonel t was not the ship that was blessed, but In a wmn~~lg POSltJOU thin <:ertalh so· 'the Cl'ew~ that sailed the "eB~el. He sug­called worklllg-cla~s leaders tl'led ~o de· ges(ed t.hat Australia, could give a lead stray all ~hat whICh had been bUilt up to the wol'ld by having the crews or o",:er a perIOd of years. He was concerned t.llP H.A.A.F'. bleHse<1 wlwll planes werc

,wIth the effect of the stoppage <?n Lab-, Jeli"ercc! at (heir stations. Our should the party be forced mto an election. By holding up industry the Olen were hurtiug their own pockets, and

We re~rned in the

afternoon.In the ev­

ening Walt & John Ro­

se oame wi th Mi ss

McVee. They had tea

& Walt left to ret':

urn by train to Syd­neY.The weather was

nice & warm ye sterdaY

p. Kai th was a Ii ttlt • " better yesterday.

were adversely affecting production of necessary war materials. If the strike ::. ~t i.>... - .,,; 1; c;:; i] g Q.~ .. ;::: t '" .. '": persisted, the Prime Miuister would have §.~ J.; ~ § ~.., ,.g ~' ",.- '" .~.§ ",'- t,; § '" a wonderful story to tell his Caucus to· as ~ t:< "C, -go~;:o .o.@~: ~.., .,1i1>. "'e day; Developnlents in the Far East t UJ '" '" ~., , • ""." ~.t' ,.,;. ., 0:5 "g.1i ~ '" would asmst Mr. Meuzies in deciding to : ~ ~:§:3 - - -:. 0" "" t-' ~ "" force an election on the "law and order" "C '" ~.;!l ~..o1:i 1:'2 :g .. .., ~ :<3"O.E:] .: * i~s;~e. toIfrlt10~~~ t¥t\~~~~r f~~gl~~ ~~ ~.~g ~ ~~;g ~ ~:5! g ~~] ~~~1i electiou on the Budget the Government :l ~~1i~ ... ..!!! a::.l., ..Q ."" ~ :. 6);<"""" w?.'~~ ~~~dbep~~~~~e i:a~: be sen'ed by ~ l ~~:: 8 ~~ ~li5r,,~ ~~~2 .: ~ s ~J!.g'] going ou strike," said Mr. Watkins. "We. :::; 0 gj';;;oo"" tl .. a;<!lJ) tl Ii '" .!: »c.c "'.o~ never kn,ow when this co.untry might ~ ,S '" ~ I/J >. ~oo .c!"<'" 00';: ~2 .g1iP::"" 't"C oj

have to lace the horrors of actual war· '" Z '" .;~ :c ».., ~ S .1; Ii "C E:-t '" ;: ;:.3;::'1 fure. There is no reason why production 5 .g ";Z~",>c8os :.c1:l"'2~~ e :5"'.s·§E should be held up for two men who 0 tIl~ S..o_ . gJ"Ct!..o·il "'.,,; .... ..,.-:;; - ~ are noL ,vol'tlnvhile.H

. - "2 eX ~-+-1tt...~~~1:l ;.,;I 2: ~ ~t ~ ~ ~ °e·~~...q ~rr. C. Griffiths saId that Iud' the, :E ;.J E!~'S € g ~~.E:; g.8.5'" ~ ~~ ~J: ~ '" '"

Government been sincere it would have· ~ ~:l:: 8+> '"',-:5 ... c co ~ »':::::2:1i.,,; 9~l ~ ~'-.­given Ratliff and TholMS a trial in the ~ «l 0 .... ..0 ~ .... ~ "'as"" ~.., E", S ",as S.E 0.ii ~ open. It wa~ :,.", the interests of t. he :i'._ ;;E ~ ~~ .., ""M"s gj.=~ 0 "'''C~ .. .. "',-

t if d ~ ., .... '·00 ";2,:;J,,s ",,f;..c:~ .E: e'O:5~:5 Cb\nm1>l'Ji~t . Party to cause 8 r e an . -'" ,'.., , t.urmoll. '

MONDAY. JULY 28. 1,94t.

Mon. Aug. 11, 1941. walter-:~~· hOme-bY train last i:::,ri night '- T,I. Re went to a wedding on sat.' evening. Yesterday Walt Be John ·t rose m;re+a~ golf, & retul'ned V'lit~ miss Doris Macphee,& tney went o~f uo§,ether, about 7 p.m. Th18 aftE'Jrnoon Keith 1.'et'..uned ~o his h~m~, but ne is very pale. ,Jose t?ok'Mum,Ivy,Dapine & !i,oel to u.a1tland to see Flol'ence,Blll, & 02,YY Rober't. Flo:'enc had to go to a hospital last week to l1ave a sliE,'ht ol)8ration done, & she bas to stay in bed for a few dOiys. Bill &: bao" are ~ well., Y

Tuesday Aug. 12, 1941.. To-day I finished reading "Why Bri tain I s At War". 160 pages by Harold Nicolson. Fred & percy are working' in the garage to-day, & the apprentice is painting. Lovely weather. I have been typing my diary for Aug. 1925 to-day. '

• Thur. Aug. 14, 1941. This moming we recei ved the fOllowing :_ "8 Tamar St., West Harrickville, Saturday. Dear Everyone, I thought it likely that wou eXpected me home this or next week,

,& so I thought I' d eXplain my non-appearance. There's so much to bex~. done here that I do~'t thin! I'll be home before the hol­idays,which begin on 21st '"ugust. My plans regarding going to Cairns or Kosciusco have been changed,partly because ir's a fair ti time since I saw much of the old homestead,partly because of a desire to save shekels, & somewhat because I want·to get in

some badly-needed study. I'll ba> at home, then for most of the holiJ days, but I have what I think is a bright idea. Mum has always wan, ted to see Orange. She has seen the we st, but only at its worst. .Ii

I was thinking of going west for a few days (oh, boy, wont it be great to think I'm not obliged to stay there) tomsee some 'of my , bushwhacker fri ends. I f you can ge t away, Mum, I' 11 shout you the trip, & you can take it with me. We could arrange to break our return journey at orange. The country isn't too bad in the . spring. It's up to you, Mum. Oh by the waY,the journey ShOUldn't~J be too fati guing. I think my pocket will run to a sleeper for , you. Yours Arthur. - . P. S. I hate a p. s. , but it can't be helped. Enclosed are a cou­ple of photOS,no-- one. One needs no eXplanation. The other was taken at the umpteenth birthday party.llve been to of late. I'm sick of them. This time it was to celebrate the da.ughter of the house's 21st birthday. Muggins was oaught in a silly mood. Yours Arthur."

Fred Percy, &. young Jack, the apprentice, are working at the fer­nery: Jose has been_getting estimates,from builders ,of the prob-~ able cost of his projected new house on the hill, & they are most-I ly higher than he expected.

,Frio Aug. 22,1941. Jose has recei vea. a number of tenders & estimate for bui lding a house in Bull street, but th, estimated. cost is far more than he expected. Kei th is improving in health. Fred &

-61. his apprentioe have finished pain ting- the fernery,~ the ba:~room is now bein''g painted. Art t s holidays begin to-9-ay , out we t.runk he has gone to Dubbo to vi 8i t hi a friends there before coming home .

__ .""", -' T' .. r.~:-'~·'!:-"'I' r- r-""7r:-tr-:' .

'1;.0' . , . :,.. . I, i· .. ,' Sat. :'1iug. 23, 1941. To-day I wrote :",VAEtlEi'OF SCOUTS' to the Websters,in Cornwall, & to Mrs. re- o'.vWARWORK Holder ,17 Barker street'thLetWiShhaml' fSt~-it.,)::::" . .... ne¥, about the pictures a see J.n 18, ,,' 'The war had made the work of Sco~tll 0 U ' " ~e and Cubs' more· impo~!lnt . and serious our 0 ar e 'nen she s hi f ted to C ydn e Y ;a8 than ,eVer •. the. Divl8ionaLCommissioner W 0 • ,es (Mr.B. B.Rodd) .• ia~ns..turday.after. A,.t did not come home, but we suppose the )je noon !it the opemn,g·.of :th~:, 10th, annual h--e

Wolf Club.pala'"er IDthe O.,l1tedral-,H'aIl. has g'one to Dubbo !~J.' r st. il1l In . th.e last war, ml1-riy' ;'enthu.iartic L~. Scouts and Cubs had devoted their ,tinte ! to 'intportant service; but membeJ:8. of the' Tues. sep. 9, 1941. Thi S morning we n. movements now had the advahtage of 10 Ie times as much training, as well as palavers received the following letter from :h and conferences. ' . . , Vi ~~ ."We have to keep before the mind! of mrs. e bst er:-

Cubstheiactthatthewardoesnot.·.nrove 1115 Greenfield Terr. portreath, nr RedI the world is wrong,'" he'· said, ,i·Pro· 6 J 9

ld perly led, the youngrterilwilllearnthat ruth,. Cornwall, 1 th tUle, 1 41. m much fOod will come from the ~r.esen1; ~ D r Fri d 'Hr Co k' We hav rd tu~mol. and t1!attlie. worldia ma~n~ a ~. ~st ea en , ti.. C J.ng. e i

saetifiee for tlie /WO(i of the democratic . e Ideal. Mterthe war thelshould'dedi~' ' received your welcome letter;we d cate th~ms¢lves togi-~ter .serVice." .' ) were p.leased to see "ou were. m. ',' oh bet,.tE J . ThE! As!li$tant Divtslonal Commissioner J. .... "

~ for Wolf. Clubs (M.!.S. C. McCrum), r. Yes, we thought perhaps you had ': i who presided, welcomed delegates. ' ed & h d h f r Discussions were led by the C~bma8ter pass on; . w at a gran 0 ange rom

of 2nd'Newca~tle Pack . (Mr •. D.· H. \' this weary w.or1d to that. Life now SOwerbyJl Mr. McCrum, the,DeputyOamp I Chief (Mr. G. French), tMCubmaeter! is fUll of sorrow; we oan't rejoice of 'l"tStockton Pack: (Miss Paterson). i when we hear & see so much trouble TIle Assistant· Cubmastei'of let Hamilton Pack (MillS L. James), :l!-nd;,Mr. WA. caused by wi ok. ed, cruel rulers, see-Viggers, of 1st New Lambton Pack •. Dis- ' plaYII were given by members of 1st Wick- i ng we are given a pl en ty 0 f good ham Pack and 1st ]>ort Hunter Sea Scouts. things. If we couldonly see the good-

The New South. Wales 'Commi!lllioner ness of our heavenly H'at1...er J.' n roV).' dir: · for Training {Mr. H.' McAllister), the J..J.J. P .

Commjssioner for -Wolf Clubs inN'ew- for our wants, & yet the peOple wont · castlo(MI'. C. Watson), .the Deputy Oampo 1 t h . t m , t

Chief. (Mr. G. French), the Girl Guide!" e US ave J. • lie can get but very I

· Commissioner (Mrs. E. J.Rutter); the' 1 i ttle: we don't know hoVl to manage State Headquarters' Asmstant Commis-sioner for Wolf Cubs (Mrs. G. Farqu. the small bi ts we have to pay double barson),h.and the Assistant Commissionl't for. We'll, I really don I t know what we . for Wolf Cubs in Newcastle" (Mt8~ ·Ed· wards) at,b"lded., ..axe coming to. My poor bo y Frank been

Course at Glenrock home on a 7 days leave after gone 4 About J20 cubmasters,from the ,New. months! it really was more than 5, as it

castle divisions, and many from Sydney took hJ.m 80 long to come. We 11, he is a ! Ruburbs, att.ended the instructional' course

led by Mr, McCrum and Mr. French, .spotter on the searchlight at ShrOD- . at Glenrock training camp yesterday. The shi reo He hftd exoell ent good eye sJ.· g-ht Scouts camped at Glenrook on. Saturday a

r nif~;irliction on~talking ~a8 given'in,l the Dr. said, but l1is poor weak leg-':' , the morning .. This was • followed, bY: a he oan only hOp now . He had a silver · Cub's own service anda,.demon~tra'tjQn plate put J.·n after 18 months' then t'ne i .by 2nd Newclls'tle troQP. Camp Wal

I broken about 5 p,m; .. leg & big toe startedto discharge; so ito6Kthe' -p~ia't--~ .-'...;;,.:...~. he went to Truro1:D infirmary & they behind out;.so the Dr. told him it was bits of wi~e left

got hE~a, tdg~¥s.gg J. t: a v~ry bad job done at Redruth. Now they f, not fJ.t to go. But there! it nearly broke

. 62. rcy heart to see him ,go, for the hardships they have to bear is dreadful; no food at times fi t to eat, & not half enough ,& yet plenty of waste. We have an airdromeuD our baok: we are in the

valley; itls really lovely this time of the year with the trees & flowers; but we canl t have 5 minutes peace, the airships going over & back; & by night-- well wei re in some danger. When Jerry is about we have to rush down to shel ter-- afraid of our Ii ves. One night, 5 weeks ago, we thought our end was come. The Jerrys tri ed for the drome, killed & wounded,& set fire to the petrol dump. The smoke was dread; but they were driven off & brought over the sea. And once since,we been soared to death: & what is it for ? we ask ourselves. Such a waste. I f only all rul er's would deal straight & do as they would be done unto, life would be wortR Ii ving. Well Mr. Cocking,hope you're still improving. My hubby is keep­ing fine, & sends you kindest regards. I had a letter from my cousin at Bendigo.Ee asked me for your address: He says he has a

new car, & would very much like meeting you. Perhaps he has payed you a visit by now. He, too, been siok, & no letters carr me. We thought one thing & then the other. He i s ':.tetter again

. e are gett~ng lovely weather after lots of. rain. My husband; s ' s1ster's marr led son & daughter & their kiddies from Plymouth have been here with us. Poor things, they have had their house wreCked. What a time they have had '. poor 'things we have had to take them in while their houses were being surveyed & patched up. Well I should say the wicked one is let loose-- must be. But we have seen this coming on for years, but never thought it would be so bad. ' Well, dear friends, I must say cheero. With our best wishes & thanks for your kind, letter. Hope to hear again soon. As ever your friends H. & E. Webster. We wish your daughter every hap­piness & health,& trust she will be very happy; & Mrs. Cocking .­keeping well. II

Tues. con tinued. Last Sat. Arthur took Mum to Wollongong by train , to see Jack, Gladys & the 3 children. They went wi th them to Nelly White,& to Les Duley & Florrle, & found them a:U well. ltum returned by train from Sydney late ~ast night, but Art stayed in Sydney. Jaok is now ocoupying the position of ,a head boss who is ill; but will return to his own position when the head boss returns . If he does not return Jack may retain the place. John Rose & Walt have arranged to spend their holidays in the Bur ragorang Valley this week. Last week Florence & baby Robert k

visited us & stayed overnight. She & Bill have arranged to pay a £ 50 deposit on a house at Telarah, & she forgot to take my loan of 15 pounds up with her. This morning Fred sent l~ pounds by telegraph to Bill purdy, as h~ has to pay the deposi t to day. Jose has 'sent a plan of his projected new weatherboard house to

the Newcastle Council. Fred & percy are pain ting Jose's old house.

,..

,

~

,·1

7 63 [ _J • I bought a needle-threader & scissors sharpener combined to-d day, for Mum,for 2/-. It makes the work of threading a needle quite easy & quick,

trL §ep.12, 1941. Yesterday ~ received the following letter :-

D~;~-~;: O~~k~~~~e~o~;·l~~~~~~·hand in reference t? pictu~e s We . spoke to the eldest boy when he was down here ~n ~~dn Y

'& thouht he had ixed up about them. We do not know were h i g but we understand that his brother Gordon is at F~rtSS~~:tchleu (Newoastle) & we understand he has Ch~ge~ his name from Skafte toscaif.That is all the informai~on can give you. They don't seem to ha~e placed much va ue ~~ them otherw1 se to my way of think~ng, they would have -moved them by n~w. Trusting you will trace the brother at Newcastle & have them removed as soon as possible I am Yours faithfully E.Holder. P.S. Remember us kindly to all the family."

This morning I wrote to Mr. Scaif, asking him to take away the t box of pic ture s.

Mon. Sep. 29, 1941. Bill, Florence ,8e the baby ca'lle down last Sat. Be stayed Wltil last night. Keith is ill in bed, but this 'l1orning he i sa Ii ttle better. H_e is now being starved for a day or 2, & then he is to have orange juice for a while. Nell Hay called to see Florence yesterday afternoon & stayed a few bourse Since my last entry I have been making a new electriC bell & Le, clanche cells. On the 11th instant Jose received the following letter from Walt:-IlG.P.O. 10-9-41. Dear Joe,Reason gear hasn't arri ved is that it is still in Sydney~-ma bi t of bungling by the A. G. E. despatch section. However, they promise to sCind it to morrow, so just hOEe for the best. If you see John (Rose) tell him to bring £, 50 down wi th him, also some shoes & shorts for walking up North, In addi tion I want him to bring my tan shoe~ khaki shirt, as mentioned to Deg on the phone. Total expenditure on your gear was ,f. 46-3-0; ~his did not inclu~e freight to Newcastl' , which will probabl y 'have to be paid. ehee rio Wale II I

we Qreceised the follbwing letter from Florence on the i8th:-"9 ueen t. Lorn. Dear Mother, Here it_is Sept. 17th & no present arrived at 331 for dear old Min.lt was too windy & cold yesterday to take the Ii ttle bloke ou t, & it's not much better t: thi~ morning, so you will have to do with 1I]':any Har;ppy returns" un t~l I can get out to buy something for you. Hope you are all well down there. We are, & you will be glad to know that Bill"s g~w gure seems to be doing him good. I t will be great if it effe, en8 b8~rpaneni ~ure.Bill was anxious to come down last week­him'take th:~isko make sure before I risk it,or at least let

. Don't know when we~ will be down again, but

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don' be surprised if ,we d:Po~ in on Sunday, or perhaps we may ( wait until we go to the new plaoe, whi.oh is so-close to the . (East Greta) station. We have paid over the money(£5J deposi t)_. onlywaiting for the deeds now-- & then I suppose we will have t to wait until the people move out, & that is where Mr. Smith is expecting a big diffioulty. Hope Keith is still improving. I f I thought Pip would be home on Sunday I would come down & see if he thinks little Robert really is a queer- looking lit­tle bloke as Art does. I suppose you are still very happy about i your trip to the South Coast. Well, cheerio Mother. I am a bus~ y woman these days-- so on we go.Oheerio, much love. Florence. II I

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3Sm received the. following letter from Wal~er:- ~

II Towns 1 Rd. ,Vauoluse 2i-9-4l. Dear Mum, V'e returned to Syd- .~ ney after a very good time at Kosciusoo. I am in good nick

i but /1

John has a slight Sprain in one ankle; 'this, however, shou d be right in a couple of days. Met ,the Murphys up there,& they thoroughly enjoyed themselves,exoept that Jaok M. got a rather badly burnt lip. We are pulling out for Brisbane in the morning & intend to do a little walking up North before catohing train to Newcastle, where we expect to arrive on the 4th of Oot. week-end. I am now taking 2 ports to the station which I am sending to Newoastle • One belongs to John & is rather big, wi t M. T. R. marked on it. The other is myown-- the one I bought reoently-- & this will bear 'my name. Both will be booked in my name & will contain clothes which we will need in Newcastle, bu t no t up Nor tho I would be much 0 bli ged i f you could arrange for someone to call for them. Unfortunately I only have one key for my port, but if you can piCk the locks easily I would be pIe ased to have the sui ts hung up, although thi sis no t i m- I' pottant. Don't go to any trouble or worry concerning either of . them. Hope you are all in the pink. Wale II . I

Wed. Oct. 1, 1941. This morning is cold & rainy. I,!um ordered a new bedroom siute at Turton$s ,Newcastle, to cost £ 24-10-0 but it wi 11 not be sent out un til we wan tit, which wi 11 be when Florence & Bill shift into their own house at Telarah. 1,fum paid a deposi t of one pond,& has to pay 16 pounds as soon as possible. Keith is still in bed, & is being fed on orange juice & mi lk.

Tues. Oct 8, 1941. ye sterday I sowed 210. French beans. Last week a young man named Hales, whose father opW2ates a brass brass foundry O~posite to our house, was electroputed in the foundry & died. He was cremated at Beresford.' Water went back to. Sydney yest~rday,& Art went back on Sunday night. Jose is Walt1ng for br10klayers to begin on his new house, but they are busy elsewhere at present. Mum has not obtained her new bed-

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Cooking.l~-12-40.

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331 -a.1 tland Rd., !4~f'ield West,

Dear Wal,

I am sending you this letter,

NewcasUe. 16th~ Dec.

Whish I will, for want of' better Knowledge e~- or in spi t.e of' m;{ awareness Of the dulness and the bueness Of my souls "poetic fancy", Thinking hard of "Banjo t sIt "Clancy", ry in verse:but so t t.won t t bore you, will try to short.en fO!P you

The purport of my missive in this case.

You ace sitting in YJ ur pOlQr little office, Where the maddening rays of sunlight. Are not blocked by blissful bulwarks Formed by houses tall, Vvbile I sit. coola in this City, And I muse on how the grit. ty If not foetid foul fine dust. spreads ov~ all.

And I see phantasmas horrid Of ·the endless plains, scorched, torrid, Of the heat wave demons dancing, Fiendishly unlifelike in their prancing, See them drinking from t e mirage, Where the weird ephemeral corsage Of a non existent Something Dances headless on long legs.

To dispel this dread phantasma, Thick as mist, foul as miasma, I now conjure up a viSion, Of another scene--Elysian, Silver waters on sands golden, Lush long grasses that embolden-~e­And make ae dreaml hopeeul decision, Smiling sparkles in my eyes.

Yes, in place of half starved cattle, I can hear the glorious rattle

"Of tm busses and the tramways making hurry down the street" -: ... :-: .. ~-!- -:-!--:-:-:-2-

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65. room suite yet. She is expecting to-have'it brought out very soon. Florence has not moved into her new house near the East Greta station yet for the occupan ts seem unable or u,nwilling to find another house to moVe in to. During the last week I have been working in the hut about the electriC battery & bell: I have reconstructed th.e old bell & made a new one besides. The batter is still weak. Mr. & Mrs. Murphy,next door,return­ed from Kosci usco last week. Wal t & John Ro se met them there. Walt & John went by train to Brisbane afterwards & then walked southward about a hundred miles to Lismore, & returned by train from there. Aunt May has been ill, but is now a little bet­ter. Fred is out of work, but has been working at the site of Jose's new house,preparing for the foundations to be laid. The Fadden Government has been defeated in the Federal House & Jack Ourtin has become the head of a L~bor Government.The stupid war still drags on, & it is hard to say who will win.

We recei ved the following letter from Jack & Gladys yester-day:-"1st Avenue, Warrawong, Friday. Dear Mum, At last I am answerin! your welcome letter.I don't know what you will think of me for being so long-winded. g~ Jack bought an Alsatian pup for the Children, from a man in WOllongong, It is 5 weeks old, & its name is Judy. She is supposed to be the daughter of champiol ns; so I don't know whether we are goaty or doggy. I'm just tired of feeding pests-- they're everywhere. We are pleased you arrived home all right; but it was a shame that you mis­sed your train. Never mind, you'll have to catch it the next time you come down. we haven't been to Dapto since you were here, so I don't know how Duley's baby is. Very pleased Kei th

is better. Don't be so long-winded in coming down the next time. See if you can bring Dad with you. Tell him it's not that bad for a holiday. I suppose he likes it as much as Jack does. Love to all from Jack, the children, & myself, Glad. Remember u us to Flo & family: also Jose & family.xxxxx. If

Fri. Oct. 17, 1941. Yesterday }';orman SCaif took away his box of pictures that we have been sheltering ever since we came to live at 331. A bricklayer' named Fi eld has be gun on Qrose' s ne' house, & Fred is helping him. This morning I posted a~etter & a post-card photo of Florence holding baby Robert, & one of M~m holding him. Florence was here from last Sat. to last Mon. B111 had to attend a conference of the Oash Orders 00. in Syd­ney last Sat.& he returned to Maitland the same night to be at his collecting work on monday. Last Mon. 'Mum had her new bedroom suite brought from NewcastLaatxx , but the spring ~attrass was not brought because of a breakdodn in the mach-1nery that makes them. , but it was brought yesterday. Bill

t& Flotrelhlce have niotdmoved into theirtowu bouse yet, but the enan save rece ve a weeRs notice 0 QU11i.'

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:, Sat. 00t.18, 1941. Arthur- retUl'ned from Sydney by train last !

night.I have made a list of the taps & dies that I want-him ,I go buy' for me in Sydney as fo110ws:- 1/32 ;1/16 ;3/32 ; 1/8; --: 9/32 ; 5/16 ,i,11/32 ; 3/8 ; 13/32.7/ 16 ; 15/32. Wal ter has bought me these;)- )/32 ;5/32 ;3/16 ;7/32;& 1/4.

Mon. Oot. 20, 1941. Art did not go out muoh during his stay at home from Sydney, as he had to study for a forthooming eXaminatif on at the University.H~ left for Sydney again last night by train. I have now made 2 new eleotrio bells & reoonstruoted mv old one, but the Leolrolohe battery is not in first olass order. I have also made some Leolanohe oe11s wrapped in canvas, & some of them work well. The weather is warm, out not too hot to day.

Wed. Oot. 22,1941. Aunt May was very ill yesterday & the dootor Visited her twice. There is some obtruuotion in her gall duot. l.-!um has gone down to see her this morning. Kei th was not well again yesterday,& Jose consulted·the doctor about him by telephon last evening. Uoscow is in great danger of being taken by the C

Germans ,& terrible battles are being fought by the Russian de-

fender s ' The Curtin Government has released horaoe Ratliff &!'.~ax Thomas. Ilr Forde said"The Government was satisfied that the de terrnined. stand by Russi a had oomplete ly altered the forme r 'I a ttidude of Ratliff 8: Thomas. Their observanoe of the under­taking, whioh they freel offered to gi ve, would remove the cause of complaint which led to their internment."

Sat. Oct. 25, 1941. Walter came home last night in good health. Thi s morning I received the following letter from Florenoe:-II 9 Queen Street, (Lorn) Oc t. 24th. Dear Dad, Many thanks for the photos~ I think they are pretty good oonsidering how sunny 1 t was when you took them. Bill. got a very pleasant surprt se when he opened the envelope--I did too though because I had forgotten about the photos & when I saw the black envelope wondered what in the world had hapP'ened ;anyhow I wasn1 t held in suspense long. Hope you & the rest of the family are feeling pzetty good--we are. There is no further progress as far as the house is concerned,except that the Donehues were here last night & said the p:resent tenant is hunting every day for a place, they often see her up their way-- so until she finds a place we must oontinue to wai t, but it's a pretty impatient wai t as far as I am concerned; anyhow it must come to an end one of th ese fine days. There is no news, sO must close up & dress the ni'O'Oer & take him to the clinic to be weighed. His latest soore last friday was 13 Ibs. 10 ozs. ,& I am hoping for a big improve-ment on that to-day. Love from Florence. II r

Hum got her tee th mended by 1111'S. Longworthon thursday for 10/-. She Vi 8i ted May & found her a Ii ttle be tter.

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~- $' ~'Tu.es • Oot. 28 . . -67. " IIllrzx~e:tx:!1-, 1~41. Walter came home last friday night 8: stayed

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L un ti 1 . y:ex~l!rday. He -was given an extra day off to consul t Mr. ¥ Trustcott,the coppersmith, in Maitland road;He went to Newcastle t : I to swim wi th John Rose ye sterday afternoon before he took train

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to Sydney. Hum has gone·down to Mrs. dentist Longworth to have her weth altered to fit comfortably. George Field, the bricklayer who was laying t~e bricks in the foundation of Jose's new house, I

has gone to the teelworks to work, but Fred is working there & dOing what he can to get the place in decent order. On Sunday Jose took Ivy,Mum, Daphne, Kei th, Noel, John Rose, & me up to see the foundation of his new house,but a wet thunderstorm forced us hurry back to the car ,so we did not get a satisfactory look at the place.

Fri. Ocf. 31, 1941. This morning I received the following letter :rrom .-e1ina Murphy, Kadina, S. aus.: .... " Oct;' 26, 1941. Dear Joe & family, Just a few lines after keeping you so long for a reply. to' your very welcome letter. I really am ashamed of myself for not writing before, but just ~eep pu ttJ..ng off & off, & I wti te such a lot of lette rs to the ch: ildren, Olle in one place & one in another. Well Joe, I do hop~ you & your wife are ever so much better now than. when you wrqte II last. I am just fair: I suffer a lot with my back; I can'T.,,_se.em t( to go long with ease. I got all I can do some days to do my., bi t of housework. I went to Adelaide forblO days; my son shout·ed, me the trip for my 65th birtllday~ • I have had my daughter & her: little boy living home' with me for 4 months, but she has gone to Adelaide to live now; her husband~is working down there. I did miss her very much; & my son in the ir Force has had an oper -ation & had his tonsils out, & he has beer+ home to Minlaton to his wife •. He went back last Friday. And my youngest ,son' a wife had a 1i ttle son last Sunday-- their first child-- 8: my youngest daughter is expecting to ,go into hOspital to have her 6th child.,

Sbe married the returned man I was tellijg you about;&. my son by my first marriage has not been well for a long time. Docto: r thought he had an ulcer in hi s stomach. He gave him aome medic; ine & it has done him good •• Well, we have had such an awful wet & cold winter, Be it isreal w: winter to-day, so cold. We had a big thunderstorm yesterday. Well, Joe, things are about the same here. I am still in the same old spot, but I get sick of everything at times. I have to go up to keep house for my daughter, & I will be glad when it is all over., & I can get home again. How are Florrie & her little son getting on ? --quite well I hope. I am,just longing to go down to Curramulka & see my new grandson. They were only marri ed 9 mOl months & 9 days. Allan had just been home from camp a week w~en. their baby came .• Joe I have not heard anything aboutaunt

. Llzzle Vexcoe for ages. Well Joe I must say cheerio now, & get Ie~g6ep~f~rtEgurch. So give my kind regards to your Wife & family same. I. ,..,

remaln your cousin be lina. "

-~"o8 ~ ... -Tues. Nev. 4th, 1941. Ye sterd-ay' we-recei ved the fOllowing letter from Gladys & Jack:- II Thursday Oct. 30th, 1941. :oe ax Mum; YoUr welcome letter to hand safely. We were very pleased to hear that you were all well again. Our children are full wi th colds, as a 1 matter of fact, John hasn't been well wi th hi s nerve s. for years, il'.' ....

so we are trying to fiX him up, & he has glasses now; he's had the', m a fortnight. The optician said he should have had them years: ago, he doesn f t know how the child could learn anything at school,~ as the nerves of the eyes were in a very bad way. They are doing L him good, he doesn't blink nor twitch so much now, but he still 1

makes a nOise, something like a sigh: I really can't explain it. : When he draws a deep breath he makes a nOise, or that's what it seems like. We are sorry poor old auntie May is sick; I hOpe she i' is much better by this. Remember us to her if you see her. I've ,; enclosed some snaps of the children wi th Judy & the goats: they .' think they're pretty good. It's actually started to rain to-day, I bope it keeps up. Jack has put· a Wire & lattice fence up across: the yard. He has sweet peas, passion vines, & 'a creeper put in to grow over it. He has his garden all put in, & it looks lovely. we are picking lettuce, spinach, broad beans, peas, Ffench beans, beetroot, & carrots,. so we are very lucky, I reckon ,don't you ? The children said to tell you that Judy wont eat you, so you can Coke down any time you feel like it. Love from Jack & the chi 1-dren, & not forgetting myself, Glad. XXXXX. fI

One of the small photos shows young John with' 2 white goats outsid! e of a fence, & a shop in the distance. Another snap is of Act.ell, L Gladys, Alma (holding the Alsatian pup,Judy) & JOhn. The third is:1 of Alma holding the pup. :

Fri. Nof. 14th, 1941 •. · Last friday Bill & Florence shifted from Merrion's house at 9, ~ueen street Lorn, to.a new house of their own for which they pa~d £50 deposit. On wednesday Mum sent her old furniture-- the oval ,lounge room table,a chest of drawers a Singer sewing machine, a small medicine chest,& a wardrobe t~ Bill & Florence. Mr. Guy took them on his motor lorry. Jose' & his f~ily inte~ to go by car to Katoomba to--morrow to stay a fortn~ght. Fred ~s busy every day at building their new house We are eXpeoting Walt & Art to oome home to-night .

• I have wri tten a 2 page letter to selina Murphy in reDly to hers of the6th of October.

I~ur. Dec. ll~h, 1941.Since my last entry I have been busy at o e ~onstructlon.of a spitfire gun for lighting gas & ester-11:[ tla COmpleted ~ t. Las~ Satu~day week Walt took Mu~ & ~e to F 10ren~~' & & we fO~~ B~ 11 busy di gging in the front garden & to theMai tl~dg b~tt~t quite well & happy. We all went b; Car

& Walt, Bill, & Florence went ~nto th • e water, where there were

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69 • . ,·alreadyabout 100 men,women,boys, 8: girls swimming & diving &

seemingly all talking at once. The weather was hot, so the dip was pleasant. Yesterday Waltoame-Bome again as -he had to, in-

. epeot· sbmematerial at Mayfiield & fort Wa:-llace. He went oaek yesterday aft ernoon. Las t Sat. the new Newcastle Greater N ew­castle Coune i 1 was elec ted.: The yare pasted on pa¥,e 70. Last Mon. the Japanese began' an unannounced war agaJ.nst the United States of America, & attacked pearl Harbor,Wake , Midway I sland Guam Manilla & 0 ther places, & did much damage & mur­dered ~any p~Ople. pr~sident Roosevelt, Hr. Churchill, & John Curtin the Australian prime Minister, made publio speeches con­cerning the outbreak of this new war. Fred has been building

. Jose's house ,wi th the occasional help of percy & Jose, & they have erected some of the rafters. Yesterday we reoaved the l' ollowing Ie tter from arthur: ~ "from No. N 275500, pte. A. J. Oocking, Uni t, s. U. R.. Bathurst Camp l 9-12-41. smday. Dear Folkw I dare say you think it's about time you heard from the concentration camp relative. I think it's overtime, but I haven't had a chanceto write before. I'll give you the news right from the start. On the Friday prior to the 1st Dec. the b~ band kids & some of the other, young hopefuls presen ted me wi th some handkerchiefs on the assumption that I started camp on the fOllowing Monday morning. I had made the same m ista1<:e, but when I reached home I found a letter telling me not to renort un til 9 a. m. Tuesday. I was then torn between 2 choices: if I went back to work on Monday I would be working when I was of­fiCially on leave (for I had applied for for leave fr _om Dec. Is' iit would also be a bit tough on the kids-- they might get the idea that I was farewelled on false pretenses. Then I thought that, seeing the school was understaffed, I'd better go back for the day. I went. The other 2 blokes on war staff,faced wi th the same prOblem, decided differentl;. The result was that poor old Muggins had his own class & someone else's. Why did I go int( all that 1 Let's get on wi th the story. picture us, then,--an un tidy, "green" buneh of teachers-- standing forlornly in Belmore par~ on T~esday morning. But they wern' forlorn for ~ong. Soon could be heard short laughs & calls. of IIHello Johnoll "Good day, Arthur", & so on as eaoh recognised one of th~ boys' ~e hadn' t s~en fo~ years. So what promised to be a pretty dull turnout began to look more like an old boys' remion.ln the crowd I noticed fully 20 who were in college with me. After some hours of waiting ( found out later that how to wait is the. first lesson the army teaches) we entrained. Getting on the tra~n gave us a good grounding in the gentle art of being 'Oa­tient. An officer told us to get in the front carriage: another g~tq~:lm~:k~ toldh us to get out & go to the back carriage. 'We

y as s e,p led to the slaUghter Aft . er asking a

tbird o:i'fficer we ent~red the rear Carriage only to be kicked

Greater . 'City' s. New Council CITY

Ald. Young. Mr. F~irhall.

EAST

Mr. Breen. Ald. Grahame.

WEST

Mr. Scott· Dais ley. Ald. Dunkley.

SINGLETON'S NEW COUNCIL

SINGLE(l'ON, Sunday.-Following is the result of the polling for the Singleton :\fu­nicipal.·Councll-C 'R'. Dunlop 689, J. Britt­IIffe 634, W. Heuston627, C. Macdonald 582.

r 'John McGrogan 540. R. J. TuIJoch 530. A. J. Oarsman 521. F: Madden 460. E. Pa~t­ridge 425 (elected), G. S. O'Halloran 383. J. Moss 291, W. LaM 289, J. Maguire 270. A. H. Bruderlin 259. E. L. Barry 146. V. Murphy 146, C. R Crampton 144. Mr. O'Hal­loran, II member of the last coul\cll. was defeated. The n~w members a re Messrs Dunlop. Macdon&1d, McGrogan and Madden

Mr. Cane. ,Aid,. Jenner.

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Mr. Colman, Ald. Johnson.

Ald. Peters. Mr. Shaw,

SOUTH

Ald. Norris. ., Ald. Lloyd.

CENTRAL

Ald. Richardson. Mr. Quinlan.

MID-WEST

Mr. Armstrong. Mr. Higgins.

NORTH

Ald. Griffiths. Ald. Stevenson.

GOSFORD AND ERINA GOS}l'ORD. Slluday.-Gosford Muni·

cipal ejections yesterday resulted: R. H. Creil:hton 1165, J. C. Speers 1128, C. J. Lloyd 1072, R. R. l\fOl'timel' 1051, S. K. Dwyer 1039. J. W. Brittliff 947, .B; M. Sinclair '836" B. Conway 798, ·A. ,J. Deluudre 781, J. P. Shauahan 710, F. Spencel' 655. W. B. Grahame 535, A. A. Schwartz 500. The first nine wel'e elected.

Erina Shire poll reolllted: D Riding, W. B. Grahame 302 (elected), C. F. Stewart 237; F Riding, W. K. Sy).nonds 181 (eJected), G. R. Adcock 117, S. C. Aldridge 94. . ' , '

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'7l. by a fourth officer. Apparently I ~adn' t mastered lesson. number 2 80-1 went to officer number 3 8: sald"You told us to get In,& he told us to get out: how do we stand ?". He grinned, remarking, 11 That sort of thing often happens-- just grin & bear it." An ybo':J , we got on the train & had an uneventful trip to Kelso, where 'we detrained & after the inevitable wait were taken by bus to the camp which 1s prettily situated in "them thaI' hills ll ••

Then came our first meal •• We entered the m~ss house (every tlme ,I say we did anything, you assume a half hout's wai ting-- it saves space in the telling),. Where was I ? Oh, yes we entered the mess house& received a hunk of boiled mutton,some mouldy caub~ ge & a lump of bread wi thout butter , the uns~'ted whole to be wa~hed down by unsweetened tea. Next came arr 'gements for bed. We received a chaff bag, some straw, & 3 blank"s. We sleep, 6 to~ gether, in a 12 x 12 tent. Being a good sleepe I find the tent quite comfortable. Next morning they called for bandsmen, so I went over to the band hut, & was put on the Bb baSS. I I ve done little but loaf ever since.llts a sweet cop in the band, involvint rising at 5-30 a. m. playing from 6 to 6-15: from 8-30 to 9-­practising from 9-30 to 10-30-- torturing the inmates of the Bat] hurst hospital on Saturday arvo-- oh, & church parade Sunday mon ing. Do I like it here ?Well, some of it, anyhow. The tucker has improved & is likely to get even better. The officers & N.e.O' I

treat us like gent1emen&, of course, the fellows we are in witb are a pretty likeable mob. I nearly forgot to tell you that the landlady decided to let my room wbile I'm away, so I I ve packed a a port & sen tit by goods train to Newcastle. I t should be thel'e now. Would one of you be kind enough to grab it sometime 1 Thanks If my mail .ta-mal'ked "branch Z comes for me stick to it after reading it, will you please .I want you to open it so that you'll see whethel' it~s impol'tant or not. If it's money will you keep it until I come home on leave, please. I can live on my mili tary pay. Despi te the newspaper tl'ipe, as far as I know we are getting leave 9-~ C~ristmas. as; l'eviously announced. I' 11 then be able,& ,of COUI'~ wllllng to gl ve Deg a hand on the house. The othel' night I saw Merv Ew~rs. This li~e would be a bit tough on a mothel'ls dal'ling. but i ti;)lS no worse than a lot of l'oughing it I had to do in the . west. ome of my II tummy" has gone already, I hope. Thi s should change some of my fat tq muscle. Yours Arthur." .

Mum's. pension & mine are l'aised from 33/- pel" fortnight to 37/-. Oharl1e nas arranged to have Art's pOl'tmantua bl'ought home. The Japs are reported to have bombed. & sunk the "prince of Wales" & another big warship.

The peaches on our 2 top peach trees are ripening & dropping off daily. "urn has

m received the following letter from PI's. Eli7a Uorris:-liN 8 .,

o. Waratah St L' th ., ~ gow. Dec. 3xd, 1941. Fy Dear Friends, You

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72. will get a great surprise to receive these few lines from me. However, I do hOpe you are all well & Mr. Cocking very much bet­ter than when I last heard from you. I often think about you all! 8: wonder if Florrie is near you. Maggie was up l' or a few days laS!: week. She does n?t get the best of health, & Eva has not been the it best for some t1me, & she has 2 lovely little girls; my word ~ they are nioe ohildren. we also had my youngest brother in hos- i( pi tal for some time.He is away atWallongong just now. poor chap], he had. a battle, but must say God blessed him wi th a good daught~~ • They all live together as she only has I son ten years old. I' I suppose, Mary, best part of your family are all settled down; , & I do hOpe they are all very happy. Well now, what a war this is;~ but I do think Bri tain must win, but at what a oost of life. But \~ we can't see what it is all for. Godts works must be done. ' I did not tell you, Mary, that Harry waS very sick again, & we h

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to go to a doctor in Sydney; & thank God, he does seem much bette I am glad to say I am well. And now we must wish you all amerry . Christmas & a bright & happy new year.I will close with best I love from Maggie & Eva, & kind regards from Dad, Bill, & lots of l Very best love to your dear self from your old friend E. Morris. ~

Wi th this letter there came from Mrs. Morri s 2 lace-bordered handkerchiefs & a card. inscribed:- tlXX'll)l'Q.."'{ To Mary, wi th best wi shes from E. Morris, Xmas 1941." Also ,II Ames sage true I send to you upon this joyous day, to wish that love P..: happiness walk with you, dear, alway."

Fri. Dec. 12, 1941. This morning Florence brought baby Robert here to stay for to-day. Bill wants us to go to his place at East Greta Junction if we are afraid of the Japs making raids in this district. Florence brought 5 pounds for me,but I told her pay it off her furniture account,which she will. Yesterday we got a note from Art asking us to send him some money, as his military pay has been deferred, & he wishes to go in to Bath­urst with Merv Ewers to-morrow. So Charlie has just gone to the !,,:ayfield Dost office to sena: art a pound by telegraph.

Mon. Dec. 15, 1941. This morning I received this letter fr?m Vera Duley:- "Miss V. Duley, 259 prince's Highway, Dapto,12th Dec. 1941. Dear Uncle Joe,I have been going to wri te to you . for a long time but I have been too busy. However the Intermed1at is finished now & I have plenty of time to myself. I liked all our examination papers, but the chemistry was the hardest. About a month ago I sat for a scholarship at the Amalgamated Business College.There were 2 full year schOlarships, 4 half year, & 8 quarter year ones. Dad came home this afternoon & told me that I have won a full year, worth 26 pounds. He was real pleased & so a I. We are all well down here, uncle Joe, I hope you are the same. Baby is goe ttinR:. real fat &hlovely. hae has 2 teeth & is getting more. I am sentllng you a p oto ot' 1m.

The war si tuatlon isbecoming very serious,isn't it? I hope the

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73. Japs do not. come here. Melvi lIe has been home from school all last week. Mother thought he had the mumps, but hi s face has gone down & now he is qui te well. Aunty, N~ll & pearl a:re. out in the ki tchen n talking to J.Ium. They are DOtn ln the oest 01" neal tho

Mum has an oversize wart on her third finger,. Last Wednesday she went into the hospital to have an electric needle treatment for it. She has a very sore finger, for the doctor cut some of the wart away & found he had not pierced it sufficiently. poor Mum has to go in again next Wednesday & he is gOing to take it right out as It as infected underneath it •. Melville came second in his last school examination. He is in second class & is doin~ quite well •• I am reading an interesting book at present; it is -II Banaby Rudge" wri tten by Charles Dickens. I get more time to read now the Inter. is over. Let me know if you would like to see the exam papers, & I will mail them to you. r have ran out of news, uncle, so I'll close. I remain your sin­cere neice Vera (Duleu.) II P. S. On reading this letter through the news seem rather scrappy. I hope you can understand it. II

Wed. Dec. 17, 1941. Thi s morning Mum went to Newcastle & bought son Christmas presents.Fred paid a timber merchant .t~90 &. was given a :r: pen & a steel tape. It is probable that Ivy & the 3 children will go up to Mai tland to live wi th Florence, as "Tose thinks the Japs may bomb this district. Mum & I ,may go up later on. The Germans aJ re~reating in Russia,& in Libya the Germans & Italians are surr­ounded by British forces & may also be forced to retreat. The Japs seem to be winning in the East.

Fri. Dec. 19, 141.Last night Jose took Ivy & the children up to Bill !udy.' s purdy's house at last Greta. Junction. He returned lat~ Walter came home also last night.*e brought John Rose t s big car home from Stockton. This morning 'alt had to go back to Sydney. He brought Hum a beautiful handbag as a Chri stmas pre sen t. This afternoon we received the following letter from gladys:­"First Avenue, Warrawong, Wednesday. Dear Mum & Dad, e received both parcels safely, & everything was lovely.; we liked them all very much. I made thegirls a frock & a pair of bloomers each out of the material, for their birthdays. I have sent you & Dad a sml all parcel; I hope i t arrive s safel y; also that Dad's shirt fi ts him all ri gh t. I am busy packing to-day, as Jack is taking the kic dies & myself away on SatUrday •. We are trying to get half a hou­se trom a woman in Katoomba. If we can't get that we are going up ingleton way; so don't be surprised if you see us on Saturday some time. Poor Jack has got to stay behind: I'm so worried about him in case anything does go wrong. Excuse the note in penCil, ~ls Ithav~n't much time. Ilhave to tron in a little while,& I'm

a out. Love to you al from Jack & kiddies; also myself. A merry Christmas. Glad. II

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74. This afternoon I recei ved the following letter from Mrs. Webs tel' !_ "15 Gl'eenfield Terrace, portreath,nr Redruth, Cornwall. Oct;28tl1 1~41. " Dear Friend, we were bo th pleased to get your we lcomE; let­ter this morning. Sorry you didn't get my letter I wrote last Ap­ril. I had a letter from you & one from my cousin in Sydney-- " David Tabb, that you discovered for me. I get nice letters, & I ans ered you both Just at the same time. I expect his letter went unde as well. It's awful sad,this dreadful war.Oh, how thankful we shal be when it's ended. They got our dear boy Frank. Had to go on the s searchlight on account of good eyesight. Dear boy nearly broke his heart to go after in hospital nearly 2 years with that smashed leg. You know they had to take that plate out after 18 months,& he was doing fairly well. Ox course his leg was weak, but the docto signed him off for very light work, & he €pt a nice job up at the air drome, just behind our house, on one of our lovely hills, & he was gettinf?; good money: so he got married to a sweet Ii ttle woman --a neice to our butcher. He's gone in a very nice family. Well, he got hi s papers: doctors passed him; tiley would hear nothing about his pOOl' weak leg. "Oh,",they said, "that will get right soon--that's not much! If. Dear boy, he's gone thl'ough enough of. He had to go such a rough Ii fe training too. poor Father & me couldn't eat nor sleep for 2 or 3 weeks. We thought they would have given him a little longer to pick up. He didn(t want to be a cow­ard, he sa:d, but there were several strong fellows here that could have gone be1'.ore him; & theY're still here-- that's the hardest part of it.He been gone since January .. Been home twice since he we t;& now they have a lovely baby girl just born. He's looking forw I'd to seeing (us) next month. He's on the border of South Wales now.2e says he has a nice lot of men there, trying to make the best of It.Alll dear men,r do feel more than sorry for them. Oh, if it please C~d to end this sad affair ! . , Well, 1:1'. Cocking, you see we are safe so far, but we tbought one night we w'ere Just gone.: our house shook. The bombs dropped up over here & caught a petrol tank on fire, killed a few & hurted som

They tried for the air dl'ome,but the gunners drove them off. We are in the valley between the hills; they say it's better than on a hi 11. Welre surrounded wi th searchlights & guns on all the hill tops We have lots of men--in fact hundreds of them, &women as well. Of course portreath is spoil ted; they too 6 or 7 very large farms to build the airdrome on. Oh, how sad the farmers were--some on the farms all their lives.And so we're not sure of keeping our home now. Our girls are at Falmouth still. They have had some very exci ting times-- it's been bombed several times, & a few persons ki lIed. So we have to .leave each other in God's keeping & hope for the best. We all try to keep up for the sake of each other ,& trust in God I s keeping. The cousi~ls son is the one in Sydney you so kindly discovered for me. He sald on my last letter he had not met, you, & he had just had a car; & he was going to try to see you some time. Perhaps he has

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( 5· done so before now. He seems a very nice fellow. It's his only son He was honing he wouldn't have to go to war, No one wants to go; it'- s no pleasure. IT's to be hoped his war will end wars, as \Ve all thought the last one would do. Well, dear friends, we trust you & :Mrs. Cocking are & will be enjoying the best of health, & all yours. I see your daughter has a little son. I can just fancy what a pleasure he is. Our baby is just the same-- never such a baby-- & she is so strong. She is lik Frank-- lovely blue eyes, & her hair is not ginger but alovely qream. !Jfy first baby-- Fred-- was a pr9per ginger; he is still gin ger: he' a lovely great (man) , tall. He's still at St. Day school. Don't know how long he will be there, as they're putting g girls in their places, 8~ women. He's an Aif Warden & Fire Fighter. Out just every night. Not much worth living for now;& we are ra­tioned out wi th everything. We have enough, but not real nourish­ing food, scarcel y any fats,no frui t--all too 'dear to buy. Of course the rich people have plenty still. We can't get an apDle under 9da pound ,half .rotten then. people can't afford to buy. Be a plenty of manure for the gardens; too bad. 11ell theTe ! we mus"t grin & bear it 8.S well as we can. No, we don't get any papers. We are wondering if we shall get what you have now sent to us. , We thank you very much. My boy has just come in. vee have a vacueE from London--been witb us 8 months. All sent dO"\\'I1her'e, 6.: their teE there the Marylebone Grammer School. poor Ii ttle chaps, they have § got used to down here, & treir people been down to see them. They get cheao return tickets. Boys Father & Aunt just been down & st~yed h~i~ fa 'b~~ t'~:tRk~Sthgis iRtB~r i~ dead: he is the only , Chlld, worla of h1m. He's just 12, & aver') nice bOY .. ,he is, & company for us wi th our dear ,boy away. Now dearlriends we wi sh you all the best now f :rom your ever sincere 'friends H.& E. iVebster. God bless you all. Hope to hear from ,rou"soon. (I j t 'd Th k f . t rI W (I

J papers us arrlve, an s or 1 • .t!.. '.

Mon. Dec. 22, 1941. Last Sat. Art returned without leave from the Bathurst camp,& left home to return yesterday morning .. He was quite well, & expected to return shortly to his teaching. He left a parcel of glassware here to be sent 'to Mrs. Paix at Dubbo.He met Walt at the place where Walt works in Sy,dney,on the way from Bathurst.Art is also sending a book to phillis Wi theridge, Charles St. Marrickville, who gave hi m a wri ting outfi t. I am sending a Christmas card to Pat 0' Grady. I t has the following verse printed on it:-This Christmas card a mes­sage bears, That's warm & true from one who cares. Mayall that's good upon life's way Be yours to have this Christmas Day. "I added:- "And when the New Year comes along May wicked Warfare's waste & wrong be banished with its sorrow,And those who suffer grief & pain In innocence, life' s joys regain Up9n Jhat glad To-Morrow ~ Lay YOU'my unforgotten friend, Have many happy years to spend

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76. with ample wealth, & leisure To utilize .your nimble pen

In teaching plundered fellow men To gain their- stolen treasure 111

The card I will send to Lottie Slone contains this verse:­If How sweet is.Christmastide this year It brings us Joy, it brings us cheer; So in my greeting fond and true I' 11 wi sh those things be sent to you II

I added the following verses:-But sweeter still the time will be When over ev' ry land and sea Sweet peace shall reign,and War no more Shall flood the earth with tears and gore When stupid carnage has sufficed To teach the world to follow Christ, Whose stern command, "put up thy sword ! 1\

Has been for centuries ignored.

Yes, sweet will be that holy time When Earth is free from sin and crime, And men shall live,like saints above, In peace,and happiness,and love ~II

On the card I am sending to Vera Duley I have wri tten :-To Mi ss Vera DUleY,from uncle Joe,with sincere congratulations on your success,& hope that it may be the first of a long series. You're youthful yet, with much to l~arn And many rich rewards to earn thi Ie young and strong & ruddy;

So just continue on & on Along the way that you have gone-­Ihe way of Work and Study:

ttack your problems wi th a zest, And only stop for sleep and re s·t When bo th are sorely needed. Let no ir~ortant task be shirked, For those who studied well and worked Are tho se who have succee ded L!!

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Tues. Dec. 23, 1941. This morning I posted letters to Pat 0' Grad~" & Selina Murphy;also cards to both & to Lottie Slone,aunt Lizzie l

Vercoe; and Vera Duley. Yesterday I got 2 bags of sand from a pile near the iJUS stop at the corner of Maud & Beruda streets. To-day Charlie dug a shelter trench in 'our garden.

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Thur. Jan.l 1942.·A s Charlie is anxious for Mum & me to go up to live with Florence& Bill a; 6 Bronwen ~trlatt Greta Junct

ion, west Maitland, While the Japs are likely to oomb this di strict) we have shifted & are living m. th FloI' & Bill. IVy ha s also left Carrandotta st. & is living here too with Daphne, Kei th, & Noel. The yard is ovrerun wi th weeds & paspalum gras s, so I shall have much work to make a garden.

!!~6 We have received the fOllowing letter from Arthur.-liN 275500. C Ooy. S . U. R., Ba thurst, Tuesday. De'aI' Foljks, YOUI' country relative is now an important transgressor of the law,& a breaker of the king's peace. Do you want to hear the

. story ? If you don't you can skin the next page or so. Last Friday~ being sick of the ennui o~ dodging worR~ or pretending to be a.oing something, I, thought a weeR end in t)ydney would brighten up my spiri ts •. i:;)o, wi th a mate of like kidney, I bOa­rded a bus armed with a suit-case containing my civilian cloth es. We changed at Bram Lucas' place, & went to Sydney on the 11~15 p.m. train. There were a few picquets about,but they were S.U.R. & dmdn't ask any questions. On the Saturday morning I called at Pip's office but found he wasn't at work. I su~pose he was at home for the week-end. A ring on the phone to a cOll.ple 0 QUI' crowd. elici ted the fact that they were camped at Collaroy. I joined them in the afternoon. Oh boy,wasn ' t it a bit of alll right t 0 swim about & watch a mob of soldiers sweltering on the hilll unday saw me down town again. I caug ht the 7-30 p.m. train &slept comfortably on the floor all the way un although the weight omf several pairs of feet resting 0

n the'various parts of my anatomy would have di sconcerted slee per than Muggins. Arriving in Bathurst, at a'oout a quarter past ), we changed back into our unifonns, & then walked out to Kel so before we could get a taxi. The walk through an avenue sug­gestive of Adelaide gave us a chance to apprecuate ( sic )the beauties of an Australian sunrise. And what a pretty sunrise it was t I had better get on with my story.We weren't confr­onted with the problem of going to bed in the dark,for it was broad daylight-when we reached camp. I went along to my tent, confident of having an hour's sleep, but I was a bi t di smayed to fii1d the tent occupied by strangers. During my absence,ther e had been a redistribution of tents, so that it took me.a qu~ arter of an hour to find where I lived. I got to bed at 5 past 5, & got up at 6 Of clock, but,as I'd slept in the train. I d~dn I t worry much about sleep. I got one day's C. B. ,& no flne • .I. B involves renorting hourly each night I til LO 0' clock. I I ve to revort now so I' 11 buzz off now & leave the. story of my charge

~ , & sentence.; it wi 11 be the subject of my next scrawl.

Yours Arthur. 11

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80. Before we-left home at Va'tl d' ~' ng letter from-Hrs. pai~:~ "9nH Road we received the fOllowi ~ew year's Night.Mr, &Mrs.coCk.opetoun st. Du"?bo,1-1-lj2. nave been remiss i.n not wr: t' ~ng, My dear Fnents, I fear I ~ ~ tim~ you could notple~s~n~e t~eYOU before n0w.~ Once UpOl\. lng :to QO, Now it's almost be ond ;ter than ~o ",~l ve, me wri t-

;y fTl ends, perhans it's the s! ; iO keep In :tOUCD with my ~ad a birthday, 8: it's a ter~~~le °th? d-~gef for I have ,just 19ht of Time, & realise one is' lng 0 eel the swift fl ?oy w~s home for 2 days last we~~- th~ sure decl~ne. My elder 1m, ::y younger boy & his wife wer en , t twas nlce to have h­ere Drevented by the Government's 'neolt?dnave com~ h?me, but w ... "r 'Y'r ' " J I' " 1 ay r estr1c t10ns I fe c, ".~ "ur Oa:lCL ,8 i r;'!'[ ,no lida' , . 11 " , ,~ -; ..' . ,-80. ~ do not tfiin.k I have eJ~r W~nowRe s-8gltccliecl ~iJfi8 year al­suell wi tli temneratlU'e .over LOO ,J fda, ongA ot, dry fo~ months pas't. DUbbO nas haa. a7Qn~~1're6-¥pt'idt?ttt~~, bli£l t ain thls last ,year. It holds 100,700,000 tals: water, It has bee~ ~d~~~¥~ f¥~€rgf w~ter,& yet the SUpn ~of water is quite in

, belng so-large a ml~~ ary , camp here in Dubbo

the water we are getting now since the new works were finie-hed, is quite discoloured. Our new reception ta!lk &, :filter-·

ation scheme is to cost approx. 72,000 pounds. There is also to be a weir in the Macquarie River above the tOWl'l,SO that really we should get a much better service. N w I trust you are both enjoying good health; also that you h'8.ve had a happy Christmas & New year. Please accept best wishes from Mr, Paix & myself. Yours sincerely Grace paix. It

This is the second letter fromArto-"No. N 275500. Uni t C Ooy. Date Ohristmas Day. ~n%.n Everyone, I'm so important that nobody knew I was gone

I took that little vacation. The trip up went pretty smo-othly. I caught a passenger train to Li thgow', to find that a goods traip was,Dr~cte~ni t~ ~8ih~r~~da couple of hours lat~ er In the lnterlm I 00 s r 0 ~ r & M ~et-erson & George Baker whom I knew ~n the&We'gf. H::)que~;t¥o~

, k d hen I returned I may try the experlment agaln were as e w • f' d . ht m ss at tl1e. some time. Last nigh~ I played ~~ss o~ ~~ ~E~ nig~t at Brt L 0 atholic hut, & havlng ~pent e res am Lucas I ,who is Sally skipper at Bathurst, played the tep.or­horn for a carolling with the Sallies. Brarn & his wife ,nee Avelon smith) send their regards to Dad. Ohristmas dinner here was pretty good-- turkey with ~asty vegetables, & follo­wed by pineapple luscious & abundant.Happy new year to every one. Yours Arthur. ~~ P. S. Exouse the shortness of the note--I' m pretty sleepy."

I have received the following letter & a pretty Ohristmas ca rd from Oousin Lottie Slone:- '

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No. 50 Oapel st. ,Jan 4th,I942. !!y Dear Cousin, Just a few lines in answer to your card, wbick. ~ I received,;;,~ was very pleased to hear from you once more. I had given up hopes of hearing from you after such a long 1;::""

time. 1'7ell, dear Cousin,I am still here in tile same old hout se. It was very nice of you to think of me at this time of the year. Well, I had a very quiet Christmas. I have not het ard from my oldest sister, Mary,for quite a long time. She has .been ill in the Broken Hill Hospital, but she is home again now. I seem to be an outcast. lam the only one so far apart from my. own, but I am qui te happy in my own Ii ttle way. I go to my little Mission on a Sunday, & on the Thursday aft­ernoon I meet a lot of women, & it breaks up the dull time. Well, the war is very bad; I do wish it was all over-- it is making things bad for everyone just now, but God knows best.i He makes everything come right in his own good time. Well, yOCl

~ will excuse this letter. I have had a hard day. I w.as-4i*, 61 years old to-day, so you will see I am not getting any youn­ger. I wi 11 close wi th my fonde st love to you one & all,8: wi 11 still remain your loving Cousin,Lottie Slone. Good night. God bless you all ~ xxx. 1\

The following letter was sent to Florence by Glady.­"107 George St.~Ringleton, Friday, 2nd Jan. 1942. Dear Flo ,I am just scribbling you a .note to tell you that we may be down to see you next wednesday. If we don't arrive don't be disappointed, but so far as I know now we will be going. How are Dad & Mum?, also Ivy & her kiddies ,& not for getting yourself,Bill, & Robert? We are all fagged out; the heat is too much for us, but still it is better than the win~ *'. We seem to be tired (I~ sleepy all the time--we can't seem to get enoughsleep.The children send Robert a big kiss. Oheerio until I see you all.I will tell you all the news the n. Love to all from Glad & kiddi es. xxxxx. U

Eere is the third Bathurst letter from Art:-

URegimental No. N 2755oo.Name Pte.A.J.Cocking.Unit C Coy. S.U.R. camp Bathurst. Episode 2. , , Dear Folks, Guess you alnt forgotten how I was put on a cri­me shee t becau.se of my Ii ttle trip to Sydney last week-end. I promised to tell you the story of my arrest.lt's a pretty good one,although short. About 4-30 on Monday afternoon I ~ was told to report to the Company Sgt. ]"ajor--a pretty dece'" nt fellOW. He is & was involving us in the soup only because he would have been in the soup if he hadn't. I reported as o­rdered.

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82. ordered. Although I was the only prisoner,there were 2 esc­orts wi th bayonets, provided. On the command tlprisoner & est cart, quick march,1I we marched off--an armed guard in front Muggins in the middle, a guard behind,& the S. M. alongside: This is done every time a prisoner is crimed, but it looked pretty silly guarding armless Arthur as though he were a wild ~ character like, y to make a break at any moment. The escort & all the boys around entered into the spirit of the joke,so our little procession w.as heralded by shouts of II Here comes the desperate criminal; run for your lives ,~' & so on. ~rriving at the officer's orderly room, I was told to remo­ve my hat, &, still guarded, was marched in. I expected to be charged with·being absent without leave for 2 days,but the crime sheet only ~verred that I had tlabsented myself illegally from 2 parades, to wi t, etc. etc. 11

After a good long speech containing plenty of good long word s which I hOped the officer ( a bit of a nit-wit, I think, but a nice enough fellow) wouldn't understand, I pleaded II gui 1 ty in extenuation ll • In vi ew of my explanation, which I hope was as lucid as Lake Macquae1'~ mud, I was n~~ ther fin­fined nor .ordered to forfei t pay, but got off wi.th 7 days C.B. Some of the other noor cows, who·were absent for the same time as I was, were fined thirty bob,forfeited 2 days pay, & were given 14 days C.B. Wasntlt Muggins lucky 1 Since there's a hitch in my getting into the 20th Band, I've been made a II pioneer". The word "pioneer" is a nice expres­sion for a collection of nasty jobs.My particular one consis­ts in emntying & cleaning buckets(pretty big ones)containing pig-food: I also travel on the rubbish cart. Notice ,how the family is rising in society? It's a hard job,but the hou­rs are good, & the boss is pretty easy. r should get leave every second week-end from now on. Since to-night is New Year's Eve the c,amp is pretty well deserted. Remember last Hew Year's Eve ,out beyond the limit of se~sible settlementZ This one is a bi t .better than that, isn't it 1 I don'task how Dad is iech time; I assume he's fairly well, & will continue to be so if he gives himself & the doctor a fair go. It 11 soon have to go & report, but befor'e I do I'd be tter tell you ·that, by a queer qui rk ·of ci rcumstanc­es, my getting C.B. is not recorded against my name. lIve an unblemished record. Arthur. II

The following letter is from Glady & Jack:- (No date).

Dear Ma, No doubt you think that we have forgo.tten you

~5En,~im~~laeif,go~y~gIfc~~~e h~d ¥ftzem~l~l&~~n very SiCk, & poor old Jaok has had the rheumatics again in his feet & legs. He had to look after us & go to work,when he was

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83. John had the German measles. He was only in bed a week, but the girls & I had the real big ones, & ,to make it worse, the v wouldn't come out on the girls until weeks after. I can tell you we were very bad, in fact Alma had the doctor wor­ried & we thought that she was going to slip through our fmng~rs. I only stayed in bed a week. You know what it is wh when evel70ne is sick togethcI', & Ihave been at th;; eLectol'! E:

evel' SLICC:. I!-"TC J'j,st f:i.lc,L8l~cJ. 3 bottle;', of medicine & l!m on the 4th one now. He's changed it now for an iron tonic. To-day is the first day we have been out to do a bit of shopping; so you must excuse me if !OU are late getting . yOUI' birthd'ay present. I hOpe you ll. ve to see many mOl'e blr­thdays, & that the old Japs don' get this far to wol'ry us. I have enclosed a ten shilling note & have sent you a pail' of slippel's & some handkerchiefs. I hope you l'eceive them sa ... fely & have a happy bil'thday. We axe all well now, & thank Goodness the doctol' has fixed Jack up; he was pl'etty bad, I~ can tell you. How axe Dad & the boys? also F 10 & hex fam-i ly; also IVy & her kiddilrs ? I suppos'e you are sti 11 at Flo's place. My wOl'd, we'l'e pleased ,to be home again.' Love fom Jack & the children, also myself. Hoping to hear from you soon. Glad. "

6 Bl'onwen Stl'eet, East Gl'eta Junction, June 7th 1942. Mum has l'eceived the follOwing lettel' Fl'omPhyllis With­el'idge;- 15 Ohal'les St. Marrickville, 18 -6-42. Deal' Ml's. Oocking,I have been making inquil'ies at work regar­ding the pUl'chase of a stl'oller for young Robel't (pul'dy). Unfortunately we have none in stock at present, & I was told by one of oul' assistants that' strollel's wel'e pl'actically ullpl'ocurable'. No doubt some of the lax~el' shops in town will ~ still have a few left; & if we find one suited to OUI' l'eqUl.rem.lli1S 0:, ,3Vu. " ........... 4 • .l.io price is l'easonable, we will bl'ing it with us the next time we come home. As Arthul' will be taking his cal' with him on his next tl'ip, we will be able to paCk it quite conveniently in the back. Yours phyllis. It

!~m also received this lettel' fl'om Phyllis Witheridse:­

It i5 Oharles St. liarl'ickville,Sydney,Sunday. (Ho date). Dear Ml's Oocking, Since I wl'ote you last I had a uhone call fl'om Arthul'. He was l'inging fl'om Mayfi eld & said h'e thought he may as well go home & be among his own folk where he wou­ld be well looked aftel'. He also told me to tell you not to go down to see him until he is absolutely fl'ee of the l'ash. I had anothel' :phone calIon satul'day mOl'ning, & he sai,d he 'If was just about l'id of the spots-- thel'e being just a few on his legs,& a.part fl'om a slight cold he was just about well again. I told him to go stl'aight back to bed, '& on no acc-

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84. ount to move from it until he was entirely free of ever~ suot. He mumbled something about IIpetticoat government", bu t I gue"ss he did as be was told. ~

I' m afra~d the blame is all Qla-m€ mineas re;~~ards the dinner set (Arthur wi 11 tell you that I'~:1 the biggest tlli ttle dope" around here.) I don't know wllatever possessed me to mention tea set, as I knew all the time that" it was to be a dinner set. It is Just what I wi 11 be needing, aB I bought a uti Ii ty s set a cou~le of months ago-- which I will keep for best-- & wi 11 buy :2 do z. cups, saucers, &' plates for everyday use. I think I will be set for crockery now;don't you? Tell Arthur 'cot to forget to bring the ration books home wi th him, as we are going to buy our materials the week after next. Yesterday I collected a wedding vej"l \vhich has been lent to me & I alread y have the shoes, so all I have to get now is the dress. I am going to have a material which can later be made into a str­eet frock & blouses. This is all for now. r am scribbling this pri'or to going to the afternoon meeting. Yours Phyllis. II

We received this undated note from Florence :-II Dungog, Monday. Dear Mother, All bein~ well I shall be down in the early train on Wednesday morning about 9 o'closk at West (Eai tland). Will you please ask the milkman to leave I quart extra from Wednesday till Saturday. If I do not come you will know it is because I have a sore knee. l'ts swollen & painful scrcwmatics, I think, but it may be all 'right by then. Here's hoping. We are otherwise all right, so until then Cheerio.Love Florence. II

The following' letter was received from Selina MurpWY,:- Kadina. January L8 1942. Dear Joe, Wife, & Family, 1 am now making a start after a long time to answer your 2 very welcome letters. I was very pleased to hear from you again, & I must thank you for the very nice card of greetings. Did you get the one I sent you,before Christmas 1 Well, Joe I hope you & your wife are quite yourselves again & in good health,also that all of your family are qmite well. I have been keeping very well until yesterday, & something upset my applecart & I have been very croo~ this 2 days, just up 8: down the back house, & sick & giddy; I am reeling like someone drunk. It is just a bad liver turn,l think; but I have done nothing but lie down. Well, Joe, it is a very di rty day--:North winds & dust. 'IVe had the worst dust-storm I have ever known here in Kadina about a fortnight ago. We have had a lot of dust this summer.Keeps me on going by tbe time I go up & down to help my daughter out, now she's got her new baby, This is the 6th, & she is not half well herself. Her husband ~s a returned man from the last war.

..... ~ .-. 85. never 'things have been so upset, & I have been so miserable nor suent such a Christmas in my life as this one. I have had no heart to Vlri te letters or go anywhere, wi th all the boys called in for tbe durati on of the war. One of my sons has been in the Air Fore e for 2 years in July, 9" now my baby son-- the ont: WilO has been married only 12 months-- is called in until the wax is over. Gee L it did upset me. Their little son was only a few we eks old. I was going over to Ourramulka to see the baby, but I have not been yet, & he is 3 months old.l may go over in a fortnight's time. I was up keeping house for my daugtiter while she went into hospital. Then I came home after being with her 5 weeks; then I had her son,16, here after he had his tonsils out & teeth out. Then Christmas on us, so I could not get a chance to go away. Joe, this trouble with the Japs has shaken me to pieces. I worxy that much that I can see the dirty dogs in my sleep All of our poor lads are getting sent to Darwin & places. God knows if we old ones wi 11 ever see them home to their dear wives 8, children. I see that your boys are in it too. Let's hone that thi s war wi 11 soon end. -Well, Joe, I thought I was on a good thing to get Emi ly 1.lat­tbews' address, as I was out staying a week wi th my fri end Mrs. Gear, & I met Mrs. Birtles there .. We got talking about old. ~ times & different peop~e,& I asked her if she knew Emily ;.~atthews. She said "Yes,Gee!She was here in Kadina not long ago. She was in a good Government Job as a Welfare worker,but she is pensioned off from that now, & she lives in 11agill,Ade­laide. II Urs. Birtles said that if I wrote to Emily's bl'other who liyes at paskeville. ,Jack Matthews. So I wrote asking him would he send me his sister's address, but up to date I have not heard from him. My oldest brother has given up his pension & got woxk atRich­ards' l'rotor Building. My daughter Oli ve--Mrs. Stevens--who was living here with me-- has gone to Adelaide to live. She was home last week-end to seeme.811e is my oldest livint; child by my first

"JCo husband. I wi 11 send you the names of my chi Idren 3, ages. I have not heard from aunt Lizzie for a long time, but my sister was up from Adelaide last week-end, & she said she is still alive & pottering around the housework, & 1s quite liv­ely on foo·t. I wi 11 go & see her when I go to town. I am think­ing about gOing when it gets cooler. We 1 11. Joe, this place is very quiet now. All our men have gone ?r ,1I1"e "'tsoing in to camp, & one is just living from day to day In a gloom. I was never 80 sad: I can't make up my mind to go out anywhere to a place of amusement, or any place, only where I have to go. },fy son & his wife--the Gon in the Air Force-­axe are over at Beduna now. ~lii:ll .Toe, I hope you can read this scri lJble; my pen is awful. I must say Cheerio 8: lots of love & good wi shes to you & yours,

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86.· .8" : 8: may the New Year be a brighter one, but it is started pretty rotten; what say you '1 Give my love to Florrie & all. I am glad her baby is getting on so well. Cheerio. I remain your cousin SELINA MURPHY. These are the names of my children:-Florence Olive Davies, nowVrs. H. stevens--43 years last month Thomas Davie s-- 40 years on tl1e 16th of lai: t month. Hazel ;.:ay Davies--37 in Hay.Now Yrs. W.P. Wistrup. Lloyd :.'Ul'nlly,32 on ?Iay 5th. In Air Force. Alla~l :'axwell lIurphy,2e on March 7th. There are 2 girls of Davies' dead. The 3 Davies' are by 1st marri age. II

Trle following letter \Va s sent by Jack Matthews to Selina ~.'urphy: -, It Paskevi lIe 1-1-42. Mrs. Irurphy, Dear Madam, Pardon me not answering your request ere this. Somehow your letter was over­looked at the time received" still I will enclo8e my sister' 8

aud.:r:ess to you. I thO'\..c'=:/lt 'back a few years when I saw who wrote. I have thought of your parents, brothers & sisters since I ret­ceived same. Those were our best times;those old homes were happy places. Everyone was contented &. understood each other. To-day the world is one Hell of bloodshed,8: no one knows where it will finish. still I supTOse there is an end to all things,e eh? I often,when at Kadina, Visit the Mines to see old frien ds & enjoy a talk on old times, but the place has altered: so many homes demolished,& many of the older folk have passed away Well, glad to say my sister never looked so well. °ome time ago she was not so well for some weeks, but seems quite 0 K again now. Some lYlonths ago she was here with us, & we Visited several friends at the -t4:-ffie.Hine. I remember Joe Cocking. He is a little. ~ older than me: he would remember my brothers Tom & Bi 11 who are dead. Tom died in B.Hill; Bill died at Queensland; so there are only my sister Emily & myself left of our family. Trust tni s reach you & yours in the be st of good heal til, wi th things lOOking brighter in the near future. Yours sincerely J.Mattl1ews. Address:- }!iss E. Matthews,2 Barne4Avenue,Magill S. A. II

Letter from Pat O'grady:-95 Gilbert st. Adelaide. Jan.1st-42. My dear old fri ends ,Joe & Mrs Cocking. How are you "P! ~. all ? Wel1,I hope. I myself am in my usual state of go04 health. Yes, Joe, I have moved again. poor old Peter Golding became quite unmanageable & they were compelled to have hi m removed to the P arkside Men tal Hospita.1. He had just Dassed his 80th birthday, &1.~rs Golding in hel' 8)rd year decidea. to try to sell the home. So I decided to seek a room in town before the going had become worse. The tremendous influx of men & families from all the

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87. I states & from the country was causing much difficulty in the I housing-- & l'ooming-- problem. The cry vlasllM~ni tion worke,rs _ ,_, must be found homes ll • So we pensioners an ~31ch trash negligaole..: than in normal times. And those in a ~osition tO,rent h?uses , & rooms to those more imoortant munit~oners consldered lt thelr patriotic duty to do so(incidentally of course) at .nllJ!L~ an advanced rental 'Orice.So I sought & found a room at tlnsan address at =*-a week. It is very comfortable & convenient. Two weeks after I moved poor old peter passed away. Evidently you d do not now get "ADelaide "Workers' Weekly Beraldl! ,othe rwi se you would have read the opi tuaxy notice which I sent in to that paper. I f I can find it I wi 11 post it on to you. I was very "buoked" to reoei ve your letter Joe. I had sorrow­fully oome ~o the 90nolusion that I had somehow inadvertently s said something that jarred your super-sensi ti ve soul beyond your endurance. I am, 11m afraid, like that often. If that is EO, shall we consider the inoident closed--as the Diplomats have

.J!t it? try word t There has been a great soattering, actually 8: ( potential) among the COOltlng Clan,&: when one comes to consid­er the importance of the partioular region that clan had ooc­upied, one must also consider that there is considerable method. jJ:- in the clan's deoision. f am usually a hater of mi Ii tari sm ?,~ all its ways, Joe, but what c an one do when the home-de spoi leI'S , tili eves & blood-letters come:-: tTeacllel'ously invadef;~ &: prepare to invade a piece-loving neighbour 1 I have for the first time in my life been seeing red since the smellful Jap has dared to threaten ~ I am hOping that he wi 11 be Wiped off the face of the earth, & if I could do anything to help to ltipe I wo some wiping --or be wiped.My sons are beyond the enlisting age for over-seas;but I have 3 grandsons in the forces--one in the A. I. F. in ;;fiddle East, or thereabouts, & 2 in R. A. A.F. oamp at Ascot, Me Ibourne. ,r wonder if we can manage to exchange views on current matters wi thou t corning to "hol ts" in future, Let l s try anyhow. I wi 11 promise, anyhow that I will try to avoid "argufyingll. All my Ii ttle lot are well & hearty,&: jogging along as usual. I hope you and yours are di tto. My sincere respects to all, wi shin~ each & allav un a much more peaceful & happy new year Youm rlght, we' m some chumps to. let un gi t away trecks for doin' av us in,Youm right, boy ~ As lain' t got no more av they little old lies to tellee,l shall go along an' poost what I have already wri tee. ' With sinoere respects to all I am your sinoere friend p.O'Grady 75 Gilbert st. Adelaide, 8. Aus. P. S. M:rs. Golding came along wi th your letter yesterday. I had n not seen her since I left her joint, & she is looking at lea­st 10 years younger. Good. P.OIG.

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Thi sis another letter from Selina Murphy:-IIFeb. 8, 1942. near Joe & Famil y, Just a few lines to say I recei ved yuur very we leome let ter, & very :pleased to hear from you; also to know tbat your wife is enjoying better health, but sorry that youroback ke­eps so bad: it is not very pleasant r am sure. r know well what a orook back means, but r am keeping much better lately & my back is not near so bad since r have been taking Doan's

pills: of course r get it now & again. Well Joe, I just got home on Friday: r have been down to Min­laton for 9'days to see my new grandson;he is just lovely, ~ too--fai r as a Ii ly--blue eyes ,& rolls of fat. Hi s Dad is in camp for the duration of the war. He is up at Currency Creek cutting wood at present tn camp. Well, the war is looking pI"'-.~tty crook;I often wonder where it will all end. Still we have .. got to put up wi th it all--oan' t altar things. My fami ly are all about the sarne. My son-in-law is not too good--the one from the last war--he is ill a lot of late; doctor can't do anything for him; it is gas trouble. 'VeIl Joe, I have got a letter from Jack Matthews; so r Will send it on: you oan get Emily's address--it is on the letter Well Joe this is only a short letter,as it's nearly dark & r want to go & post my letters as it's so awful now--no light anywhere to be seen. After dark r am quite nervy. r am sure I don't know however I will put in the winter here alone if this awful blaokout keeps up. roften wonder if there is any need for it to all go on;still we have to be careful. I qui­te enjoyed my few days away. I may go away for the winter, but the old home is,like me, & I need to be here to look af­ter it so muoh when it rains. One thing -- I have good nei­ghbors. Well Joe, I hope you & your family are quite well. Gi ve my kind regards to them all & accept same. I remain your cousin Selina Murphy. "

The following letter is from Emily I·:1atthews

" 2 Barnes Avenue, Magill, Feb. 22nd, 1942. ' Thank you for your very kind letter which which r was so pleased

to receive after so many years. How time goes I t seems to fly these days. Pleased to say at present r am enjoying the very best of health,& fee: 1 r have much to be thankful for. Thelve months ago I had rather a bad turn but made a wonderf ul recovery & feel now as well as I have ever been. When I' t tell you that was the first setback I have ever had I'm sure you wi 11 say I have been very luoky. Well it is nioe to know you have iuCh a fine family. Very ~l pleased to hear abQ~t_vour sons; Iso your daughter. A few years make such a d1f~renoe, doesn't 1t ? especially with young people--they soon get into manhood & womanhood.

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89. I guess you would both be very proud of your grandson. I was very pleased to know you found the- condi tions better tilan at Wallaroo Mines. You would never know the place there now, I'm sure, it is such a wreck--so many of.the old landmarks gone But I like to think of those days; & some of the people ther ~ were a fine stock. Times have ohanged,haven't they? e never heard so much about war in those days, did be ? At

present the news is grave--very grave indeed. I have 2 grea~ ~nephews over there somewhere in the East & feel very anx­ious about them at present as I have had no letter since before Ohri stmas from them. I suppose that my brother Jack told you that we are the only 2 left now of the family. I have resided in Adelaide some years now--much over 20 years. I got a nosi tion in the Government as nurse attendant in one of their insti tutions--children' S \IlI'ork. Then, after being the re for over 5 years I got a promotion in the Department as Travelling Atte,ldant, & after some years there reached the reti ring age. I was very sorry & very sad at the ti ~;le, ac3 I was well & fi t 8: liked my job very much incieed. 1"0 is 11 ~re­ar8 since -;- ret:Lred-- I can 90arcaly believnLt. 'r.),~r ~j~le:j.~J e ~las :;\)~le ~ ::::. am ';)oardL1g at til)_ 3 3:11)' a 38 , '._ ~--:.a;r(:'! ;j,)ii·~

livi~~ w~th these people for 8 years now. They tell me I am one of the family, as they have no children & I am the only boarder. It was rather misleading about doing Army work in the suburbs-- I have done a lot ,)f se'\fil1g for the Red Oross & Comforts Fund, & Refugees.Retired, but still a busy wom~~, & glad that God gives me the strength & wi 11 '[;0 do it • .:. ir)'-.l­Id '08 ver;T :nisera0It:) not to ~Hlve GO:ilet~1i~1.g Jti~) .::lo. Jac::c' i3 'Jl-.:lc Bt 80"1 i 3 mal'l'i ed c:~ Ii. VL1~ 3:~ Adelaide. He has a ~ good wife & a verynice home, 2 lovely girls---the eldest 21, the other--Uance--16. It is so nice for me to 6'") out to s·· se e her every wee:,c; then I can go dow:.'1 to St;e J ackat 0 roydon

8: what wi th many nice friends I have a ver~' hapDY life. Of CO~J.l'8e it; :Ls!l't li1i:8 h01l8--1 ,).f'cen ·~:l:'..,~};: )I"Mother, & ther~ '" have been timeswhen I longed for the old days over again. --daYG of Paradise oOYJparecl '<vi"th t:18 eXpectation of being of being bombedat any time these days. Do you remember when the ohurches we:L'e ol.'o"vvdec: '( :J.J_~o Sunday sChools,8c thebeautiful Salvation Army Barraoks atKadina ? Long ago it was levelled to the ground. Sometimes I look baCK 120;. wonder llwhy'l all thesebhanges. A beautiful world full of prosperi ty--but God-forgdtten • I t makes one feel verv c.'1'eiv-ed at times. . . u

Well n~w II m afraid my letter will not be very intel'esting to Jrou; wri ting is so differentfrom talking. §o much to tell you, but so much detail to eXplain, makes talkingmuch easier . than writing. I forgot to tell you just now that the travel­lng posi tiOl1 was wi th the Wards of the state, & wherever the y were placed into homes my duty was to travel with them to their destination: it was a i'7011Clerful :')ofJi tion, t :: lO'leeJ.

90.· -- ------the t r aY'311ing/\ it 4 was r::;uch an. a,-:.va;i1taS8 tD [;(e tt( c~iff€rj/ eDt parts of South australia that otherwise I should Level' have seeL--v!i t:: a pass pl'ovided; s () you can wellguess I was ~!e!3:~ sorry to leave.

now!' m afraid youwill be bored to read this; but plea se overlook all mistakes-- there are many. I t is just tea--.;tf time,& then to churcb if it is not too dark. We have to 'Gave "bl.c black-out i.lawn h61'e. l;ow wi th very kind l'egal'ds to you, your ,'ci f e f~ fami ly, I remain

2 Barnes Avenue, Uagill. Yours ReSl)ectfully,E.1JattJ:lew8,

Jack wants me to go up with them for a holiday. It nice & quiet in the country.Ohange from the City. God bless you all. ,

(Answered Feb. 27th 1942.)

Thi s 1e tt er is from Glad & Jack:-1I1stAhenue" Warrawong ,May 7 th 1942.

is very

Dear Ma, I wish to thank you on behalf of ,Jack for his nice birthday presents; he likid them very much,' How are you all keeping ? e are all tip-top. I 'have sent a ~ parcel per post: I hope you receive it safely. The slippers are for Dad's birthday. I hope he has a happy birthdaY,also that the slippers fit him. If they are too small send them ~ back, & I'll exchange them for ,another pair, or for somethin~

.&§ elee, that's why I have left the price on & kept the docket 'l'~ Cl-e is a small inside Dad's present for you, for Mothers' Day: I hope you like it also. Listen; if you feel like comi­ng down for a hol~day, come by all means; we'll find a bed ~ somewhere for you. The same goes for Flo & Ivy &the kids. We wouldn't mind seeing you allagain, but you'll have to take it ~n turns. I suppose you you'll soon have Arthur home for the school holidays. I suppose Ivy is itching to get into her new home by this; I suppose it's finished now. How is the gardener getting on (Dad)?' I suppose you know who I mean. You better g~ve him a kiss for his birthday for me. We've had lovely weather here for the past week--just like Spring, but yesterday & to-day are very cold & windy--those nasty Westerlies. I .will conclude with lots of love to you all at Snake Gully from t~e mob at Bongoola. Jack & the chil­dren send their love also.xxxxx.Love from GladX. Excuse mi stakes--in a desperate hurry to catch bus."

The following letter is from Florence:- II C/o Mrs. Atkins, ~larencetown Road, Dungog,23--6-~42. .

ear Mum, Dad, Ivy, & the Ii ttle 'kids. Well, we arri ved here all right & have' been o,uly installed. It's a lovely spot up here on the hill; I wish we owned the place. The house & the people--Mrs. Atkins & her grand daughter Mrs. Nelson seem aD ~ right; & we must have made a favourable impreSsion, becaust

C't/ - 91.7 Mrs. Atkins, I mean, said she would like us to stay here, bu t of course it's much too early to decide how long we shall stay. Bill took Robert &. me down the street this afternoon 8~ I did a bi t of shopping in the grocery lin~~didn' t see an­yone I knew, but I was in a hurry, anyhow. The girl here-­Mrs. Nelson-- works in Dark's. I knew her before-- she has only been married a month. Her husband is in the A.I.F., & she is continuing her job while he is away. Thanks very much for the pram & parcel: we got them to-day. I hope you are getting settled. Tbe room we have here is not very big; the furniture is small, & a lot of our clothes hav~ ~ to remain in our suitoase. The house is beautifully clean & new. I miss the gas stove, but I suppose I shall get used to this other slow method in time. Bill is very busy wi th hi! ~ job, & has piles of home-work on the table to-night; but I suppose in a short time he will have the job sorted out. The ladies here have taken a fancy to little Roberty, & he is getting used ·to them although he was shy at first. He cried nearly all of the first night we arrived, & most of yesterdaY. A Last night I gave him a Steadman's powder & he slept all night. I have repeated the dose to-night & hope it will do him as much good •• You wi 11 be glad to know Mo~er, that, I

have wri tten. to Beaty to-night, so don't worry. I t'.s time I tootled off to bed now whi Ie Wookety is asleep,. So Cheerio lots of love from Florence, Bill, & Robert. II

This letter is from F.pogson:-"Commonwealth of Australia.' Invalid & Old-Age Pensions Office 52 Carrington St. Sydney. Hr. J.Cocking, 331 Maitland Road., Mayfield West. 25-5-42. Wi th reference to your Communication of 18 -5-42 I have. to advise that, according to the records of this offiCe,cheque for pension instalment due 14-5-42 was forwarded as usual. Kindly notify me hereunder if it has not sinoe been received by you. F .pogson, Deputy Commissioner. II

The following note was sent by T.Walsh:-Invalid & Old-Age pensions Office,52 Carrington st. Sydney, 11 th June, 1942. MEMO~UM for Mr. Josiah Cocking, 331 Maitland Road,Mayfield West. ith reference to your communication of 2-6-42, I have to advise that cheque for 14-5-42 was reoeived in this offic~

& re-posted to you on 1-6-42. Kindly notify this office if all cheques due to you to date have now been received. T.Walsh, Asst. Deputy 0ommissioner,"

~2is one is from Selina Murphy:-

Digby °treet, Kadina,28-6-l942. Dear Joe & Family,Just a few lines as I have not heard from you for a long time, &

92 u • I-I thought I would drop you a few lines to inquire how you & your wi fe & fami ly are getting on. I do hope that you & your good wife are enjoying better health now; also that Florrie & her husband & baby are qui te well; also all of the boys & families. Well Joe, I am fair, & would like to be better; it is my back that cruels me. I have an awful crook old back: i if r stOOp to do anything, or make up my bed. I don't know how ~ to straighten again, & I get such inward pains too. Gee t I am stooping & bent like a woman of 90. I f I could only get; * rid of such a bad back I would feel quite young again. Sti­II I am not so very old--66 on the 4th of September. I have been going to write to you every week, but been so worried lately wi th sickness a'l1ong my chi ldren & the worry of this cruel war--i t gets one down. My son Tom did not pass for ~ the mili tary-- he is right out of i t--he has a rupture & an ulcerated stomach, & I don't know what he hasn't got; so he is not fi t. My 2 other sons are sti 11 in camp. Allan has been in the camp hospital,ill; & Lloyd has been shifted to Victor Harbor from Laverton, so he is a lot nearer home now. He & ~ his wife & little girl were home with me a few weeks ago for 4 days. It was lovely to have them home. He has a lovely lit~ tIe gi rl--a real Ii ttle lady. She wi 11 be '4 years old on the 18th of October. Lloyd's wife is going to Victor Harbor to 9- ve to-morrow. }(y daughter-- llrs. Stevens--has been very i 11/ ;.tt- she had airasiplies. I know I have not spelt it correctly but you will understand, Joe •• She got rid of mt, & now she has muscular Rheumatism badly. She is. still living in Adela­ide. My youngest girl--Mrs. Wistrup-- is not well nor very strong. She. has the returned man, & she hal3 5 Ii ttle ones. S'­She has too much work & too much worry. Well Joe, have you had much rain over your way? I am just sick of rain & cold weather. It has been raining all day. I am still living alone, & it is very lonely these lon~ights Still, I had_ an offer of marriage a few weeks ago to a Mr. Jim Dayman. He is an old-age pensioner--73- but a ve~y nice respectable man & a good-living man; but I did not accept it as I justfeel I have quite. enough to look after myself; so just have to put up with being lonely. Both of my neighbors have gone to Adelaide to live; so it makes ~t worse. I have not heard from aunt Lizzie Vereoe for ages now; but I hear she is still getting about as ever. Did you writ~ to Emily Matthews, Joe? If so, did she reply? Joe, I saw Bes­sie White a few weeks ago, & she told me to tell you to send back Elvina's photo that she lent you when you were here. I often see Bess-- she is looking old;& poor old Elvina is do­ubled up. Well Joe do ·you have to have a ration coupon book for clothes ? We have to here & I ~ t an ounce of tea' a we­ek. I see that the yellow-beliies had a go at Sydney. tre you still up with Florrie ? I will address this letter the ,> reo I had a very bad fall Just of late-- the first fall I h~d

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n."" :t~~r. on my back verandah:3i' ~ell over the broom handle & sho-­

ok' myself a treat; & 10 days after that fall I went out to ~ my son's place on Sunday. He lives out where your old home was, out that way a little nearer Kadina,'&I left it rather late coming home. I t set in dark on me & I was hurryin&, & .t::J.. caught. my foot in a hole, & did I come a buster? I struck :n my temj~e & cheekk on the ground; & by the time I got home I could not see out of my left eye. I had a lovely black eye ~ for 2 weeks, & could not lift my arms above my head for a we ek. I was bruises allover. It was a wonder I never broke my glasses. Hy word ,Joe, things are very dear now; it takes on e all she can do to live & pay rates &: taxes on a pension. Well Joe Imust close now hoping you &: yours are all qui te we 11. Write soon. Remember me to all. I remain your cousin Selina Iiurphy. Ta, ta t II

(Answered 4-7-42. This letter came from Phyllis Witheridge:-1115 Charles st. Marrickvi lIe 30-6-42. Dear 7'.1rs. Cocking,If we fail to arrive complete With strolle'Y

/P- this week-end you may be sure' that it won't be for the warr se of trying on our part. So far we have been unsuccessful in obtaining one, but Arthur will be calling in at Marcus Clark I s some ti me thi s we ek, & it is to be hoped he wi 11 be fOl'tu­nate in his perusals there. I am disappointed to know that Robert will not be there , as I was looking forward to wheel-ing him around in the new stroller; .but I. told Ar:.thur that I refused to be di sapPointed, &: as I was. determined to push someone around in the stroller he would have to crawl in & subj ect himself to being pushed ar.ound. He seems IIV .. ~uK it preferable to borrow a baby from next door. We will be coming home this week-end. Al'thul' is to meet me after work on Sat. morning, & we expect to arrive at Mayfield late in the afternoon. We thought that unless you intend go­ing home to Mayfield for any particular reason during the week-end, we will have tea on arrival, &: then catch the trai " ~o Greta on Saturday evening. So until then Cheerio.PhyllH.

This telegram was sent by Bill, after he had received thethe new stroller from us:-" '1'0 Mrs. J. Oooking,6 Bronwen st., East Greta Junction,lrest llai tland, 7th July 1942 • . Thanks very much for lovely present. Love. Robert. "

Florence sent the following letter next day:-"C/o Mrs. Atkins Clarencetown Rd. ,Dungog. 8-7-42. ~e~6u}I~~her & tDad, Well, we;!. 1 , well, there is no doubt about you , a pre ty good pal.r--the stroller is a Ii ttle beaut , thanks very much. Bi~l was so excited that he must rush i in straight away & send a telegram. Hope it didn't scare you

~ •... --

- 94---:--~ ,", . ~.

too much. We went down to the station to colleot Bill's ma:ti & there it was; & Robert looks at it as though he admires it , although I haven't taken hi::n out in it. Bill sat him in it when we arrived home. we eXplained who gave it to him-- or I should say us-- & he grinned a good deal, but I suppose he ". wi 11 enj oy it better when I give him an outing in it. I s No el 1 all right? You did not say in your letter, & I have been wondering if the earaohe eased up, 8: if he is well. I t was a ,pretty good trip home on Saturday night;Robert slept nearly all the way, but when we arrived at the station here it was bitterly cold. Bill had brought 2 ooats down& I wrapped the nipper too, so I don't think he felt the cold; anyhow he did not wake until the early hours of the morning. We had a love 1 y run out in to the coun-try wi th Bi 11 yesterday; the scenery was beautiful. I was wishing you were wi th us. Bill went to Stroud to-day. He is getting more used to his work now,f~ tile hor!1ewor~{ is becoming easier. How is everyone do\m there? You did not 8ive me any news of Phyllis or Art,or ffi1yone els~, ~ '-ot'ner, I suppose -you were in such a hurry. As far as the station is concerned,3ill has to call every day for mail or parcels that come up for his customers, so it doesn't matter about hurrying if ever the need aro·se. This town is overcrow ded,so I can't see much likelihood of getting a house.There is a new lot of soldi ers on the showground (fro'~t Singleton, ~ tLink)?~ they are all overthe town looking for accomodation for their wi ves &families; so we must stay put; but we are q quite Lappy here. rlrs. Atkins gave Bill a nice hot dinner on Saturday, so she is not too bad •• Forgot,Dad,I have been ex­travagant writing on one" side of the paper; I'm a terrible girl again. Goodnight •• Dad, I don't know how this:place would suit you--heavy frosts 2 mornings running--the we miss ed this morning, but.i t' s so cold to-night that }!rs. Atkins says that there will be another one in t,he morning. She is a good weather prophet & always oan tell whe-n it is going to rain. II

The fo 110 ing letter bears no date, but it was D ro';)ably wri-: tten in mune, 1942) !--"1st Avenue Warrawong. Dea.r :.;um, I suppose you thought that I was never g0ing to \'Iri te to you again. Well here it is. W~ are all well, wi th the exception of colds; we d.on' t seem to be able to shake them ~ off;~we get a bit better & then they freshen up a bit. We are • having nice weather. here this wewk ,i t' s raining to-day. We were pleased to hear of Art's engagemen t; I suppose he l 11 be getting married pretty soon. If you don't watch you'll be losing the lot of them. I suppose the Japs have frightened I Ivvback to I{aitland: they're a jolly nlUSance; I wish the war was over .

Jack's pestering me to take tbe cllildren away again,but I'm not too anxious to go .. TIle kiddies don't want

.~

,:-

I r

95. to -go, in fact JOhll says he is not, leaving here if thcJa1)S d o come I houe Bill is feeling better 8~ t:nat he likes bis new

, job: we h'ave a nice garden now,; Wf:, are pic]<::ing bean~,let'"' tuce, ~: silver beet; 80 that's not too bad. When I ~~me home Jack & I started to dig, '& we soon g t the garden E,"CDlng. Our peas are in flower too ,so I suppos they'll be soon bearinJL ~ too. There's no ne w~ to tell you~ so" ~ will say Cheerio untj_l next time. Love fl'O~'l Jack & tne cIuldren;also from Gla d ..

xxxxx .. There are 1200 soldiers here from SouthAustralia, at the side of Sti bberd' s. You }:now there's Colorados next to us-­then Tuck's--then Stibberd's place; so they're pretty Close; it's a fair-si zed camp. 11 -.

This letter has no date;It is from YaY,Tilly & Jadk.-

1I1:ayfield. Dear aunt & unc~e,It was a strange thing to think I was up at your place on ~unday & had about an hour & a halt J1 talking wi th Fred •• ' Now you want to know how we all are. Well, I am still surviving. I don't feel too bad some days; the easier I take things the, better I get to the meetings. That is bread & butter to my soul. Frank & family have gone to parkes. Frank has a week's holiday-,so he has gone Wi th th­em.Frank says he wi 11 see Joe himself. I think Lola & the 2 chi:J.dren are going to Inverell. Mrs. Hills is staying at Alf 's. I don't know what Vera'is doing yet. Clarice is going to wait until they tell her to go. Our officer is doing all right; he seems to understand his Bible, & he conducts his meetings well •. We did not have a"Harvest Sale:but whoever could collect 5/- or give anything they could afford, it was be tter than a Sale. We had a good response. I don't know whe­re we will come out yet. Dad was dOi'm in Sydney for the weei<: -end: he says Grace is nic~ & comfortable, 8: as happy as a lark. pearl is all right. hen Lola went to §;ee about Single ton the men told her on nO"'accoun t to go to t)ingleton. I was thinking of Glady up there. How are Ivy 8: fami ly doing? I suppose they miss Sunday school, it being so far away. Aunt Ella York has not been well again. She has had a blood trans­fUSion at the hospi tal. I f you are in town call & se e her. Tell uncle Joe he wi 11 be able to' sell hi s ve2'eta'oles when he. ~ has too much. Of course there is a large fa~ily to feed noyV~ ~. Your Yilace i8 looking dry, but tbe pineapples are coming on Dad bas not finished his dug-out yet; I haDe & Dray we shall not want it. This is o.:1ly a short note. I-may see you when you come. It's terri ble so many going away-- everything is upside down. Snellgroves have ,golle out to the lake for a whi Ie y

~. Love to everyc·ody. From aunt &: 11::1cle '>:: Tilly."

9b.~-~-

This is a letter tbat Jose wrote to the officer cou1mandfng ;J#. the military force ;- " 331 Eai tland Road, ~'ayfield lIes,t.20 5-42. "The Commanding officer ,"<ilitary Forces, Mayfield West. Dear Sir, In response to the request in the local paper for making available to the authorities of enlarging photograp­ic apparatus, I take thi s Opportuni ty of informing you that I have an enlarging camera which I wish to sell. I would be glad if you could get someone from the right quar­~er to inspect this at your earliest at the above address. ~omeone will be at home any time after 5 p.m. each' evening up till 8 p.m. The camera is a suspended vertical one, of German manufacture, by the name of Zeiss Ikon. HOping' it will meet the requirements, & we can do business, I am Yours Truly

J.T.Cocking."

Note: The camera was taken IIfor valuation", but after being in the possession of the military officer for months & not paid for, Jose aslced for payment, & was told that the office I' thought that it was GIVEN: so Jose Drought it home.

Er. John Bradbrook, 45 Li ve:rpool Road., Leton, W 10 London. This is Bill's father's address.

This letter is from 'Urs Webster:-"15 Greenfield Terrace; portreath,nr Redruth, Cornwall. 30-3-1942. Dear ~'r. Cockung, We have just received your very wel­come letter wri tten on the 24th of December 1941. Il1]'e were gl ... ad to see that you were well at the time of wri tinge We trust-

.!J you are keeping the same, & safe. We are very thankful to say we are safe so far, & have much to thank God for in thes e days of trial: we hai'e had no bombs dropped to harm us so far. Well,dear friends, I have had' Father in bed 12 days ",vi" ~ th flu" c\! it made him very weak. Ee just came downstairs at"' IE dinner time ;so he must be improving. The cough he had was dre adful. We are expecti ng our boy Frank ho,l:e from ShrOpshi­re. He has 48 hours rest time, so he asked for a little long er tosee Father, although it will take him 2 pounds five 8hi'" lliYlfc;S; but there " 3:.:& he'doesn't drink nor smoke, so he will ~ soon make that ,up again •• He is a very lovable ()oy. Hef3ays be wouldn' for anything to bappen,&/J he not seen Father, for the world. So we're expecting him now allY minute. He has a Ibvely little home of his own now, & a sweet little wife & baby-girl. They were living with us at first: now, poor boy, he is , like all of us, waiting & wishing this awful war to­be over. How thankful we will be.I have not heard from my co .. usin David Tabb: I wrote to him the same time as I sent tour last letter to you. I expect his only son is in the war

00, poor chap. We have a large number here 1~ the vi llage from just all parts. Lots of Canadians--air-pllots & gunners

~o/l 97~ Our boy Frank' is on the search-lights; they passed first clab s. 0 He says he feels well & doesn't feel his leg much----a, Ii 1;tle weak at times, out tha.t's all.

o Well &a,iP 111'. Cocking, I can fancy you loving & thi~1king th81'e l s no other baby boy like your Ii ttle grandson. They do bring lots of love with them. Our baby Joyce is is some prize, too • Our girls are always buying something for her, but her love ~ goes out most to books. She is going to be a teacher Gran­pa says. wel}, my first bab"y boy,Fred, was the same. Let him have a book he would be all' right. He has a boy 12 years A' next month who doesn't bother about books. We eall him farm­er Dick-- always abou't cattle & farm work;if he can get to help On a farm he's happy. He's a lovely boy. His mother e<..

father were here yesterday & they put in early potatoes and onions & some other seeds; so you se e we are trying to help along the war effort. Well I'm afraid that if we don't all do our bi t we shan't have very much. Dear frien~ds I am send­ing you our baby's photo, taken on our beach.She is like her Daddy--very fair.Her hair is not ginger but a lovely lemon {? color & one of her Daddy's as well. Dear boy, he has):"..nown some hardships thi s last 3 years. rtf 3 years next Sunday G

since his aCCident; now away from us all we pray that he wont:" ~ be sent overseas. Dear boys, I feel so' sad to see them go .Lots 1:';0 fromour village. , N Ow dear fri ends I trust thi s wi 11 find you all safe & well. r.:ay God bless you, &nrilay no harm come near any of you, is our sincere wish from your true friends,H.& E. WeGster. P. S. Shall be pleased to ehear from you that you're safe. II

(Answered 2-6-42.) The following letter is from Florence:-IIC/O Mrs. Atkins, Clarencetown Road, Dungog. 10-8-42. 'Dear old Mum, Seeing that you never wri te to me, I suppose I had better do my Boy Scout good turn to-day & wri te to you •. I I')ape you are all well, & I hope you did not wash to-day with this cold wind blo~ing; anyhow if you did it is too late 6 to give you a lecture· but in future please note, i:tadam, that you must choose sunny days with no cold winds blowing when you do your weekly wash. Well Min I 1vont be coming down this week as perhaps you expected. Our dear little Roberty ~ has had a bad cold & a sore throat. we took him to the doctor last IBUBsay. l'1e said that the throat was very sore ,& he ga~ ~ Us a mixture for his cough. Anyhow, he is very much better­- still has a cough, but it is much better, & I think his throat must be all right again, because he is taking his food.,

4 very well. He has a cold in the head, but other than that he is very bright & cheery so he must be feeling well. There is absolutely no need. to wQrry about him", but I would not take him away until his cold 1s better. ne has another

qs. I Ike ow HI'S Atkins ,',Jl,.a. tooth throu~~h 7 is a good 'Il tt e wa r n • ;':1 ~ going away towards the end of the week. she may be away a mo­nth' & Hrs. Neilson goes away on Monday,to Oaslno, for a for tni'''ht so we will have the hous~ to ourselves. Is Bill's hat;" '~f~ . 'hed? Have you had any Vl si toES lately? How are ~ lnlS . . h -the kids? There was a house empty. qUl te close to er~ rec~n tly, but it was sO dirty that we dldnl~ bothe: ab?ut It. Bll} ~ looked through it & said it wasn't fl t to Ilve ln, so for the resent we will remain put. Bope. Dad. isn' t wOrkinG~,too ~ hardP& is well,also you & IVy. Oheerlo lhn.Ou7' 10vex~xA from Robert. We hope to see you on wednesda~ fortnlght. Blll i 8

partly good, &. I am champion.Florence.

Here is ano ther letter £rom Florence:-"Dungog, 16-8-/)2. ~ear :,rUll, Dad, IVy, 8<: the kids, Pleased ~ to hear from you dur~ng the we,ek '~:, tCkp.ow that things are ~airly well. Sorry Dad's back is giVing him trouble--hope it lS better now--&: don't work too hard, Dad. I thought when I ., read the letter from ;.:Iother the other day that perhaus Rhu Pills t'1ight relieve you.' I have taken them lately for~ that pain in. my feet 8~ for pain in my shoulder & knees, & it has been a great help. I t may be all right , seeing that the doc­tor says it is a muscular pain; anyhow, give them a go, they can't hurt you. Little Wookety is pretty good again--he has 2 new teeth. He has tQ£go for his diptberia immunisation injection again to-morrow, but he is not as brave as he was the first time. It's a bigger dose now & a deeper injection, but he doesn't cry too much. Hope Pip was up to see' you to--­day? How are the coupons la.sting ?have to have eough to ~ get some glad rags to see Art U1arri ed, won't you l:~um ? So Ivy is putting on weight too--that's gOOd, keep up the good work. Oh, before I fcirget-- Bi II's hat arrived the day after your first letter; thanks for the trouble you went to;I shall fix up the cost wh'en I see you. Had a letter from Nell during the week, & it was chOCk-a.-block full of news: so it should be after such an interval., -:rs. Atkins had a great ~ sururise the other morning about 5 o'clock when one of her soldi er sons arri ved home from the Solomon I slands. He has 3 weeks leave. He is pre tty lucky to be away from there just nOW,tbe way things are. Her other son is still missing. I houe your cold is qui te better by this time,Mother. Do lOOk' after yourself. The winds here this week are the worst I ever remember, & we seem to catch the full blast up here. I t should be a good place to live in in Su~ner--if we' are here that long. Bill does not seem anXious to move-- & it's nice haVing cOUluany when he is away; so we do not waste much time house-hunting, even if it were any use. Cheerio. Our love to you all. Florence."

:j..

f..l~q 99. Thl's letter is from Selina !.!urphy:-

1116-8-42. near Joe,Wife, & Family, Just a few lines to say I received your very welcome letter, & very nleased to hear from you' also glad to know that you & your wife are in bet­ter health & I h01)e you are sti 11 improving; al so that F'lo­rrie & her'l1Usban2l. 8~ baby are quite well: I guess YO:J· do miss ~them very much. I do hope all of your boys & tLeir familieS , are qui te well. I am not too good myself, Joe. I have had the flu,cold, !Q~ bronchi tis -pretty severe, but I got rid of ~ it ;now my legs are so painful, & mv' back is cruel-- I could cry some days wi th it; 8: I am getting such bad heads--p2.ins all Un the back of my head 8~ ove I' my temples; I think it must be neuri ti s. No wonder people are ill; we have had a verycolci, ~, wet Winter, & the worry of tllis vvar,& everythinc so scarce. ~ & dear. It doesn't look as if it is ever goin§'; to e ,d. I -W-have been so upset,Joe, as my youngest son has joined the A. 1. F. H e has only been marri ed 2 years the 11 tfi of next Jan. & he has spent 18 months in camp. He is at home vii. til his wif~ '8~ baby at nresent, on 5 days leave.He has not gone into tb e A.I.F. mit yet. I never get a chance to see hL; as ds bo ::1e is dovm at tbe bottom end 0 f Yor1ce' s peninsula, ?: '1'111 en tIl­e y Ce t leave thrir T)asS is made tbrougl'l to 0 ilrramul ka w:r;ere he lives. Fe is in 'rerowie Camn in the tra...'1shinni:w· centre. :"yother son is at '/i:;tor Harbor',in the Air F'ol'ce c'2,mp. His wife 8: child are un there wi ';,h him. They have taken a flat,& Lloyd Goer3 home there to sleep 8: have his tea; so he is set. Lyoldest girl,6alive is still in Adelaide liv.ing. She haD been very sick wi th muscular rheumatism; she has not been abl~ , to turn in bed; & hel' oldest girl--in fact she only has 1 girl of 17 years,& she has been home ill for 5 weeks. She had quinsy very bad. She had her throat lanced & it kept clo­sing up, so she had it Opened 6 times; but she is qui te re­covered now. My other girl who is liVing neal' me is very '00-orly, & all of her children have very bad colds: I do think they ar,e getting whooping cough--i tis going he~e pretty bad-1y. I go down to help her out all I can. You know she marri'" ed the returned man from the last War.. He has onl y 1 leg ,1. is a T.B. case: it is such a lot of worry for me I em1 tell you Joe, f~r I have as much as I can do to do my bwn bi t of housework--more than I can do sometimes. I still have not heard anything of aunt Lizzie Vercoe,nor I have not seen any of the Whi tes. Bess has been in Adelaide, s ? I vvas told; the l'est of them are still here-- Dick & Charl­le, Elvina & Reg (that is Bess' son. I still live here all on my pat. Doth of, my neighbors have gone to Adelaide to li­~~. I am gOin~ to Adelaide for 2 weeks soon. 'I tis 12 r.:1on ths u t6l1h~e 4~ht~i nf~; ~::m6h sin?e I we~t down;. then lUl son sho-4th next yearP Gee i YJ 5thrblrthday, so I wlll be 06 on '::;ep.

• • oe, am gettlng an old woman--still I

-----~- - iOO~~- fa~, have a lot of kick in me yet. When I feel O. K. I can work wi th the rest of them, but 1 t is my jolly old back ?hat settlesme we 11 tIler e is not much news to tell 1:'1 thi s deadly old D lace only war,war; so, tr'.lstLl[:· you are still alive & well, J: wil 1 say Cheeri 0, Jo e & kind regards to your wi fe & fami ly I remain Cousin Selina Hurphy. Sorry I keD t you wai ting, but I have been so worri ed latel y­- everythi ng going wrong. Wri te soon. II

The following letter is from phyllis:-

15 Charles street,!tarrickville, 19-8-42 • .i.Je aI' ~·:rs. Cocking, Arthur has requested me to wri te to you, st:; ating' that although his holidays commence to-morl'ow,he vnll not be able to come home. fox a week 01' so, as he has themea­s l~~. He thought it wi se not to wri te to you himself, as m measles is a contagious illness.; but he told me to tell you not to wo rry as, apart from being bleary-eyed 8~ haVing a mottled compieXion from head to foot, he is qui te his cheery self. As measles is infectious doni t be sUl'orised tobear tha t I am suffering from the same complain t. Even as I wxi te I have aD imaginary itch, & I peel' anxiously at my arms & legs from time to time looking for the dreaded symptoms. I want to

4J, thank you ve ry much fox the promi se of a tea-set, & I' can assure you that it wi 11 be greatly appreci ated by both of us • We have finalised our w.edding date, & have now decided to be marr.i.ed on the 28th of Novembex 194:2. 19/1.2. Arthu:c will tell you all the news wher~ be comes home, as I 1a know he will like to tell you all about it himself. 1-To doubt I will be seeing you in the neal' future,~..: until t1.1en all the best. phyllis. II

Here is anothex letter from Florence:-

II C larencetovr:; Road, / Dun gog , T1..1.es. Aug. 27th 1942. Dear ~:othex, I suppose DadIs still improving ox you would ha­ve let :11e know. I l'eall y e:xpected a letter to-day, but none came. Hobel't.& I are well, but Bill hasn l t been well for a for tnigtlt; he is keeping on wi th hi s work, though, wi th the aid of adrenaline I f there is no defini te imorovemen tin hi s heal­th I wi 11 persuade bim to try to get a transfer to Tamworth, Scone, or even· Dubbo. I'Jow that the weather is warmer. again h he wi 11 probably be pretty well. Anyhow" we wi 11 give Du.Il2'pg a bit 10ng8r trial. We received an invitation to Artis wedding about a fortnight ago, but I doni t think i tl s at alllilJ:ely that we shall be going. Tyres for caxs now are almost unpro­curable, & as Bill is getting one to-day & will have to get some more--I doni t know how many--i t looks as though the wed.., ding trip is all off; but weill see, & I won't answer the in

.. , 1)1 101 . vitation yet. we may be sick before that time. If you are WXiting to Art tell him I have tried to get a silver teapot butcantt manage it-- o:r, bette:r still--give me his addl'OSS.

Robert is oeG}.nnj.ng to learlL qui te a lot of new words now, & is calling II Dood day", & sow' t:;"me s II Good day", allove:r the house; & sometimes he comes & offex::;JJis hand when he says it . He can't say Grandad at all--he always f:ri11s & says C-ood day

..l' when I' askllim to, t:ry. He stands every mo:r~in~ at the win-, Clow to g:reet the mc.lman 8! shout at lnm. he J.S :really good fun in the day, & sleeps perfeutly at night. :To fun now in .:b:­the eaxly hours; he sleeps from about half past 9 until until 5. If it is not too hot in the mornLlg we may go to stroud for the day--an outing does him good •. How axe you all? I hope you axe well. I am afraid I was a bi t of a pig when I was down there last.If I said anything to huxt you I am sorry. ~ What axe you doing about staying in llai tland ? Houses here aXe still very scarce. I xeally should move, though, because this house will not be safe much longe:r fo:r Robert. He is starting to climb; & even the old lady said, al though I had ~ never mentioned it to hex, that we should have a lower house. They have tri ed to get the fron·t & back vexandah done in, bull A lack of matexial & manpower make it impossible. Anyho'.'i,."r until I see how Bill goes t~'s better for me to stay put. Is Dadstill having injections? And is his appetite good ?It eeems as though hi s trip up hexe wi 11 be in midsummer unless bouses are a bi t more plentiful. Peter Atkins was home on I leave fox a few days, & then went to Sydney to be maxxied.He is the lad I told you about.I am just scribbling this while Chookety is asleep. I was afraid to go into the bedroom to ~ get the wri ting pad,& he has dxagged thi s allover the floo'Y& ~ I can get xound pot-cleaners,& tomato sauce for you, & 1f you want a 7lb tin of honey sent down .let me know. The price is 4/6.0heerio. Our love. Florence."

This letter is from Floxence:-"Clarencetown Rd., Dq.ngog, Monday 31st Aug. 1942. Dear Mother, How is Dad? Will yeu please wXite, even if it's only half a dozen words ., I wont mind just as long as I know. Bill was going to ring Ridings this afternoon, but I know it's pretty inconveni ent going in there when you are busy. Tell Dad that Bill read that book he sent 8! thought it p:retty gOI ode Are Art,& Ivy better 1I hope the improvement lasts. If there is any need for me at all just let me know & I will come doml. Bill said I should have stayed down when I was there; 80 he is quite willing to batch. It's a terrible day here , just ·like:Saturday. There is no news, so write straight back, Mother, please, because I am wondering all the time. Love from us all. b'lorence. II

The following letter i 8 from IUs. webster:-

102. . II 15 Greenfield Terrace, portreath,nr Redruth, Oornwall, Aug. 8 th 1942. lEy dear Friends, Just yesterday yours of June 2. p leased to know you & your fami ly were well at time of wri tinge Glad to say UD tonow God has been good to us in giving us o'~r lives & a fair measure of health. '!Then ;ve hear of so much so­rrow & suffering, how thankful we should be to be inl;he land of the living, & well. Our Frank is on the searchlights near Bi rmingham; he is well & has good chums & good food. :/uch to thank God for, as he says in his letter. ~Ve are expecting him h']m next Tuesday week, for 10 days. Dear boy ~ Welre looking forward to seeing him more than we oan tell. He l s a good Ohristian. IHhat I call a bi t of real stuff. The girls have both been home on holiday, 8: have just gone back to Falmouth. I don't know Low soon theylll be called' to the forces. Nyra is a nurse to an old lady of 90,three weeks ago; so while she is there she may be ke'ot out a Ii ttle longer, as she has to help her to dress ?>! un­dress, ~ look after her all through the day.. She is very rich, a, has just told Myra she has put her in her wi 11 ; also the cook : so they!re all right. She is so grateful to them,dear old soul She wants to remain in her home, where she bas been all her married life. She has 2 sons. They don't need her money; so it's to be hoped she will reward those who have to see to her wants. moreso than if she were a chi Id. The sons are both living away-­no bother to them nor thei I' wi ves; so the maids should be cared for. I see your Ii ttle grandson i.s ding fine They do bring lots of 10 e to all around. Frank has a Ii ttle girl & we adore her nearly. I wi 11 send on another photo of Frank soon. He l s a fine, well­ouil't man. Fred is just the same. They turn after [~le for hei.c;1:1t. )'ather is ratl'ler short. Kath is li~{e ~i':"t:1e:r.Jo:('~v ~:t:r':;,:l:,:r ;'1 ')hoto

, '" :'li.-i.9 '30 f'lJed .. ';: see they o',)e~lt3d y~),U' 18ttOl' t rJ'18 :':1.3 '.{:;11; .i·C mU8

be now four times. I suppose they are very careful of care less talk. We to have been lucky; we have not been attacked yet. They have been at Redruth 2 or 3 times. 'i'h airdrome is at the b' back of a high hill--so we're l'!J.cy so far. , . I wrote to my cousin David Tabb when I last wrote to you,but I haven't heard from him as yet: I hOpe he's 'safe. I am wri ting to him again now to see what's become of him. He may not have had m letter. I see your son Arthur has just got' engaged. Our girls are all behind; but we have had several war-weddings inour little Villa Some marry ; & 2 found out they were married to married men, & several at Fa~mouth. poor old girls ! they ought not to be so hasty in that, but a girl or a young fellow who is known is all ri ght. I trust Art!lUr wi 11 be very happy. Our 2 bo ys are, & have good wives & lovely little houses. Father is worried. Vie have always kept a few fowls for our own use; now the food is scarce bh~S afraid we shall have to be without them. It is his hobby __ he takes a delight in looking after them--that's all he is able

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103,~-i1fb,?c&o., as his ,arm is still far from right. The doctor says it wi: 1 never be right again, but he can use it better than at first. Friends, we trust tbat you are well, & that God wi 11 ~)rO tec t lOU

from the enemy which I hope \Ve shall conquer very soon 'Caul' Sincere friends,H.B.& E Webster God bless you all is our wish.

This newsletter is from Walter:-II st. Clair, Wallaci a, 16-9-42. Dear :.rum, Had so Ii ttleti;r.e las~ week I was unable to wl'ite, but managed to get a couple of presents, which I hope arl'i ved o. k. The c·rocodi Ie nut-cracker

. should be ornamental, besides useful; & I thought the table-lamp should be handy, as it automatically Ii ghts when Ii ft,ed. Thi s lette; tray nor reach you by to-morrow; but please acce~)t my very best wi shes: I hClpe you enjoy yourself. We are having a perfect holiday down here--1 am wi th John Rose <. John ~;iles. plenty of exerci se, which is what I wan ted, also a good crowdoc.Tohn broug'.':t enough petrol tickets for the trip.·-ay see you on 26th • ... ours '.':al. II

'l'he following letter was sent by Lotti e Slone:­IIMool'a ~oad, Rushwol'th,sep 11th, 1942. My dear Cousin, ;P-4;s It's after a very long time I pen you tllese

. few lines ,_hoping you are qll qui te well, as t"ni s leaves me at :present. W 11,1 had a letter from my ~ister,nrs. Kelly. 8ile told !!.e you were asking for my address, & I happened to come acro~;s it tbe otber day. You will see by tile address here tbat I have :';;oved in to tbe country for a W!li Ie. I nave lived here before. I nave a lady friend wno nas lIved nere tor many years, ?~ she asl ed me to come back here again. I have been here since last }.'e':J. bu t I am ge t ting ti.red of it, as it's far too lonely hel'e fox me. ;: dike the ci ty life where one can go to church or somewhere. T'rell, one has to put up wi th anything t11ese times; what wi t~CJ thiE cruel war & the world going mad, it's getting on my nerves. Well, tIli sis a heal thy place, but very de aI', but tnere is one ~ thing we have been thankful 1'01' & 'Chat is 'C!Jat we have l1ad plenT,~, 01' firewood to bUl'n. Tne old gentleman I have to look after nas to have plenty of fires. He is over fb; 11e is just like a Child .. He doesn't know the days of tbe week. One of his sons lives here. Ee has been wi th me qui te a long ti me. ' Well, we have had ni~ ce weather up to date. We still have to have fire here. 1.:y Father's sister--aunt Lizzie Vercoe--has gone to Broken Hill fox a holiday. I think she is very brave at her age;she has turned 8e years old. She has gone upp to see her son.He lives in th~ Hill. I don' hear much news from Broken Hill~!,Ty oldest sister (Hal'Y) has not written to me for a long time. She says to my other Sister she must write, but she never does. I really think it' 8 only carelessness on her part. I have wri tten to her a few times. It's very ~ard to be away on one's own, with no one to care if l~~:r~e af~ v~oga g~~~{h b~t ~ keephsmiling. God is good, 8~ He

s rengt , so what more does one wa~t l

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'104. r am ge-cting Oil in years now. I have one brot.i:ler: He nei tl.ler wrl tes nor cares. I wrOl;e to him lots of times. Well, I WGn t write too i':uch in Case you don' t re~::ei ve this le­tter; so I hope 8: trust you are all well,& hoping to hear fro::: J u asain, I will now draw to a close, 8: will still remain your ever-Iovi ng cousin Ch~rlotte Slone. This is an old mining district. My address is:­~,"rs. C. Slone, Moora Road,Rushworth, Victoria.

( Answel:t;;d· c..l.-olU-42.) . 'l'llJ.S ole lilier 18 undated, but it is probably one .wri tten in Aug. by Mrs. ~orris:-56Ch0.pel street, Lakemba. To my dear Mary, You wi 11 be sur lprise to get this letter from me; you will see ,Uary we are not in dear old Lithgow now.Pa ,was always too sick, they decided to buy a small place for us, not too far from them; but oh he has b en very sick since we came down. He does seem a bit better this week: I hope he will keep so,especially now we haye made the mov p lease God to help us. Well Mary, how are you & your dear partner he was sick when you wrote last. I hope Florrie & her baby are well, also her husband, & all of your' boys &: their cares. Did Charlie & Walter marry? I often think of them all. There was an ther boy, I think, that was at home when I was at your place. Th ere have b.een many changes since then. r s Walter always from h me ? He was in the country last time I heard of him. What age wi 1 Jose's eldest child be? Time slips away so quickly Eva's eldest girl was 7 on the 23rd of July. She is a nice child. The young one is 3 on the 19th of this' month, but is only a litt e child, but please God she will be all right. Eva herself is no very we 11; she got some troub].e in the throat & was in hospi tal for some time with it. Let us hope she will soon be well. Maggie does not get the best of health, but is better than sbe w was. She still has her boy with her. He is a lovely boy. He has measles at present.Let us hope he will soon be well. I am well, also l1ary,but her husband is not well at all.So now you will be' tired reading troubles, but I hope you are all well, & will clos Kind regards from to you all, & the, best of love from Maggie, Eva, & myself to you all, & hope soon to hear from yo • I wi 11 say good ni ght • x. It

Thi sis from Eli za lJorri s:-It 56 Chapel St., Lakemba,3 !rov. 1942. I.~y dear l.:ary, Just a few lines to let you see that 'r received YO r ever-welcome letter some time ago. I do hope that by this time! your dear husband is feeling much better. What a lot of trouble for him to go through, as you say, he does not deserve it. We do hopet that you are qui te well & able to look after your dear one, for in sickness they need a lot of Care. We do hope y?U~ fami ly. are well, & tha~ the wedding wi 11 be very nice. we Wlsn the happy cou~le the Dest of health & haupiness in the

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future years. It all depends on Mr.Morris' health if I can come i

come to see the wedding, which Maggie fi~ I would very ITnlch like to see. Fy poor husband is a very sick man; able to go about bu' t nev~rsure of himself; & it does seem a great pity,for he \'laS a man who would help anyone, 8.: never thougllt of 1-li:118e If. I am only fair myself, & Maggie is not the best; her husband & ~ son are well. He's the boy she aalways had; he's 18 now. I have Eva wi th me at present. We were all at Ettalong for a holiday. Eva & her husband & farni ly, & myself & "Maggi e. Vfe left & c arne ~ home to Maggie's place ,& then ave l' to where I li ve;;: Eva ;'fas ou}: y a few lninutes in bed when she took sick. we had to get a doc­tor, & s11e was rushed to Lewisham hosui tal for an aDuendici ti s operation. She is just beginning to piCk up. So now you can see foM how quickly a thing can happen. I do hOpe she wi 11 be stron§: aft-1 er this operation for she was not well for a long time.Her husband went back to Lithgow when she was safely over tlle 0"0-

eration; 8: we ask God to help her & make her strong. A 11 the "" rest of the family are well. My word, we have had some lovely rain in the last few days;it should be a boon at this time of the year. We have a nice lit­tle garden, but of course the dry weather made it hard to;grow .. much, & pa is not able to do mUCh; but when able it will fill in the time trying to grow a few vegetables. Well Mary, I am wanted, so I will close. Best love to your dear self,also Florrie, & kind regards to the rest of the family. I hope Mr. Cocking is getting much better. Maggie, Bill, Be Harr:; also wish to be remembered to you all.Kindest regards from 9a, & best of all to your dear self. From your old pal, Eliza L;orr­is. P.S.lf I get over to harrickvil1e I v:il1.8 011 Hie 1001:(;"u.1: :i:C)T

you for a ~inute or so. Ta ta."

'Ihie undated letter is from G1adys:-IIlst Avenue We.rrawong,]onday. Dec.l' L"a, I recei v(,(1. vo~~.:r J.f,r,i:(.:~ aleo Oil't~lCo.y present safely, for which I wish to thank you. r'11 buy something v!i tli Jt to-moJ.'J'OI'f vrl:ell I L'O o·,t. How about packing- some clothes & coming back wi th us after t}-:e rrec~ch)IL, for a holiday. It' F; H 8'000. chance while Florrie is lc,c~~:::';·'"G aft (coJ: DuC. Sr,f' II lcok after :bin; all rie;bt. It's a pi ty you couldn't persuade him to come wi tb you 8, bl'ing bi l[~· to O·u.l" r h~.c n fibr a holiday; tl1e change mi'ght dO""ihim good. We'd love to '08."'(; yo both, so see what you C2.n do, you might be 2.jle to kid him into cominr down wi th you. l'1e are all well just r~o·\\,::'u t tiOOr John has a nasty cold, but ]:.18 1 11 soon r:et bettel'l llope. ' Jack is real well just now & is getting' thinner; he's had to ta take his size 7 pants to work, as they're too sloppy-looking. I'm pleased about it: be looks his old self again now. The kiddies are looking forward to seeing you at the wedding. We Can get a train fa10m port Kembla at a quarter to two, so we'r go~ng to try to get i tl1at one, as Jack has to work on saturday rna rnlng. "

, 6

lOb. . \(41 WeI, good bye & the best of luck to you all at Snake GU'i(f;~tl

from Jack, the children 8: myself. Glad.xxxxx.

This is a letter from Florence:­IIClarencetown l~ld., Dungog, 3-11-42. Dear r."other ,I just said to Bill what wi 11 I te 11 Ho tiler ? 8~ he said IITell 11er I hope yo').' re all rig:ht, & Dad's all right,:".: Bil], is nearly all right.I am all right, & the, kid is all right ll • So that explains it all. Just the same I am sorry that you havenrt been so well; but donI t worry about the blood pressure, it will only get worse if you do •. The only difference is now you know you have it, 8: you probably have had it for years &: it hasn't af, ected YO,u too much; but when you are giddy, or bave IIthose silly heads" as you call them, lie down 8.: then there is no danger of : you failing. As soon as we read IVy's letter I knew tha~ some-:

thing must be wrong wi th you, you;r name conspi9ious by its . abscence and 'I remarked at the time that you must ge ill but I a.m glad to think you got aht warning and now yuu can try and keep it under control. Hope you are feeling pretty well now though and certainly hope yalJ. are well enough to go to cart's wedding because it wonl t be a show wi thout Punch, Min and you will have to be punch this time because I am usually honoured. "vi th that ti tIe and I won't be there so you must. Yes, of course I will come down in fact "ie three will I SUnDose so Dad won't have tim'e to mope and miss you too much. - - By the way we will most likely be down on Saturday afternoon if Bill is well enough and if our staying that night won't inconvenience you; if it ~ll write straight baCk, if we don't get any word we will know its all right. I didn't answer Ivy's letter, thought she would be doWf:l, in Newcastle wi th her Mother. she must be, terribly worriedl but her Mother may get over this turn too and live for years.

HOpe the kidG got on well with theirexams - well this has to go With Billis mail now so cheerio until Saturday-our love to you all.

Florence.

This a letter from Florence:­"Clarencetown Rd. IO.II. 42

Dear Mo ther & Dad. Just a hurried note before i totle off to bed, to eXnlai

why we. didn't go down last weekend. Firstly 'Iihe(I,i'li},1bthlLfld­el'ed -inY'DUmf~r aild- then waen Bill arrived home from Gloucester on saturday, he was prettysick, as he has been for weeks, so the trip was off. We are coming down as soon as we can though and if its not on Saturday I and my Ii ttle man will be

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down on W'ednes<i.ay or Thursday. Did any receipts COHle fl'om the gas comuany? Bi 11 sent some money down and we have l1ad no word of it. Where and how is Dool?

We got the letter about the house but we are undecided about the selling yet. Weill decide after our visit. Hope that you are bo th pretty well. 2 of our fami I yare.

Hope Ivy's Mother is getting better and ghat IVy and the kids are O. K. and that the kids did well in thei r exams.

Goodflight our love to you all. Florenoe and Bill.

A letter from phyllis 15 Oharles Street, Marrici<ville, Sydney. 20.11.42 pear Mrs Oocking, ' _

I t seems that I, like your other sons' wives am to be a1Jpoin ted chi ef scribe of the fami 1y; as Arthur has asked me to wri te and thank you and Dad (I think I can, ju~: t about call him by that name) for your very acceptable wedding gift. We reali se that you have had some considel'able expense, la tely, and so your present has been all the more appreciated by us both.

Jack & Glad also sent us £51 and we have bhe promi se of another £2. Arthur suggested that perhaps wal would be able to get us a small mantlepiece, wirless with the total sum, at a reduced price. Mviriiess would be ,Just the thing for me when Arthur is at lectures three or four nights a week, and I think a wireless is almost a necessity these days don't you?

Last Thursday I finished work at Hoffnungs after being employed there for nearly six years. The staff presented me __ wi th a canteen of cutlert, .and said so many nice things to me and about me, that I didn't know I was such an outstanding person, and almost changed my mind about leaving.

Hum has been educating me in the art of housekee-;)ing and Cooking etc.1 and even though I do say i t myself " I'm no t making such a bad Jo, of it. I don( t thinkArthur will be in danger of suffering from indigestion.,or any other domestic ailment when we are marri ed..· .

I was up wi th the sparrow\':s on Monday morning, and had my first ~ashing lesson, and believe me, my Mother i-s a hard taskmaster,. as when lunch time arri ved I was aching in every limb and my fingers felt as if every inch of skin had been rubbed off. I have also been initiated into the "miseritrs" of hous emai ds knee, and so bad has the po si ti on been that la~el y ~ have been unable to. kneel down and say my pi-ayers. stl.ll, 1 guess I'll get over it and will soon to,rgghen up. , .

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-IOB- /0«( J ~ ••

Arthur has been very busy wi th Vv'xams during th,e past week. He thinks he has done very well on the whole,and is almost certain of a pass in every subject. He will not be sorry when it is allover, and nei ther will I, as I have seen very Ii ttle of him during the last IO days, although I must say it has given me time to catch up wi th all my last tninu te sewing.

The MarrickVill e G1eli tar Band and primary tea.chers gave us a ki tchen tea last saturday night., There was a good crowd present and we had quite a number ofuseful gifts. Grace and George Rixon we~e there, and declared it was one of the best ni§.:hts they had eV,ery suent. I was called on to make a speech, and Arthur who prides himself on being quite an orator said I did very well. (Of course I didn't tell him that I had composed it earlier in the evening, and was just aoou t able to reci te it of f like a parro t when the time came.)

We have at last managed to find a house or part thereof I should say. Arthur's "boss lt was responsi ble for the good work. He sings in the local prel?byterian Church C11oi1' 2nd durin%, conversation wi tb one of the other members (a private nurse) was told that she was desir/ous of letting ha.lf of helt' house. She wanted someone gu~et ,~eligious and trustwort~l1, a.s she iE away all day and every day and sometimes for a faw weeks at a time. We were satisfied with the house and apparently she with us, as last week our furniture was moved in: and Arthur is at present sleeping there and haVing his meals with us.

The house is of the spanish bungalow type with huge bay windows in the front. A hall runs thrcough the centre of the house and incidently is covered with floral feltex. Our portion consists of, - ,a lounge room, breakfast room, bedroom and use of kitchen and bathroom. It was a case of love at first sight wheneArthur saw the bathroom, and it certainly is a sight for sore eyes. The wall s and floor are covered wi t' cream and green tiles, and there is a hot and cold water laid on.

There is also a 'phone at our disposal and altogether I think we will be very happy there until we have the opportun- r

i ty to settle down on our own.· I forgot to tell you that the house is in Livingstone Rd. Marrickville - just about 5 mins. walk from where I live at present; and as I told Arthur, I won't have far to "run home to Mother". A' bus passed the door to take us to the petershamArmt onSundays~ and Arthur will onl y have a few minutes walk to the ·tram in the mo rnings to take him to work.: so it appears as if 'we have certainly chosen an ideal spot."

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a 109. It) The following letter is from Gladys:-

. Dear Mum Your letter arrived safely some days ago. We were sorl ry to he~r about poor old Dad being ill; I hOpe he is, bet ter ~y now. It's a shame he gets sa siCk. I b~t he fee~s 1~ ve~y much, considering he has been savery actIve all hIS llfe.I su-

'ppose he misses being able to potter about the garden & do odd jobs. We are all VIell, wi th the exception of col~s: John haf: a very nasty cold,& the girls have colds too. John IS grOI'Hllp; ~ big now--Y9u' d,;HaJ:dly know him, &. Jack i::: as fat.L. as. but~~. ! bought nil':1a !l~t:'.pair of pants last wee.1\.& ,h(j,UIJV get. L1.38

seven--the size 6 wouldn't fit him. I t was a nasty hot day here yesterday, the wind was really hot & yet to-day is qui te dull & looks like rain. How are IVY'& the kids? also the boys &F~o? I ho:e.e they are all, th')-tc tOO. John has a Ii ttle cocker spaI?;lel pup ~ weeks old. He lS brCH'VIl 1& John called him Tiger~ I bet Kei th & Noel would like to 'D·lay wi th him. He's lovely: our kiddi~s love him, but they don' 1 "-think he l s as niCe as Judy. I've just finished mqAwashing, & thought that if I didn't s6ri bble a few lines to you you'd. thin}

. we had forgotten you ail. '. WeI the old Jap shaveN t go t us yet ,& I hOp e they never wi 11. I wi sh the whole war Pusiness was over--I' m ti red of it. Rer;ember Jack 8: the chi Idren to all the fami ly; also your­self. Love from Glad.xxxxx. II

Here is another undated l£tier from Gladys:-" 1st Avenue, Warrawong. ear ::um, We received your letter a few da,ys ago & Wel'e pleas@d to hear from you. We were glad to know you were all well. Jack had to go to the doctor on Hon-day with his foot .. Ee tried to get out of bed to go to work, & coulcln' t l)ut it to the ground, &. the pain nearly drove him mad. Anyhow he did give in & let the doctor see it;':: he told J( ck it was arthritis, & that he must bathe it & nut a grey ki ::d. of ointment on itr: ba.ndage it up •. It is gettillg better & he ct: can hobble about on it & get to work somehow.TlJe ointment he rul bs into it seems to ease it. It's terribly swollen still, out for all that it's getting better. I'm Dleased that it is too because it's awful not being able to walk about through ~a.in: Alma ien' t too well ei ther'. She had. a nasty cold & sore 'throat. Her tons~ls are terribly swollen & inflamed; so I have 2 on the ,list that are not teo bright. She may be well enougll next we­ek to start school; I' rn hoping so anyway. John, Adell,& my­self are well. John hasn't a dog yet. we didn't get Judy back ~ I suppose ~e never will. ' . ack haG a nIce garden going. We think we may get our first lot of beans next week, & it wont be long before we are able to use ?ur spinach; but apart from that everything else is small, 1n fact they seem terrib ly long in growing. We are trying to fix u;p the front: we put some marigolds in & Jack made a diamond-shaped bed & transplan ted the 1'0 ses in to it to

110. i /I.!\ see iftl1ey will do any good there. We have the stocks in nea.:fvthe front fence --the stocks that Flo gave us. Remember us to Flo Bill, & Robel't, also Ivy,Baphne, Kei th, & Noel,not forgetting' D~d &, yourse If. From us all. xxxxx. we may see you one of these, flne o.ays. Love frim Glad. 1/

Tliis letter :as written by Gladys in rO\T.l:;L~2:­IIlst Avenue, Warrawong, l'!onday. Dear 11a, Your letter to hand safely last week. I wi sh to thank for the c~ipping out of "Th~ World's News". Jack is tip-top just ~ow. I ~h1nk I told you he 1S as fat as butter & real well too. He re?e~ ved a letter from Jose on Saturday informing us about thE art?rItls. Jack told me to ask you to tell Jose that Jack is {lgn~ ~ow. I tOld, him t~ wri te, but he is busy dOing his income ;: wrItlng to the InsuranCe people. They owe him some money since ' ~ ebruary. They overcharged him, 80 he jibbed on Jaek~s letter I

~: told me to tell you to thank Jose & thank him for inform-InC about Jack. We are pleased that you are althlJell. Alma. had a cough a couple of weeks at home from s£hool· Th. d t d' dn' t lIt e oc or I .. mow Wla was

wrong with herjhe says she has to h~ve her tonsils out, though. Yellow jaundice is going about here, but the doctor said she didn'i, t have it, thank goodne ss. She l s had a bad co,ld over a week -end so I kept her at home to-day because it's blovving a strong , ,

1'resterly, but I think she may be able to go~~:to-morrow. Her cough is still a bit nasty.If she's no better she can have a few more days at home. We are all well just now, thank the J,ord. There's no news to tell you, only that we are doing a bi t of gardening. I SunnOse Dad has a nice garden up there now •• John ":is growing as fat & big as a house. I tell him he eats more than Jack does; he's lOOking real well. The girls are growing out of their clothes too'I'll have to 'Out a brick on their heads,I think, to stop , . them from growing so tall. I'll conclude wi th love to Dad,I vy & the kids ,& not forgetting your dear self. From Glad, Jack, & grandChi ldren. xxxxxxxxxx. II

__ Iv'.' This is a note wri tten by ~.~ but there is no date:- ')!ednesdal uDear !.!um,Dad, & Boys,We arrived here at half past 7 on saturday . evening, & are haVing plenty of hikes, ride, etc. rfhere seems to be a dust-storm around & we are snuffling dust.. The kids like being here,& tiger Kelly is very excited about every thing. He loves the s slippery-dips in the park f3,& wants to be theJ:e all tbe ti me. Uncle Fred, this is a good place to .forget about building man­Sions, so Just pack up & come by the next flyer', c~ spend bext week wi tfl us. Jose lOOks 51bs heavi er already. I saw my coy-fri-end fro:':n the i3a.liK-, who forgot to pay me my cash endow~;1~nt •• Love fl'om us all. IVy Cocking. II

Ill. , ther undated letter fro:'Cl C)ladys:'-

II-Let 'Avenue Warrawong" ~-"1'i day • Dear -'~)m, nre rec: i ved your let­ter a few days ago. We are nleased that nOor old i)ad . ./8. feeli~l::: much bette!',,!''\: that he t~;ot U.at rodent ulcer taken 0:t.1.. IllS ":C8C;:. Things like that Seer!1 to irritate one although tr-ley miE-_lltn!t trouble a€:p'eat deal. We are all tip-top just noVl. I aU1, pleased that Jac:~ is better of hi s rheumatic 8, because wlten he 12{:0 t well he starts running the South Coast down a treat. We have received an invi tation to Arthur' s wedd~_ng a few days ago so I wi 11 h2.ve towr'i te to them also. I suppose yOl: ?,~ Dad wi Ii be go :Lng do,;,m. I think we may be going down; 0 f COUTse i t all depends on Jack 8: the works. As far as we know we are guing. He has to work on Satc.,rda-, morning; so we'll have to see if we Cf

oan get a train to suit us, after he knocks off. I got a letter from Woodwards yesterday: they have a new seconc1-iH hand car. i.iy;..;rother Vaugn has to go into camp a.'1yday now. He was i.lp at home to see ~,:um (~ the rest of tliem a week 2.g0, before he goes in. He bad to get a new m8.nageress for [iis shop &si ster

, May is looking after it for him a ;so. So it's a bad job for every bOdy I tbink. Jack says it's a wonder Fred doesn't try to get into one of the works up at home, or else in Mai tland, carpen ter­ing on one of the muni tion plants they're putting up there; he'd I get out of going into camp that way. It's blowing like one thing here again to-day;i t just drives you mad. The kiddies had another

'week home fromschool last week on account of the rain. I' 11 11ave to close wi th love from us all to you all !~OW, as I've run out of news. Love to Ivy 8: tl1e kids, also Flo & Bi 11 ", .riobe rt ,So not

, forgetting the boys & Dad & yourse If. From Glad. II

The following 1 etter came from Ers. E. ;"orri s:­~'56 Chapel st., Lakemba, Sep. 20, 1942. pear Hary, I was so pl~ased to recei ve a letter from you, ;:;u t 80 sorry to hear about your poor better half, for Mary we do love them and I do hope he v/ill be feelin, much better by now. Diet the Doctor come to give the injections, yes I bet you will be glad to get back to your horne iJut still, circumstances alter everything and ask God to help you, for he alone:;an do i t. I am sorry to f?ay Harry does not seem to do much good. I some­times wonder what we are going to do for it is a -;)L~" strain on us all, and you will remember Mary what a big strong' i~le.lJ. he was, and I know he worri es. I must say I do mi ss the old home but we shoulQ. be very hap'Oy if Ha weB feeling much better, we have a nice little home and Maggie is close to us, and nbe tries all she can to help herFather, but God wi11 heln us I 2.m ,s~.l'e. All throu§:;h life I h2.ve. tl'ied to do my bei't and- Ii ve a clean life so we should be all right, and ask God to he11', .IB which I am sure he wi 11. 80 l!ary, you wi 11 have two ;,.,0 ys Ii ving in ~ydney, just fancy Maggie, I might go and see Arthur married if

.you can tell us the t1r:le. I go to Marr'ickville 0 ften to a Cousin liVing there. I feel very sorry for her, her husband

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di ed and hel' two sons are mal'ri ed and I am p leased IVaI tel' i-las a,good job. ,Did I tell you ab~ut Ern's poor, DOY? He was k~lled at Darw~n. I9th Feb. it was a ver,,," sad case 1'0m was '~:'I ~n the Mel'chant Marines, he had travelled"a good de~l. Edna 1S a sewing teacher at Albul'Y. They only t18d. tIle three cl111dren. Alan the youngest is 18 and at ho~e. Ern lives in Wollongong, and you said :Mary Jack and family Ii ves at the POl't. What a lot ,of people left the old town Li thgow when port Kembla w~s doing such goo~ work, and I guess Newcastle was the same, 'but Mary, there is about 14 or I5 thousand people in Li thgow now so tr;ey tell me such a lot of work at the Fa.ctory and r c'elieve there is about 9 hundred women working there also. r myst talke a run ho:~:e one day it vlill always be home to ::e living there so long, if Harry would o~ly null together we could be haupy here. I r;()-s wondering hoe Florrie I s Husband that old asthma is a trouble yo'} mUEJt watch. Cla.d Florrie and her baby 8re well and you are wi th Jose's wi fee Goodness me how the time does fly. I can remember when they were marri ed and all the far:lily are living in your old ho;:~e. It is nice for them to have some comfort when, they fini sh thai I' day( s work. Every- I

thing is very hard now. Well Mary, I must finish as pa is wanting me and if I put it down it may not go. Do your best. Love to your dear family and hope Mr.Cocking is feeling much i tnproved. I wi 11 clo se? kind regards from pa one 0 f t11e best, also Magg'ie and family send love to all and best of all from your old P~l .. E Morri s. II

The following letter is from M. Butler 116 Bronwyn st, West Mai tland, 2I_. I2. 42. Mr purdy; , , Dear Sir, Well I suppose YO:.1 will be su::-prised to receive a letter from me but I was talking to Mr. Enrl.ght to-day and he said he had no t received any word back from your 801ici tor yet and he sUQ'ge ted that I wri te to you and see if you could hurry hbl alongOwi th the business but I reall y think it is, a bad tiiYle at Christmas to expect any thing, to be fixed up too quickly as everybody seems to' be so busy. More especially bus~nes~ neople. You would never believe next Thursday we w~ll oe here a fortnight. My word the time goes quickly. Well as it is getting cIa se to my bed time I will fi~i 8h off, wi shing you and yOUI' Wife and Ii ttle one a Merry Cbr~stmas and a Hap'oy New YeaI'. I remain, Yours faithfullY, M. Butler. 1I

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'The following letter is from Arthur. "137 Livingstone Road1 Marrickvi lIe. phOne LM4726. I7. I 2. L!2 Dear Folks r am glad to hear you're now at home again. The school' year ends to-day and I'm not sorry for r' ve been teaching two classes (roo) kids ever since I returned frol~ J'enolan. By the way, the boss told me I needn't :-;:,-;ly ror

" the day I took off? so I -got my next pa.y as tho~gh I'd worked right thrll. perhans this was a measure to get in my good. -000k8 for yesterday, he asked me would I take a ni twi t swcond ye2cr plass on res~unption of school next year. r couldn't vel':,"

1 say no, so my official designation next year should be "Science Teacher," campsi e, which will probably tlIe2x'lI wonl t ~ave to go to camp. To-morrow morning Phyllis and rare going to Wollongong. WE'll call and see Johnno and the Dapto folk and then go down to Nowra after which we go to Greenwell

:Polnt. The tour won't be a long one because we hope to t;O ,horp.e (to your' place) on Thursda.y 24tg.Dec. Do you think you

" :¢an rig up a stretcher for Phylli s and a bed on the floor for me? 'Pip will be home at the same tin1e as we are, and John mi ght be, .·so things mi ght be a bi t crowded. Phylli 8 wi 11 help you wi th the work anyhow. She's qui te a good worker and shows "oromi ses

'of being an outstanding Cook. To pay for the holiday to the South Coast, I'm haVing a working holiday on the North Ooast. II m to be in Ooff's Harbour on Wednesday 30th Dec. to work for ~ .. fortnight or 3 weeks. I'll tell you a1l about it wben I see you. Phylli s sends her love.. Arthur P S Tell Fred

,,' we won' toe able to bring his case with us thi s ti~e' oWi~g to " the fact that we are first going down to the SthCoast out we -,' will take, them wi th us next time we come up.. Phylli ~. (~m sendlng a port to Newcastle passenger's Lugkaie Will so~e

:~~lJ.d friend get it for me please? Ohecks a1'8 e;{clo~ed •. Thank·~.

m brother Bob ~48 Macquarie st. Mayfield JIov.: 10th. I 94.2. Dear Joe, Your Ii ttle boo1-: tohand , s mornin • I had also a bitlb.hday card some tLle previosly. I

'fox som'conziderable time been to my wits end to know your eabouts. There has never been anyone at home when I called

your house. I t was only by chance that I met Jose on the sta-on to get your address. I was sorry to hear that you are not . the best of health. As for myself, I am suffering with that prJ

, of all minor afflictions, namely muscular rheumatism, for , oh the mec[ical profeSsion, after more than a lnmdred years, have

no remedy.I wrote to the Free Library in Syru1ey for inf-on on muscular pains' & the Ii brari an wrote to me & said

~ , there is no book in the library dealing with the problem of

.So that's that. I have tried the Ohristian Science reme([y

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for nain but somehow it 'doesb' t fit.in harmony with my case. Their idea is that there is no pain--i;: is only what we think; .. ?: so if it is only an error of the mind we can cure what's wrong with us at once.I'm sorry, but it won't fit in with my rheu I don't sse much of your 2 boys down here. I don't go out very· .. ·' often to see anyone. I do a lot of reading & wri ting,& each day : passes by pleasantly enough, & my trouble is only slight. From brother Bob with love to all".

( Answered Nov.12, 1942).

The following letter is from Mrs Grace Paix;­"Verona, 135 c30urks street, Dubbo, 25::-2-il1. :"1'. & Mrs. iJocking. Dear Friends, iVe arrived home from our holidays last evening & voud everything ill good order. There has been copious rain since we have been away:!:frortl home, so every thinf; is green & lovely. I t also rained here yesterday. And now I wi sh to acknowledge & thank you for all your kindness to us. While we were in Mayfield we had a most enjoyable time, for whicl1 we are both very deeply grateful. We saw Arthur the night '01 before leaving Sydney. He said he had had information to the effe~· ct that he was to go to camp next month instead of during his Christmas holidays.· He as well as we was very much surprised~ I understand that Arthur intends writing to the military about going to camp so soon. Now once 'more thankin~; you for all yeur kindness, & wi shing you all the best always, 8: ,I trust the future affords me a chance of returning a like kindness. With kind regards, Y:·urs sincerely G.Paix. (Mrs. ·H. A. paix, 135 Bourke ::3 t I' e e t, Dn b bo. "

This is a long letter from brother Bob;-

"48 ::acquari e Street Mayfi eld. Nov.' ~~3, 1942. 1 Dear Joe, Your letter to hand last week, also a parcel of reading , matter. I was pleaswd to know that you are getting somewhat betteJ 8: stronger. I would suggest to you that you make up your mind to c()me down to your own home again. You wi 11 be better he re .than uu there amongst a plague of flies. As to how you . came t~ make up your mind to go away from here is beyond my comprehens~on. If it was the JJaps I must say in all confidence ~hat you have acted in a sr>eculative sense of error. Now you Ilste~ a minute to the safeguards that are provided for one & al~. Tn~re are 45 large 5 ton lorries 375 private cars, (our J~m' s ~ncluded) all to be taken out of'the owners' custody when & if requi red, together wi th 40 double-deck buses. The wardens here had a bl.uff invasion of Jf'S & employe,g. all of hour sCh~~~stlOa~~f~It half. a· hour I wi 11 sa in all conl'ldence t at you . t D . • f . tance POI' ar-where you are than you are here. Take, or lns· , win. There were 10 bombs drOpped outside of any danger zone

I/.!f 115· to one where there was a likely chance to kill or maim anyone. 80 you see you are no safer where you are than if you were here your own home • There is nothing to fear from the JanS. I would very much like to see you come home again & enjoy th~ frui~s of your labor in the sunshine of your life. Why not? There J.S:O­thing to hinder you. lie are all fairly well here at present. Bob & Gladys a-re well also. Dorothy come down to see us on al­ternative week-ends. The place here is all of a bustle-- plenty of work for all. I think you made a mistake about Watkins going home at the Government's expense. The Labor Party is paying all expenses. It is only one man that is gOing. I think he is called Spender- he is a minister of the Government. That letter that y01.; sent wi th Jinny when she came down has not been answered uecause I could not read it. The more I tried the more I got in a fog. Bob & all hi s fami ly are going t 0 Lithgow for the Ohri stmas holidays, all being well. Gladys' father & mother live there. Things are all very qUiet. Nearly all the young men are in camp or overseas ; even the post offices are run partly by young wo­men now. The shops are Just the same down here. Brother Johnny calls in now & then to see me. I scarcely see anyone of the rest of them. Ethel has been away a fortnight taking care of an old frl end fro~ Sta:dord I:Terthyr. She is comung home thi s week-end. Young !.~argery is spending a fortnight's holiday at Abermain wi th Gladys. I can't see your 2 boys-- they are allways just gone out when I call. Now in conclusion accept my best wishes for a speedy return to ileal th & strength. From brother Bob, wi th love to all. II

Tbis is from cousin Lottie 810ne;--u:,,:oora Road, Nov. 30 , 1942. :'y dear COUsin, ·Just a few lines in answer to your very kind & welcome letter which I received. I was very glad to hear from you once more. Well I should have written to you before, but I was not too well . I have a good deal of we rry one way ~-.: an­other-- in fact my nerves are not tuo gvou.I am taking some tonic it's a herb mixture~ I think it will do me good. Well the weatheJ is rather trying over here; one doesn't know what is coming next. I t seems as if the world has gone mad by the way they are c ar­rying on. We can't get anything much here just now. We had 3 SPUdE yesterday--the first we have had_for 3 months.I bet the bigheads don't go wi tho~t them. I think things are looking a bi t brighter; I h?p e so. I mIl be very glad when it's allover & at neace i agaln~ We ~ave oz:e week a Soutll wind, & it has been very bad. It' J looklng llke raJ.n here.We are just really in Christmas month 1

month no:v. I am thinking it's going to ve rather a quiet one for ! me, as tne old ch~p that's here wi th me can't talk; that's why I I am so lonely at tlmes. Well I had a very pleasant surprise last ' week~ I had a letter from my only brother. He is working out on a run Just outside of Broken Hill. He is a returned man,too, from

116 • , 1;&' I ' the last war. He does not like the town life at all;he is get-tinE:, a -oension, & he says he spent it on fowls' feed. He' has a few fowls. He has a wireless set out there--also a tele1)hone,so ./. he is not so bad off. Well I suppose your other dear boy is mar- . ried by now. Well I wish him all the best of good luck & the very'" best happiness in the world. I am sure it is very nice to know *,'1

that they belong to the good old Salvation Army. We were all brought up in that. My father--Stephen Gi les-- was a colour sergear t in the North Broken Hill army for many years; but, as you say, tl they are not like the Army ofold--there t s too much kid-glove-­they don't go out like dear ;(old mother of mine did & take a dear <I old drunken lady home to her husband & family after an open-ai r mel

eting, & not get hom until very late. We have been- worried I over her. She used to say God would not let. anyone harm her. They are both in Heaven now. My 'dear mother & her became great friends afterwards. . There is no doubt they do .a lot of good work. Our mi Ii tary so Idi ers say that the Army stands out on thei r own. They are good to all the dear lads over on the other side. r have made a table-cover for your dear wi fe & wi 11 send it wi th tl this letter.She can see how I fill in the lonely hours here. I ma,.1{e anrons & lots of things--i t fi lIs in qui te a lot of time. Well I do hope you are keeping well yourself. I Crul thank God i:e has given me my health for quite a long time. I feel I am \-~,etting old when I try to get down on my knees to scrub; I can't f} get up again for quite a long time; so I really must be getting older. Well I do hope you wi 11 have a real good time at Ohri stmas. Aunt Lizzie Vercoe has come home again yesterday,& Eliza says she doesn't look a day older-- it is just wonderful ~ Well I hope you wont think my letter too foolish to answer. It's the opening of the fishing season here to-night. They get some good Eurray cod here. I hope no one gets drowned here. That happened here when they went out on the Bastion. Well dear cousin I wi 11 have to draw to a close. So wi th my fond­est love to you one &: all I will still remain your ever-loving cousin Lottie Slone. Good night, 8: God bless you all. II.

Tile following note was sent some time in Decei::ber by Arthur;-liAs usual, Wednesday. Dear Everyone, Pete Sallies will be bro- i adcasting over 20H next Sunday night at 7 o'clock or 7-15. I'm I not taking any prom.inent part.Col. Richards is Village parson,so II

you wont like the sermon. Ask Deg if there is any work for me aro und home,next holidays, will you? Thanks. Yours about to have I hi s tea, Arthur. II t

This is from Mrs. Eliza Morris;-II 56 Ohapel st., LakemlJa. Dec. 6th 1942. Dear Mary, You wi 11 be surprised to receive these few lines from

) ", m~. I do ho-oe yOU wi 11 be able to get down to wiItS¥trsswedding ,. ,nn ase I dorr' t get over to see the wedding I do wi sh them the

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Clery best of health & happiness in their ne.W life. Well now how is your dear partner? I do hope he will be getting much better, & that you got someone to look after him while you came to sycL.'1ey for the wedding.I do hope you are well & that all the fami ly are i in good health I amsorry to tell you Pa does not improve muc~. Sometimes better than others. I am not too bad myself. I do tllank God. We have a lot to thank God for if we only would put our trust in him. WeI;!, now we have had Eva down here in Lewi sham !Iospi tal, poor girl. She was not well all last year. They were up at Ettalo ang for a month's holiday, & the last couple of weeks lJagt:-;ie,Pa, & I wenj up too; but we only got back to Maggie's nlace at half past 7, 8~ she would gave a batt, before ". we left for our pla.ce. We were only in bed half an hour when her husband came 8: said Eva is very sick. So up I got,<?-: we were all strangers here. However, ber husband & pa go t a doc tor. He said she must have an operation for her appendix. Naturally she did not want to go to hosoi tal. The doctor left her for a while & came back & said there is nothing else for it. So in she had to go & get done straight away .. The doctor said it was in a very bad way. Eowever, she is do doing fairly well;she is pretty weak on it. The doctor .saideverytt ing is all right now,& I hope it is, for she has been a very sick girl this last couple of years. It may clear some of the trorible u up, please God to help her.

I had a few lines from Mrs Ransley one day; "she is well. Dot i~ also fairly well: her son will soon be 7.Time flies ~ My word, the wind is blowing terribly. We have had some nice rain; it will do good after such a long dry spell. I can't write any more, .~: wi 11 give you all the best for tl)e coming _ year, whi ch I hope will find the war over. So love from Maggie, Bill, & Harry her boy. Eva said to send her love to you all,& best from Pa and myself. To you all from your old pal E. }J!orri s •. You wi 11 find a small handkerchief enclosed(Austeri ty now)."

The following letter should have been copied before. I tis from Mrs. Morri s:-"8 Waratah Street, Lithgow,March 19th 1940. Dear Mary,

Well now we do hOpe you are all well.We are fairly well at home for which I do thank God. We are sending congratulations to ' F~orrie & her husband, & hope they will have a long & prosperous ll.fe. We have always been happy, & I think you have, Mary As far as I co~ld see y<?ur mate has done the best he could for you & the faml.ly. So wl.shing the best to Florrie & you all.Just a little handkerchief. I did not kn9.w what t9 send; so this is just a I thought from Pa & myself. i th fond love from your old Dal I

E. Eorri s. Good luck." .

To Hake Boot Polish ~tanu a tl.n ~r ~J.nbleum cream

,the polish is liquid.pour into ij a pot of boiling water until a deetier tin & stir in raven oil

'" . Leave naked

it to cool,& seal tightly.Never melt linoleum cream near a light.

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Sat. Oct. 3rd, 1942. To-day I received my usual inje~tion of~xtr-B.Ot of liver from doctor Max SoIling, West Mai tland •. I-Ie examined tl,e rodent ulcer on the back of my neck & said it would have to b taken out. It is a local cancer. '

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Sun. Oct.~, 1942. the ulcer wi th an

8.: only took about If y nAck has to be acid.

I Wf'nt down to doctor Salling :'. he burned outf{ electriC needle. The operation was not painful ~ 20 minutes to complete. I t wi 11 cost a guinea. washed every day,8.: the wound dusted wi th boracic l

;'on. Oct. 5, 1942. Idid some reading 3~ weeding to-day. Jose went home. I:,

Tues.Cct.6 1942. I had an injection of liver extract at Dr. Salling's nlace, & had my blood tested at the Hai tland hos'Oi tal for nothing:,as I a;'Ll a pensioner. Mum was examined by Dr. Sol~ling 8~ was found to be suffering from high blood '0 ressure. He prescribed, some medicine for her. - - /1

',;I]'ed. Oct. 7,1942. Fred came up to-day & 'Out up new gutters on the II sou th side of the house at 6 Bronwen stree t, East Greta Junction. 'i I was busy in the garden all day.

'I'hur. Oct. 8, 1942. Jim Cocking & Ethel came up to number 6 by car & stayed a couple of hours. Fred erected guttering on the Nort side of the house. My neck is sore.

Fri. Oct. 9, 1942.I weeded the garden & set flowers in front of the house.Fred put up some guttering & fixed the downpipe. He went home in the evening, but will return by car with Jose to­morrow.

Sat. Oct.lO, 1942. Mum & I visj. ted doctor SoIling who said that my blood lacked some consti tuent, & that I must vi si t him twice a week. ~.;um is better but not r'ight yet. Jose Came up with oil ;! & paint.. I

Sl~1. Oct.ll,1942.Getting ready to go out in Jose's car with him II 8~ fani lYe We went to Josef s new house fi rst & then to our bouse. 'I We returned to Haitland by car' at night .Jose,Iv~ & children went! to quack Evans at ?~ewcastle.Our garden is full 01 weeds. II !/on. Oct. 12, 1942. Rainy all day & night. Too wet to wOl'k in the M garden. i '

Tues.Oct.13,19L12.Rain all day. Too wet & cold to work or tosee i I Dr. SoIling. Fred went to military authori ties & got a fortnight's v

exemption from mili tary training. He came up by train 8: did some sold.ering. I caught cold to-day.

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I rq 119. Wed. Oct. 14,1942. The rain continues to fall. I have been in be nearly all day bec ause my cold is bad. I fell in nrud in the back ya.rd las t night, as it was too dark to see the :oath. I was not hurt much. Fred is sti 11 pain ting the flOuse. Hr'. Knowle s, 1;7110

used to come to the I slington park on sundays, has be en run down wi th another man at the Steelworks & both were killed. Rain & strong wind made it i mnossi ble to hear the locorno ti ve coming.

Thur.Oct. 15,1942. Still showery. I have been in bed all the morning. Fred has begun to paint the front of the house . :.:y co Id is a Ii tt Ie better. The Hunter Ri ver is re1)orted to be ri si:l g. I read a book enti tIed "World power and prophecytl to-day.

Fri. 16 Oct.l~!J2. I read nearly ail day. Fred is paintdmg t11e house. Weather is fjne: but cloudy.

Sat. Oc t. 17,1942. !ium 8: I vi si ted the };!ai tland hospi tal , where I inquirf.d re free medical treatment & medicine. I,':jwent to the d doctor (SoIling) & got our bill, which is for f~ue pounds. Jose arrived at thehouse in the afternoon &helped Fred to paint. I cleaned out the pit that our waste water runs into.

Sun.Oct.18,1942. Readingthe Sydney "Sunil all day. Yesterday I received a letter from Mrs. webster( See.pagel02) & anotber froi:i Lotti e Slone. (See pagel03.) I also rece i ved a cheque froel b;e pensions Office for £ 2-6-6 •. I read IIVlhy, Britain Is At Warll.

Mon. Oct.19, 1942.Freq, is painting' the front of the bouse. Fine weather. I have finished :teading, "Insect Wonders Of Australia." by K. G. McKeown. 1Yeeding all the, morning.

Tues. Oct. 20, 1942. This mOl'ning I vi si ted doctor SoIling alone. ;,;um has been going down & back wi th me, but I am now able to [;0 'without'her. I bought a "presbyterian Oookery Book to give to Phyllis as a wedding pre€!ent, & a book enti tIed liThe Oall Of Trie Stars ". I also bought a colouring book for Daphne. };"'r'ed is still -paiI),ting. 1'7ed.Oct. 21,1942. ' -,

Wed.Oct. 21,19~2. Yesterday I paid doctor SoIling £ 4. I nailed a ~trip of iron on the fence between Bill' shouse-& Riding's. Ra~ny. ~ wro~e a 6 page letter to lottie Slone ,1"100ra :::oad, Rushy; orth, Vlctorla.I sE',nt a letter to the Websters 8: a birthday card to brother Bob. Keith is ill.

Tbur.Oct22,19L12. I have been gardening to-day.Keith is well agaiJ

Fri. Oct.23,19{').I l1ave been nailing strips of galvanised iron on the fence near Riding's house. I have cut the old §,"uttering into strips for the 9urpose.

120. I '? sat.oct.24,19!;2. I v<sited doctor SoIling alone again. Walter', ~' Jose & :B'~ed are here~ Jose & Fred were on the roof working. but . heavy raln drove them down. The roof is not painted yet. 'r

?un. Oct. 25, 1942~ 1'Tal ter & Jose went home to-day. Walt has to lnspect some machinery or materi al at Lambton to-morrow. Tl:li s iR brother Bob's birthday. : : 0 n. 0 ct. 26, 19 L: 2. ~i'red is expecting to go to a training camp shortly. He has not painted tbe roof yet.

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~~ur.Cct. 29,19~2. I worked all day in the garden. Fred has gonl to f'ee about a further exemption , but we have not heard' from lii::: yet. we have r8cei v:ed a letter from Florence.

Frio Oct. 30,1942.1 have'finished nailing strips of iron on the;. fence to kee;J the palings on. I cleaned out the drainage pi t again to-day. Ivy went down to ?,:ayfield'& :.1erewether to see hel r ::lOther Wll0 is very ill of heart trouble (~ asthma or bron­chitis. Daphne is being examined to-day at sChool.

Sat. Oct. 31,1942. Warm weather. I visi ted doctor SoIling, 8( bought a geography book for Daphne for 2/6~ I got a bottle of my wlli te medicine at Jakeman's for 3/9. Jose & Fred came uP. They did not do anything to the' house. Fred gave~!rum £ 6. ..

Sun. Nov.l, 1942. }'red went home this afternoon as hen has to start working for Mr. Bridges, near thepresbyterian church Hanbury street, Mayfi eld, to-morrow. Walter got him the job at' carpentering & other work.I finished reading ."~he Inequality Of Han" to-day. It is by prof. Haldane.

~.!onNov. 2, 1942. I have begun to read liThe Oommon Sense Of War And Peace ll , by H.G. Wells.I transplanted tomatos & pumpkins & dug a. trench. Jose went home this morning.Rain th~s morning.

Tues. Nov. 3, 1942. I t was too rainy to-day to vi si t doctor SoIling, so I did some gardening' & wood saWing, & transplanted some lettuce.

Wed. Nov.4, 1942.1 went to the doctor this morning. At Jakemantl s I bought an ounce of ether for 6d. to clean from my neck : the stiCky stuff left by sticking plaster •.

Thur.Nov.5, 1942.Gardening all day,although we expect to go home soon to stay.

Frio !'Tov.6.1942. I have been gardeIfing all day 8: still hav~ mu, much to do . Bi 11 & Florence are thlnlnng of lettlng or selllllg;1 the house & going to Dubbo or somewhere else in the West, I

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" I ~2 J ddt visit \ Sat. r:ov. 7, 1942. As ra:iJrEJ!ell this morning I i no \

t;,e doctor. Jose came up this afternoon, but rain prevented hi~l from painting the roof.

Sun. '"ov R, 19/~2.Cloudy tbis morning & S).nn:;' tiliS:ifternoon. Jose came U'O yesterday, but Ivy is staying with her mother, },lrs. Rosamond: until to-night.I Finished, lithe Oommon Sense Of War & peacerlf Fred is carp-entering for Bridges & likes the work.

9 1942.Hot Weather. I almost finished weeding the Mon. Nov. , , bottom bed.

Tues.Nov.10, 1942. Hot again.I visited doctor SoIling, & had a second blood-test at the h~spi tal. The doctor l s bi 11 is £ 2-16-6.

Wed. :';ov.ll, 1942. Gardening until 3 p.m. ~'y right shin is very sore again where I knocked off some skin from the old Gcar. There is good news of the war on all fronts.

Thur.12, Nov. 1942. This morning I transplanted over 100 parsnips into the bottom of the garden.

Fri. Nov. 13, 1942. l~um went home this morning to wash tl1e clothes & tidy un the house for the boys .. She \vill l'eturn this evening. IO sent a letter to brother Bob & 1 to cousin loti tie Slone. Eot weather.

t Sat. Nov. 14, 19~2. I visited Dr. i:'30l1ing, who said trJat :ily f blood-test showed an improvement, 8: that I could COjle oneef

a week in futu:te instead of twice. Jose & It~red nainted tbe roof, & Ivy went down to Eayfield with them to-night. '7arm weather.

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Sun. Nov.15,1942. Reading the "sunil all day. Florence put a new zinc-oxide bandage on my r~ght.shin. Bill went up -to Dun­gog, but Florence stayed here to interView 1,:r.Butler who is think ing of buying thi shouse. '

Yon.Nov. i6, 1942. Florence did not see :,Tr; ;3utle;r, so she returned to Dungog w~th Hobert. I have been gardening, for I think that a ,good garden may he~p to sel.l the house.

Tues. Nov. 17, 1942. Gardening all day. I t is rumoured that the Japs have lost 23 ships in a battle at Guadcanal. I nut ashes along the footT)ath~etween this house & Manwaring~ s,· &, on the front flower beds.

Wed. Nov. 13, 1942. Papers report that Japs have lost about 20 ships at Guadalcan al. I weeded the left of the footpath. IVy

122. ) {1 returned on ~onday night.War~ weather.

TnuT. Nov.19,19L2.I went to doctor oIling & he said tllat my " has healed. The rodent ulcer was burnt out on Oct. Lith.

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F1'i. };ov. 20, 1942.Ivy is packing to return to 1.fayfield to stay in her new house. Showery weather.

Sat. !Jov. 2i, 1942. I have been weeding all day.Ivy sent her goods home by lorry. Hum wrote a letter to Florence. Rain' at night.

SW1. Nov.22, 1942. Jose took IVY, Daphne, Yeith & Noel home in his car. He also took some irori for me. Firie weather.

!:on. l'~ov. 23, 1942. I wo rked in the garden ,which is looking well.' It contains potatoes, tomatoes, Berts, Oabbages, lettuce, onions,' parsley. epicure beans, French bean~fohl rabis, pumpkins, & vva.termelons. There are many flowe1'~, beside the footpath.

Wed. }~ov. 25, 19L12. Yesterday & to-day I worked in the garden. I gave !,~um ,£ 2 to buy a coat for herself.' ,

Thur. Nov.26 , 1942. I visited doctor SoIling this morning & ask­to have his bill by next thursday, as we expected to return to Hayfi eld soon. Mum' snew coat was sent from a 1.:1ai tland shop to East Greta Junction by train to-day. It cost over 3 Dounds. F 10I'enc e & Robert arrived from Dungog thi s morning. };lum & l,CI'S. Salmon left y taxi car for West Maitlan~ to get the train to Sydney thi s afternoon. Hum is going to Arthur's wedding,' & wi 11 stay at ?Jacarthur's house wi th Walter.

}<'r1. J.Jov. 27, 1942.Florence & Robert are staying wi th me until next Sunday, when Hum is to return from Art's & phyllis' wedding. '~orked all day in the garden. I received a letter from brother

Bob. ( See page 114.) I also received a letter ~ photo fromm ~r~. Webster. Sat. Pov.28, 1942. Arthur & phyllis were married to-day a.t :;arri ckvi lIe. ,Jose, I vy, ~Ll.rn, & Fred we re pre sen t. Florence is wi tl-j me. -

9 SW1. No';. 2f:), 1942. Mum telephoned to Riding's that she had ~~1issed tl'ie train at Sydney, but would catch a later one (...: a.rri v at :('ewcastle very late. '.

:'on. Nov. 20/,0 l'-?Lj2.;'ur returned to "'''ai tland to-day .. They caugl1t a late train from Bydney & reached Newcastle very late •. They carne fromNpwcast;le by taxi, & Mum stayed at our house un ti 1 to-day. Art & Phyllis have gone to the Blue Mountains.

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"I & 123. . 'l'ues. !)ec.l, 19L12. I worked all ~ay in the garden. Bill PllTciy tJ8,S bou:~,ht a Cl1ev car for £ 27 &: b~ug:nt it home to day.

Tiur. Dec.3, 1 [\2. '':''esterday I worked all day i~l tile gar-aen. To-day I 'Paid tlle doctor ;L 1-17-(). At Jake ,an' s I bou ht cned-icine for Mum & myself for +ff~- . Friday "even cbi lUngs. ~l;;l.tp. Dec. 1;,19(2. Mrs. Butler came to-da:/ in res~:)Oll:3e to a letter' from Florence I'e rent.i,i.g tbe Luse for' a 0 H.J. a week un ti 1 the house is transferred to 3n tIers. !.Irs. Butler would not pay more' tha:itD l'c/- per week, which Florence would not accept. We are packing our things to-day, & so is Florence.

Sat. Dec. 5, 1942.We are still packing. "lorence has gone to hire a carter to take her furniture to Maitland, where they are to be stored for 3/ per week.

Sun. Dec. 6, 19/:2. Bi 11 came doVl'Il from Dungog last night to tell F'lorence about the legal transactions concerning the sale of the bouse. He had wri tten her a letter, but the postc.l offiC­i al had returned it to him in mi stalte. Bi 11 & Jose went to the Butlers at East Greta, & they agreed to pay 1 pound ner- week as rent until the house is transferred to them. Bill left for Dungog at 2 a. m. on monday me:pa:t-Rg. Raining.

:,:on. Dec. 7 ~ 19/12. The Butlers have agreed to buy the house for three hundred & ei g'hty pounds. They wi 11 move in next tbureday.

Tues. Dec. 8, 1942.r~urJ & Florence are packing tbeir things in boxes for thJit ... sawi'fer to take away to-morrow. ;';r. Butler called to say,that n18 Wife would not o .... y l".Loreno~' n blinds.

weu. JJ.,.\.,:. 9,1942 . 1:um & I left 6 Bronwen street to-day.:;:: went to doctor Salling & [lad an injection & paid 7/6 for tbe visi t, which was.my last one to him. He gave me a letter for Dr. Bourke. Our box~s were brought to l::ayfield this afternoo.for te(, shillings. ..

un­Thur.Daec. 10, 1942 IJum is bus~pacn .............. ee & 1 am gardenin~. Jose & Daphne Jo~e returned WI ~l h~s ic~.chest sQ ,~1'!'"""""'~" it to Bi 11, who wi 11 sell it for him. Fine weather ~ ,

Fri. Dec. 11, 1942. This morning I sowed some cabbage seeds in a box & dug out the stump of Walter's wattle tree. A Carr­ier called & took Jose's ice-chest to Maitland for Bill to sell for £6. Fine weather.

Sat. Dec. 12 1942 This morning I sowed french beans.? & in the afternoofi typea some old letters. Fred cut down tne wat-tle tree on palmeri s side of our garden. Fine weather.

124. JI Sun. Dec. 13, 1942. I read tlie "Sunll all,day. Jack & ttayl1rLf visi ted us in the evening. Charlie went to ]{ai tland for the day. Fine weather.

Iron. 14 DeC, 1942. Gardening & typing most of the day. Fine. Tues. Dec. 15, 1942. Iworked in the garden until dinner time, ~ & tyPed old letters in :ehe afternoon. Oaleb Firkins, of Wallsen! is dead.

Wed. Dec. It., 1942. I went to Newcastle & got a pilot electric lama at the Co-on. store for the wireless set. I walked to Hamilton & saw doctor Bourke. He did not examine nor treat me but told me to get another doctor, as we are out of'bounds for him. I bought Christmas cards, & a. birthday card to send to Lotti e Slone.

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I Thur. Dec. 17, 1942.This aft~rnoon I went to t:r. J.E. Jones, the secretary of the Gardeners Lodge & paid him 5/- i~ advance for the Gardeners Lodge. I inquired a.bout being put on the free: list for medical treatment & medicine" & he promised to wri te ' to the General secretary about it. I bought a black-red type ribbon at the store for 2/6. Dec. 18, 1942.

Frio ,;;ec., 18, 1942. This morning I was giddy, ~ick, & perspi ring profusel¥.In the evening I consulted doctor .Opitz who is in the, place of Dr. Henry,who has gone to .the War. Dr. OVitz took me on as a patient, & I paid him 14/6 for the remainrder of this quarter & next quarter. ' i

Sat. Dec., 19, ,194.rJ. Brother Bob came to-day in response to a , note that I sent yesterday.I gave him bundle of papers to read.; I w'Xote a letter to Selina M~rphy,& one each to Lottie Slone I & pat 0' Grady. I am sending a birthda.',' , card to Lotti e.

Sun. Dec. ;:~O, 194",. Reading all day. Jose called & mended the wa sh-up heater.

Hon. Dec. 21, 1942. This morning I posted letters & Cbristmas cards to Selina Murphy & pat 0' Grady, & a letter wi th aChrist­mas c-ard & a birthday card to Lo tti e S.lone. Thi s afternoon I t tyPed a Ie tter to E mi ly llatthews 8: senti t & a Chri stmas card to her., '

Tues, Dec. 22, 1942. Art & Phyllis are here to stay a few days", Art was to go up to Coff' s Harbour to work on a wharf for the military authorities, but he has had a slight sunstroke & will ~ot.b~ able to.go up. We called in doctor '~' ~rescribed .. edl.cl.ne for hlm •

Wed. Dec. 23. , 1942: Arthur is in bed, but he is getting bett

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\1,. !} 125. Florence & Robert are here, but Bill has gone to see a specialil st in Sydney about his asthma.

Thur. Dec. 24, 1942. Urs. Macarthur phoned that Walter is in the Darlinghurst private hospital & has been operated on for rer moval of his app~ndix. Fred & John Rose are going to Syc1ney to see Walt.

FrLDec. 25,1942. Christmas Day ~ Phyllis,Art,Jose, Ivy, Daphne, Keith, e-.:. Noel were here. John Rose was here: he is going to Sydney wi th Fred to see Walt.. Art gave me a lovely big Atlas.

Sat. Dec. 26, 1942. Bill purdy sent Florence the following letter to-daYl"1"" .~ "Darling, Am I tired? You're telling me ~saw doctor & I ~ very pleased with what he tells me. states should be able ~e -- in fact he seems sure--he will be able to do the trick. I twill take a long time, but I should show improvement VEe ry soon. See you soon. Love-- Bill. Kiss R.p. for me." Jack, Gladys, John, Adell & Alma vi si ted us to-day.

l3un. Dec. 27, 1942. Jack ?G·lad & children stayed overnight & wen t to Raymond Terrace by bus this m9rning.Jack has to return to port Kembla to his work, but they will st~y there a few days. YoungJohn has grown a great deal sine they went to Port Kem­bla.

!,\on. Dec28, 1942. Jack called again on his way back to I'vork.

Thur. Dec. 31, 1942. On tues.& wed. I worked in the garden & did some typing. To-day I vi si ted doctor Opitz & got an inj ect­ion of liver extract.He gave me a note for the matron of the Mater hospital,Waratah to get my blood tested. I ureviously wen t to Hami 1 ton tram depot & go t a fare concession c erti fica teo r went to the Mater hospitalfor the blood-count but was too late.

. Fri. Jan. 1, 1943. We recei ved a telephone message that Walt is getting on all right in the hospi tal. We have recei ved tIle follol i ng letters from Fred:-

"137 Li vingstone Road~1!...,rl·ickvi lIe, Saturday 26 December, 1942. I couldn l t hear from you too good on the uhone,8: thought you \~O~ld.W~t.~o hear the full story of how he (Walt) got Sick.

eR Thti~sdH~ morning he drove Mr. Macarthur to work qui te o.k."

but when at work he jUs~2~~ver felt like starting. At aboJt\'ii 0' clock his boss came & asked him what job he was doing. he said he hadn't fe 1 t like starting yet, 8: was told to try to find an easy job, but said that as he didn' t feel like doing any thing, no matter how easy, he would go to the chemist.IPhe chem-i st was :dxing a draught for stomach pains when Wall y pointed to a basin; the chemist nodded his head, o.k. After he vomited & drank the draught he got in the car & drove to the Domain, as he thought that lying down would ease the stomach 'Dains. This proving no good, he drove home. When both he & Mrs~Mac suspicion a~pendicitis a doctor was called, who sent him to hOspital, wher , in about one hour, ,he was operated on at awnox. 3 0' clock. 1';ow Johnny & I got to Sydney at about 6-30 & went straight to tbe hosnital, where both Mr. & Mrs. Mac were. they were going

to the uictures, so left us there with him alone. we stayed easily 1 hour, during which time he was attended by a nurse 3 times, taking temperatures 8: giving medicines; so eVidently be is given good attention. He says definitely there is no need to bother about him, & it doesn' warran t anybody's coming dOVVI1 to se e hi In. To look at him the l'e is nothing the matter wi th hi m; may be a Ii ttle pale, but very bri ght & cheerful. He wanted to kno'w all about Bill & his treatment, who were at home,where everyone slept--in fact 'all that he would naturally ask if some cause other than sickness prevented his coming. On leaving him we then walked back to central: had tea; & caught the tram out here.We found no difficulty in finding the house(where Art 8: Phyllis live) where evel'ything was as if made to order. The light was burning, & when a nurse opened the door she showed us all we needed to know. Upon leaving thi s morn-ing they told us to get breakfast, & left teapot & cups etc. for us; but we intend having all our mea1-s· out 30 as not to:i cause more bother to. anybody than is absolutely necessary. Nothing much else: anyhow thi s should be enough. I .vi 11 wri te or phone if anything crops up, but it looks as if everything wil go well. Fred. II

ITote. 'l'Lat letter was posted in an unsealed envelOpe & the lett fell out. It was oosted back to ul!'red"to l.!r. !',:acarthur' s addres where Fred received it again. He. tl"len wrote the following note & enclosed it in another envelo'De wi th the letter & senti t to us:

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II Thursday ec. 31,1942. The letter you should have received cam backfrom tHe dead letter office; apparently the envelOpe wasn't stuck down: I am sending it on with this note. Wally continues " to i ~rlpl'OVe t expec ts the sti tches to be re~Yloved to-morrow{ fri­day)& to be sent home on the 12th day after admission, (5th Jan­uary). Jack vi 8i ted him just before we did on l.ionday, but left to §es; the Dav~dE} be fore catch~ng hi s. train which left S~q.r_leJ: at 'J-)O. We V1Slt once, sometlm'E§s tWlcea day,8: betvleen vl::leG li2.ve fYOne to a few of the beacbes & the zoo, but wi thou t a dece -,

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eut guide we'oi'te~l go l~:Blg. out of our way; still v!e ar~; 1)(:'­r;:"inn:Lnr:- now .to, findtbe shortcuts. I expect to b~ 'CJOt:1e ,Jat-o c) ~ t::b. t .'" 1"" " .. '"'. ,"' '- ') llrday 90111~,_time.'" ;',.:.. ",.\ . '- ,(;. .. , l~nd. 2,..,nd:) ,tV,', '\: _ ,

S~t.'Jan. d2,"19L13~To-dO:Y'~I r..:ini'sheci·makinc; an· iXOHillcct8 n:;. for Phyllis' out of an old Edi son phono~ragh stand. I bOU~:)l;t a t~n of black enamel at2i'ri th' s shop for 3/-. ::!'lorence took RODert flome to. Dungog this~vening. A.rt;':~,_J;'hylli~ went by, ~us to Ra.y~on~ Tel': race'\tosee Glady&' Mrs. Bob &tne ch1ldren, & returned 111 tne 1 late afternoon. Fred Redbouse called to-day.

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sun;J'aA. 3, 1943. :"eading' al1··day. '.

?'on. lTan. 4, 191].3. Art & Phyllis went back to Earrickville :--y train to-day.They took back the little shove, the poker, & the 1r ironinE: stand •. When Jack went back to port Kembla he found that he was not on duty ,so he returned to Raymond terrace. This Dorn he arrived here wi tli Gladys & the 3 chi Idren.

Tues. Jan 5, 1943. Jack & family slept here last night. Jack g'av me a new shirt. They left to return to port Kembla by train thi s morning •.

Wed.Jan. 6, 1943. rrhis monling I weeded the l'ight hand side of tb­garden. This afternoon I tyPed myoId diary from Nov. to Dec. Charli e gave Hum 8 pounds last week. 11'i ne weather.

Thur. Jan 7, 1943 I had an inj ection from doctor 0n1 tz this evening, & went to' ti'le Co-op. store & got some si lk tLr'eaddi'orcl Liurn • I in te rvi ewed }Ir. J' E. lTones again re getting free medicine 8: atte':tion, but I got no satisfaction. 'I'o-de.y I lLcd :::y fare concession certificate on the tram for the first tLle. I went to Newcastle ge~1eral hOspital,?: was told that if I brine; my doctor's letter descrioinr,; ;r.y ailment 8.~ t:ne remedy c:::'Dloye:l to cure me, & COpies of the prescriptions for my 2 medicines, I Can g:et free treatment, next Thursd'ay. On returnin§; to doctor Opi tz :C!e gave me a sl10rt letter the 3 reports COllc:-:l'n::'n[:, :11y blood-conts. .

Fri. Jan. 8, 1943. The last ~) linesafter tbe word ",:;atisfacth,;n \I

in my last entry should apply to to-day. Tl1e doctor said that I CI could get my inj ections at the 1108'0i tal, 8~ he would ch<;:l,rge me o("ly 10/6 forthe injections he gave me. '

Sat. Jan. 9, 1943. Mum & :F'red mowed tbe lawn f'<! footpath ": clearei ihe loni:': grass from the gu tters.-W e recei ved trJe I followinb tY~Jed; etter from Art,- (Th 1 tt' ) ,'I ... ,., .. i

II • e e er 1S mif'laid. ~ M)'ll8, '

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3~~1 Jan. 10, 1943. Bill Florence 8: R ' . , ' a:t'ternoon. Readinp' tbe "Sun'" all' t: ooer~ ~ame flOtl1 DLlng-of; this "T11e 1\Tide WOl'ld P~CJ:azine'f for 1 C 2c:,Ile m~rnlnt~,. After a:rds I'ead,

e.- ':) ::>. ~ z'') :,fon. J;:ill. 11, 19L13. Bill, Flol'ence, & Robert sle!)t here last night. This morning Bill we.nt to Newcastle & found tl'lat he can h -euy 2 tyres for £ 3-10-0. Fred received the followin~; letter to-d. (J~T: •

lipro form U.S.Amended 1-1-42. Australian :~ilitary Forces. Please stow this notice to your emplo~er immediately.Universal Servi ce. AI'ea2Li ~; ewc a.stle. Dri 11 Hall King st. ~Tewc astle. 9th Jan. 19/;-3. surname Cocking other, names infull Frederick Georb'e. You al'e [WI'eoy warned that you may be requi red to proceed to ca:!11 for continuous service wi thin a neriod of not less than 7 days from the above date Wherl you aa:re~ req ,ired forrepol~t for caX:lp (AAF' mob 30) gi ving you (i f possi'tjle) 2 da:rs notic e wi 11 be pos~, ed to you. tili s form wi 11 give full detai Is of ti m~ (Q~ }; lac e &0 reuol't 8, of such necessi ties as you should bring' wi tl1 you to cam" Tl1i s noti c e is merely to warn you that, O'l',riIl[ to the Dl'esEn t i,nGe; natj,onal situation,if you are required for se;rvice it is likely that not more than 2 days notice wi 11 be gi ven to you. Your do~nestic P,: business affairs sbould there([ore 'be arranged that Y01j

are able readily comply wi th such instructions. Should yo~~ chane; your address or employment you must notify theis office Lil:';-.echa.t ' lYe '''.Coop,captain.W.H.Coop area officer 2A,King 3treet -:':ewcastl Wes t " , -,' ,C', C' 1 ciVti'f ," • ..., ..... "-' _.1. ". _ .. ,-:,- ". ",

Y'fe have received t(:e following letter from Art:-11137 Livingstone Road,l:§arrickvi lIe, Wed. 6-1-1943. Dear Everyone, I'm wri ting because I said Ii d wxite not becau­se I h~ve anything to say.Wal is quite comfortable ~xcept for th fact tnat he has a hot water bottle planked on his-er-abdomen, 8~ that, figuratively speaking,isn' t so hot this hot weather. The bot water bottle is to draw from the wound or something like that.He is quite happy & content with his own company. To-morrow or this afternoon he hopes to go to r:Irs !-::ac' s place,0: next week some time he thin'ks he will go to Newcastle. If you write t Wal address your: letter to Mrs 1,1ac' s place; he should receive tl,e letter wi thout delay, because he'll be there by tIle time :rour letter arrives. If m perfectly o. k.: Phyllis sends he-r love. Yours Arthur. II ,

Tues. Jan. 12, 1943. Bill returned to Dungog yesterday, & he will go on to Gloucester to-day or to-morrow. He intends to sell his car when he has put fresh tyres on it. Florence & Robert wil stay here for a few days. This afternoon Mum went to Ha.milton & got her fare concession certificate. Florence went home in anger at Mum this afternoon.

INDEX. Art h ur J. C oc kin g 10. 11. 26 ~ 27 • 31. 3 2. 3 5. 39 • 41. 47 • 50. 53. 56. 58. 61. 64.66.71.73.-75.83.93.107. -108.111.122'.124.125.127., ,

, Acciden ts L 4.22.' Aurora AUstra1i s 53. Appendi ci ti s 125. , p,ppren tice 60.' - -

Birthdays 11.46. Bourke 7.2,.10.12'.21.41.43. Books 6.9.12. 27.29.31. }2.37. 40. 41. 49.60. "-:,urragorang 40.62. Bridges 120. Bathurst 73. 'Butler 112.'121.123. Brown 34. Bless R.A.A.F 59. Boyscouts 59. Bell 63. 'Boot polish 117. Blood-counts 121.125.127. Bit-holder 4O.John Bower's death 16~ ,

Adell Cocking 9.14.18.25.28 .68.109. Alma Cocking 18.25. Brotller John' Cocking 67 • 140har1es E.Cocking 12.26.27.28.29. 39.41.53.71.72.79. Curramulka54. L.Crane 11. Cricket 16. Car lB. Corka 21. Christmas' 26. W.Cameron 22. Orystal set 26. Ooncrete 5El.' Chinese'f match 42.' Brother Robert ~ocki ng 12.121.124. Daphne Cocking 24.27.38.40.50.53.59~67.79. 122. Douglas 'Oocking 52.A.Cannon 15.' Dorot11Y Cocking 36. Etliel Cocking 33. 46~49. 55. 56.11t3: Grace Cocking 12.35.3b! IVy Cocking 1.12. 21~ 24~ 40.43.59.67.73.79. \\"'Gladys Cocking 1. 7.8.L.19.38.125. Florence Ellen Cocking 1.2.7.?10.4.15.1b 19 .. 21. 24. 26.30. 31. 32. 34.39: 40.46.53.55.56• 62.64.65.- 68. 72 .. 73. 121.122.123.124.128. Frederick George Cocking 4.58.66.36.39 62.67.73.118.120.121.123.125. Grandson John Cocking i9. Josi ah Thomas' Cocking 2. 6~ 12. 21.24.27.32.33.34.39.46.48. 50. 4.53.59.11~.120.121.122.124. Son John'Cocking 18.62.125. James Cocking 33.46.55.118. Keith Cocking 21.32.34.39.52.53. 58.50.58.59.63.67.79.119.122. c.Cotton 36. Card 75.

Mary-lDouglaa 32. Di es' 4i. Deposi t 62., ' , Dustmaster 41. L~ Duley 16.2'1. E. Duley 62. V. Duley 24.26.27. Lj6. Pat Eastaway 33. Eldridge 33. Enlarger 96. Evans 118. East Gret~ J~nc~ion 73! Merv Ewers.

Frith 33.34. Field 65.67. Frer:lch Army 4.}i'ernery 39.56.58. 60.61.

Gramophone 18.' Gifts 26. GinGin31. Grace Garchner 35. Guy 68. Gi ft to Mum 70.

harmer 4. Harris'40.Mrs. Hughes 16. ',Harrington 29.Hit1er 38.47. Handbag lost 56. Holder 63. Hales electrocuted64. Haldane 120. ' , , ,

Injury to leg 32,-36;41.45;39.40.50.5;'\i21. Ice-chest 26.29.

Jakeman 120. Jap war 69. Jury 40. 0_

Kadj,na 6. -Knowles 119. -Kaiser Bill's death 47.

Letters from Arthur 4.8.,13.16.18.-19.21.23.49.60. 69.79.Bl.~ 113.116.128. /

Letters:- INDEX. Brother Bob -113.114. Coop 128'. F l'orehce' Duley 23. Vera Duley 24.27.46. Florence- Cocking" (purdy) - 10'.11'.11'.29'. 63. 66~ ~4. 90. 93.97. 9;~~. 106. Gladys Cocking 1.9. 15.29.3031. 52'.54.65.68. 8l. P2.90.94.105.109.110.111. Fred Cocking 125.Gjace Cocking 12 Lottie Slone /'1. 103.115. Eliza Morris 71.116.104.104.117. pogson 91. !,cay Cockihg 95.Pat' 0 1 Grady 2.8.42. '·'16. Grace Paix 39; 114. Phylli s Wi theridge 83. 93.100.101~ 107. 'Emily' Matthe ws 86.88. Selina Murphy 53.67.84.88.5.91.99. Websters ~.61 74- 96.102.111.' Nelly whi te 7. Walter Cocking 9.41.62.64.63 Walsb 91.' ' . . ---------------------~------------------------------~-------Lottie Slone 76.80. 119.124. Lec1anche' 'cells- 63. Leila 23. Lorn 34.46. Isabel Longworth 58~ Loan 62. Mrs. Merrion 34 35. 45r .Minnie 33. !'uss01ini47.Margery Cocking 55.!~arY Jane Cocking (J.,fum) 1. 4. 7 • 39~ 46. 48.49. 53.55.56.62.65. iS4. 67.73.118 121.122.122. !-e1Vll1e'73.!"ran. waring 121.Herrili trude ,McArthur 125.1?6.Er,f I,rurphy 53. - Magner 15. Ifum 33.34. 35.Ernily ¥att­hews b. Ha~ tland baths' 6? Nel1

6Hay 63.. 1"ierrion 46. D.McPhee

60. Selina Murphy's family' 2 ~I24.)2 •. Nell Hay63. Norman Scalf 63.65.' Needle-threader 63. Nell White 62. J.'ewca stle Counc~l 70"1-:-3 Noel Cocking59~79~122. 24 34.~. 39. Nurse Bonf~e1d J ." .".

Opitz (Dr.) i24.125. O'Grady 40.4E.4~.124.' O'Connor 15. Overton's wedding~ 58.

present 26.73. - plan 62. percy Tooth 29.58. Painting 62. 121. Phyllis 75.122.127. 'photo 122:?2~P aeking 123; Pa1mer123 W.purdy 9. 7 ~oem 25. penSion 34. 7ll>hotos35.' paix 35. 75· pemberton. 40. pictures 63. W.pettigres's death 35. s.s.pr ince of Wales 71. Peaches 71.' Daisy proctor 43. II BanjoJl pat­terson's death 33. Robert purdy 53. 55. 65. 68.59.121.122.

Query 16. Questionaire 33.

John Rose 40. 10.21.27.33.35.47.59.60.62.67.73. "Rio Grande 2. Hibbon 43. 40. Removal 68. Ftodent ulcer 118. I~S 118 Rees 118 •• 128. Riding 119. "Roc;' me tosleep" 16. Robbery case 41. Ratliff 59 66. Rhymed letter 65. Cecil Robinson 7

Stroller 93. Dr. SoIling 112.120.121.122. Stramonium31. Speer's point ')4. Scientific Violet Sheldon 40. Syrian war ended 8.56• 65~ Spitfire gun 68 i ,Hazel 'Sheldon 5R

, , ax ;3 t em 1 e r . 6. 7 Genesi s 37.

Bedroom suite

Tierney 19. Taree 27.29.-32. II The 'New Social 'System ll 50. Ti lly Cocking 36. "Tom's HOpe II 45. Thoma;j 59.66. Tende rs 60. Turton 64. Taps & dies 66; Trustcott 67. Teet h 67. "The Foolish Human Race" 43. Telarah 64. . . - . , ' .

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Wed. Jan. 13 " 1943. Yesterday afternoon & evening there wasa long thunderstorm. I was· typing indoors most of the day.

'l'hur Jan. 14,1943. This morning I went to the out-patients' p portion of the Newcastle hospital & a Sister gave me an in­j ection of liver extract. She told me to call to-morrow at 2 p. m. to consult a doctor. I bought a packet of II Ranee II for M Mum for 1/- at Scotts,to clean clothes,bats,etc. At 3:p.m. I went down to Dr.Onitz 8: got a.certificate for ~he Gardeners Lodge,&'Oaid him 10/6 for 3 injections, & 10/6 for Dr. Sha­lfi.Or's vi'si t to Art when he was sunstruc~. I chan~ed ~ha.n1<i of twine at Ferguson' B for a pound of Dutter. I oougntJlt(pa c;-etllof seeds-- silver beets-- at Howlett's shop. Walt cam~liome this afternoon looking well. His wound is almost healed. Fred's auger-bits were stolen to-day,so he brough this tools home. Hot weather.

Yesterday I received thi s letter from Selina Uurphy:-II Jan. 10, 1943. Dear Joe,Wife,& family, I have made up my mi nd at last to drop you a few lines. Wben I say I made up my mi nd--we 11, to, tell you the truth,I have been so worried thi s last 3 months that I really could not concentrate on wri­ting or anything. First of all my daughter Olive came home from Adelaide to pack up her goods & chattels as she got a h house in Adelaide; so I went down to her & helped her to get straight in her house. I stayed with her a month & came home • I had just got settled when I had a telegram to try to com e to Adelaide again, as my youngest ,son was going away out 0 f Australia. Of course he is A.I.F. in the military in a pa­ck unit,I am sure to New Guinea. It broke me up,I can tell you, Joe. Well, I was down there 3 weeks waiting for him go­ing,& he had his send-off at Curramulka,where his home is. They gave him a nice gold wri stl..-t watch,& they gave him 8: the boys a send-off dinner from tl1e ca!np where he was--that was Sandy Creek. I was there the 3 weeks , & I saw more of :h him than I had since he was 13 years old •• In the end word came tlJat they were cancelled, & not to go for the ti mebe­ing unless things got worse. He may never have to go at all. So you can imagine how glad'I was when he oame in & said « you can go home,Mother, as we are not going now ll •

. IVell, to make my story short,he is in camp now at Hallalla & 11e likes it very much--good food & good beds, 8: 3 days leave once a fortnight. This is 14 camps he has been in up to date i~ 12 m?nths. I came home from Town again feeling much hap­pJ.er than when I went away. I was only home 2 weeks when I had another telegram to say that my other son, Lloyd, that is in the air force,was getting sent away to another State.

Re as told it may be to India..Welltbere I was--all upset again--got myse If all worked up, as I do love & worship my

130. children. I made up my mind to catch the train to Auelaide. It left bere at 6-30, & the time was after 5 o'clock when I got this te'legram. So off I went, & I met the Melbourne expre~ 8S tbat he came in. On the wednesday he had 2 days leave. Hi'> 6W} fe &: Ii t tle girl were living in Ade laide; so we all met. Then I went down ~ saw himoff to Melbourne again on the nexl;-

jR night, & believe me Joe, I never will forget tbe good-bye. He picked up his darling little girl & he broke up comple­tely. She was crying & he was crying, &: she was wiping his -;::::. tears away with her little fingers,& saying IIDon't crY,dear 8addyll. That broke Oliva & me up & ..,we, were crying.

o I came home from Adelaide last unday night. I was so crook all the Christmas, &: the worry seemes to stir up all my nerves. I am all pains & aches. I guess he is gone by now • He was to leave Melbourne on the 5th of January & catch a boat at Sydney.I do hope it is not overseas, far away. The husband of one of my neighbors was killed on the 1st of Dec. in New Guinea. He is called Dunn. My word, Jo'e, I do pray for

"$ thi~horrid war's bloodshed to cease, &: all our boys come j:g'

home to mothers,wives, & sweethearts. I was thinking of you allover there; I have not forgotten you, but just too broke~ »up to sit & write. At Christmas I had visitors; my grand d daughter came down from Broken Hill to live in the house nex~ ~ door to me; so I have more company now until she gets a house in Adelaide. Then she will move down there,as her husb­and works in Adelaide in Holden's big war works •. I am very Dlea'~led,tToe, that you are getting on again & will soon be able to do without injections & medicine, &: I hOpe you will improve. I a.lso hope your wife is much better,8~ that Florrie 's husband will get better soon. I must Wish Art the very be­st of a hap-cry marriage. I hope tl'ley will prosper & have a ve­ry brigl-lt new year. I also wish all of the boys &: their fam­ilies the very best of health & happiness in the coming new year, & tbat this dreadful war will soon end. Do you think it" ~ will,Joe ?1 never saw aunt Lizzie Vercoe either time I w was in Adelaide. The first time she was in Broken Hill on holidays.She went 'up with her son & his wife. She lives in ~delaide.The second time I was down there she called at my sister' 8 place to see me, as I always stay there while in Town, but I was staying with my girl 011 ve, &: my si ster E the 1 was not at home when she oalled.So aunt Lizzie did not kno~ I, where Olive lived, yet it is only 2 streets back from Eth­el's place. I may go down more often now Olive is there,& may , see Li zzie. !\'1y other daughter, Hazel, is not well, 8: her:f; l.i ttle girl has had rheumatic fever. The children have all had bad eyes, & her husband has been very sick all the h~l-idays.He is a returned man from the last war, &: her worrles are great. If it was not for her I would sellout my home & f

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131. go to live wi th Olive; but I knowthat if I broke up home Haz­el would fret very much for she is a fair Hummy'S girl. I put in an awful lone ly time last winter. I l~;O down to Haze­l -2 or 3 times a week, but I art! beginning to feel my years now & can't work like I used to. My other son,Tom,is not the. 9- best--he is rejected from mili tary: that is one that can't go. I saw Bess Whi te a fe'Y weeks ago; also Oha.:lie & DiCk,& I saw Elvina as I was pass~ng.They are all gett~ng very old 8: shaky.poor old Vina is the slave for them all. She must be 80 years old. I amout a.t myoId pal's place at Newtown, sta­ying wi tb ber: for the week-end, as her boy went back again to his campat #e was over there for 12 months, then sent to Ge­elong into a training school for 6 weeks, then back here for 25 days leave, & back to Darwin a.gain. Mrs Gear is a widow like myself. They took her single son who was all her comp­any. We have been pals for 40 years. Well, Joe, I must say cheerio, ,& lots of love & good wi shes for you & yours in the new year. I hope it will be a happy one when the war ends •. I often wonder wi 11 I see it end. I am honing I wi 11 to see my sons re-uni ted to their wives & babies:Allan has a Ii ttle .fill' son 12 months old. Lloyd's little girl is turned 4 years. We 11, keep smiling,Joe, like I try hard to do, but I find it ~ard at times. Ta, ta '. Write soon. I remain your old cousin i!P l::>elina Murphy. Love to all. 1I

Fri.Jan.15, 1943.We have received the following letter from Phyllis:- 11137 Livingstone Road,;;~arrickville, Sydney. Wed. Dear Mum & Dad, Arthur has asked me to wri te & inform you, tha t his cheque arrived here safely on thursday last. Apparently he left his~Sydney address instead of his Newcastle one,with out realising it, so there is no need for you' to worryn about it now at all. Last Friday Arthur started te", work at the }I'resh Food & Ice 00,& his job, as far as I can gather, is to actually make the ice. He tried to explain it to me, but it was all so complicated that I am just about as wise as when he staTted his eXplanations. There ~ something said,I remem­ber, about fi lling ••.• & emptying heavy moulds •••• & wading around in brine. The work appears to be hard &mstrenuous, yr but I think he revels in it. His apnetite has increased al­armingly,& is somewhat embaraasing too, as on Sunday we had visitors,& when I went to make supper for everyone I found tb~re wasn't a crumb in the house to eat. On the previous dar ~ 1 had well stocked the cupboard with cakes & biscuits, & I can tell you I felt something like Old Mother Hubbard. ~eedless to say, the Visitors went home supperless. Still, ~ It is nice to know that he is fit & well again, which is more than I cansay for myself at present,as on the day Art­fYu s*~r~H~WB~fTe~ade . to go. to bed Wilith anattack of gastric , I ~s ragIng everyw. ere at preaent •. I got out of bed yesterday8: am just about my usual sel1' a.galn,-ex-

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RS9 ADVOCATE, THURSDAY, JANUARY 9 1941. ~ H ~ ~ ~ ~ g ~ g;:~ 0 ~ ~ ~ g~ ~ ~ g ~ ______________ ~ ________ ~~~~~~~::::~~,~~~ __ ~~~.~ ~~. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~o m~ • ~ c+ ~ 0''< ~ S (IG CD - ::S:ll c+ 00 et- c+

BADEN-POWELL WAS ONE OF EMPIRE'S GREATEST SOLDIERS

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Founder and Inspiration of Scout Movement 1 ~.c+ =~ 0 S s:: 0 E!) ~OQ ~o ~ s:: I r:::: ~·tr::s 000- (Dp-" ~OJ (1)S(l)I-J~HOC+1U • Q c+ CD III c+ R<>,< ~ ~ m 0 co ~. - 00 =1» ::;!o~ .... • ~ S::COI\) ~ c+

Lord Baden-Powell, cavalryman, military scout, intelligent agent, leader of "irregul~rs," trainer, of troops, artist, writer, and the fOlJnder and inspiration of the greatest youth' move­ment thewprld has ever known, has died.

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LORD BADEN-POWELL is known mainly now as the', Chief

Scout, 'but he was also one of the iri6st ~tingul;;hed" most decor~ted soldiers the British' Empire ever had. His defence of Ml!-feking in the South Afrlcim War was one of the most colourful episodes in Bri­tish history.

Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell was born' in' London 83 years .ago. nis early education was from his mother, at a llrivate school in London, and then at a Kent preparatory school. He entered Charterhouse in 1870. He might later have entered a university but, coming second for cav~':and f<?urthfor infa~~ry out of 700 canQidates In a competItive examination for direct commission to the Army, he sailed fr!)m Portsmouth to join the' 13th Hussars at Lucknow. He was then 19.

On the North-west' Frontier, Baden­Powell, then a lieutenant, had his first savour of a battlefront. There were night patrols, hunts after robbers," a need for constant watchfulness, and the bitter

"I c,?ld of the hips. at night to help harden " hIm tQ camprugmng.

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was ,rega.rded as an outpost of British C1J po;' ~ c...:: t:r' 0 ::s et- ~ 0 I?restige In the interior of Africa. Shell- D 0 C1J Ro et- P.o (9 0 0 ::s et- OQ c+ (1) C<j ::s t:r' Ii 0 tire was the accompaniment to all that tl tr' S::' (9 ~ ~ 8 o~· IU 0 occurred at Mafeking. Day after day for v !-I l» 01 '<:lI =f IU 8 (1) ct <: ~ CD. <: 0 ~ . mon, ths there was the boom and crack of e - H OJ ~ CO IU 8 ~ 1-1). C<j . ~ (b tr' (9 Jl) <m guns. From .all points of the compass p ~ fa OJ Ii III ~ 0 (!) <m ~ C1J c+ S t:r' the shells shrieked towards the toWn t} ~ C1J ~ c+. c...:: (II Ii ~ a (II c...:: (t) 0' ct and the' deIence' lines. (t) 0 ..... (!l ~ CD (!) :lI et- (9:a (!) :a

An in:~urablehumourist, Baden-Powell's n 0 (l) H OJ H ~ ~ s:: ,,'" <m Jl) ft) 0 ~ commumque on October 21 for ex- 0 ~ 8 Po:1li ::s C1J OJ ~ ~ OJ ~ 0 =f OJ ::s ~ ..... ample,rea4: All well. Four hours' hom- C 0 c+::S I\l (1) 0 CD· (t CD "d 0 (!l 0 bardIll@nt. One dog killed." Colonel P C1J c+ p-" 0 c...:: ':a (D (!) "'./ P. c+ c+ CIl ~ Mahon's forces relieved the town on c' (t) 0 (1) ~ ... m ~ ..... ~. It:r' P" f» I» May 17. ::i! ~. (I) • t"' ::S:if ~," et- IU m ~ et-'d

In 1905, Baden-Powell attended a boys' t ~ p-" et- tJ· et- O::s I» tn IU 0 <: ..... s:: H brigade parade at Glasgow, His per- ~. I» 0 ~ ..... 0 CD OJ H c...:: OQ (I) C1J ::s ~ (l) s<?Dal popularity, five years after Mafe- c et- <: ::s (8 :a ~ 1-3 et- (1) OJ (!) s:: l» OQ P. < kmg, was demonstrated when the crowds ~ p-" (II (l) ~ I» (1) S p-" ~. OQ et- OJ <m 8 Jl) (1) r1;1shed th~ enc1.osure to surge round c I (1) OJ P. 0 CO :a 1-1) ~ f» 0 (1) (8 c...:: ::s hIm, cheermg wIldly. This parade WSl! ~:a I C1J H Ii CD ~ P":::iI et- < et-a tu~ning-poirit in the history 'of the 0 Ii CD P. I» (I) (II (1) ~ IU ~..... tr I» (l) ::s CD world s youth. The presence of thou- ~ ~. ~. (t et- r.', (9 ~ 0 OJ (I) OJ 00 ~ ..... s~nds of boys in the ranks convinced t (I) et- et- ...... ~ :IiI::S ~ c+ ~ 0 «: oq 8 hIm that youth would always respond to et-::S ..... ~ t-J. Ci> ~ 0 «: 8 8 II> ty' (1) an appeal for training. In 1907. he made et- (1)..... <: III H ~ (1)" P. (D H (1) ~ ~ et-a lec~u.re to}1r of the United Kingdom, 0 ,::S 00 IU (1) OJ (1) (1) ::s et- ..... f\) et- et- ro tr' explalmnghls scheme for training boys ' ~ H et- ~ :!if - 0 ::s ~:if ::r P.' =f Ro f» Following the publication of his book' , jl) S 0 ~ (I) (1)::S (I) C+' ::s OJ ~ ~. ~ <: "Scouting for Boys," in 1908, troops of ~ 0 (1) P. 0 en 0 ~ 8 (l) v 00 ~ Ii ::T'd ~. B<?y Scouts were formed all over Bri. ~ H Ii et- - ::s 00 et- c+ H (1) H <m - 0 H ::s tam. B;r 1909, it was computed that Boy CD c+, ty' CD (b '" - ~- 00 s:: (l) <m Scouts In England nu~bered SO,OOO. H, IU (I) ~ I» 00 et- ~.'d ~. H Ro I-' ~. H C1J

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u Few men were so diversely gifted. He

was soldier and scout, artist, actor, humourist and spy; his, work with the pencil would bear comparison with pro: f€llsional artists, and he was capable of sculpture good enough to be accepted by the Royal Academy, SI! was a bust of his hero, Captain John Smith, He was also, a ski.1!"<:!,Jl~.111yer.

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The anne and methods adopted py f ..\. P «: H aq (!) (I) it ,;:: «: C\' 1:1 0 ::::s ~ r;:r' ,-Baden-Powell reveal a, remarkable know-I" ,\\ I \ "\ ' ;l l -\ '\ ,'> ledge of boy psychology. He went out to develop character and physical fit-ness through camping, handicrafts. train-ina in ~plf-rp.liance_ thp. encouraa:ement Z

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I INDEX •. Lizzie Vercoe6. Visit to west Maitland Views 24.28. Voight1ander Camera 35. k60. .

4.38. Verses 76. Value of scouts wor

Robert White 1. Walter 6.9.10.11.14.16.26.27.33.35.39.40. 47.52.50.59 .. 66.67.120.65.123.125 •. ' Wa11send 34. II World' 8 News52.53.· .IIWhence'& WhithiJr"48.49. D.O. Watkins 59. wedding photo 6., Wo11ongong62.· Williams (F1o)35. "What Do padres Say·1" 55.' . We·bsters 119. 1Ve11s 120.

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Lord Baden-Powell. Chief Scout. whose dea~h' is an~o~nb~d,. . ~ , .......... :.. ..... "", ................ ..., ... !'lW .... ~ .... ~ .... ~ft.!'." .• ",.;~ ••.. ~

a private senOOl Ul LOndon, and then 'at a Kent preparatory school. He entered Charterhouse in 1870. He might later have entered a university but, coming second for caval~':and f<!urthfor infa~~rY out of 700 eanliidates III a competitIve e1Camination for direct commission' to the Army, he sailed from Portsmouth to join the' 13th Hussars at Lucknow. He was then 19. , '

On the North-west' ,Frontier, Baden­r Powell, then a lieutenant had' his first

savour of a battlefront.'J;'here Were night ~ patrols, hunts after robbers,' a need for , constant watchfulness;, arid the bitter

cold of' the hills at night ,to help harden , him to campaigning. , ,",.

Few men were so diversely' gifted. He was soldier and scout, artist, actor, humourist and spy; his, work with the

brigade parade at Gla;g~~.--E:is -p~;­,sonal popularity, five years after Mafe- C king, was demonstrated when the crowds ~ rushed the enclosure to surge round e him. cheering wildly. This parade was a turning-point in the history of the world's youth. The presence of thou­sands of boys in the ranks convinced! him that youth would always respond to an appeal for training. In 1907. he made a lecture tour of the United Kingdom. explaining his scheme for training boys. Following the publication of his book. "Scollting for Boys," in 1908. troops o.f Boy Scouts, were fOl'I!led all over BrI­tain. By 1909, ,it' was computed that Boy Scouts in' Ellgland nu~bered 80.000.

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" pencil would bear comparison with pro: The aime and methods adopted iJy fei!sionalartists, and he was capable of ·Baden-Powell reveal a remarkable know­SCUlpture good enough to be accepted by ledge of boy psychology. He went out the Royal Academr, as was a bust of to develop character and physical fit-

- his hero, Captain John Smith. He was ness through camping, handicrafts. train-I IIII .. I ....... also a skilled polo player. ing in self-reliance, the encouragement ,'I 4ii!I Almost from the first days of his of loyalty /lond unselfish service to others. •

soldiering, Baden-Powell was attracted, to All this was to be done as far as pos­scoutin¥; Succese in mOdern warfare. he sible in the open air. wrote In his first handbook on the sub- In 1910, there were 123,000 Boy SC?uts

t ject, rested on accurate knowledge of in Britain. Baden-Powell then deCided what the enemy was doing;' and on the that he would have to choose between

~oft; quicknese and intelligence of the scouts, the Army and the leadership and organi­

the eyes and ears of the army, depended sation of the Scout movement. It was a the restdt of all operations. He learnt difficult decision, involving a great re­much about scouting from ,a' love of the nllnciation, at the age of 53, while near­sport of pigsticking. While stationed at ing the top of his profession. He chose Muttra, in 1883. he won Indials p:reatest Scouting. The movement soon spread to prize for pig&ticking, the Kadir Cup. Empire and foreign countries. Bad,en-I PowelJ began to tour those countries,

!5 Went to Africa organising the movement. A couple of 'e 10 In 1884 Baden-Powell made his first p journey to Africa with the Hussars, l- beca!use the Boers of the Transvaal. sup-

ported by Germany, were attempting to ,f annex a district of Bechuanaland. Two s years at Norwich, Colchester and Liver-1 pool followed. In 1886 he was Assistant

years ago he visited Australia. To-dav there are millions of Scouts,

besides' many more millions of young and middle-aged men who have been trained in the movement.

Adjutant-General in manoeuvres at Dover; in the next year he organised a military tournament at Liverpool, and acted as judge at the l!:rand military tournament.

Sent to Aldershot to inspect the train­ing of cavalry machine.~unners and sug­gest methods of improvmg it. he found

SPRAY FOR KILLING ( PASPALUM

Council to Investigate a means of introducing a little more f k'U' adventure into Iif~. In 1886, for instance, Inquiries into a spray or I 1~Jl' paspa:

. lum are to be made by the Chairman of he VIsited Germany with a younger bro- the Works Committee (Ald. Dunkley) and ther, observed the Russian manoeuv~e.s, the Actin City Engineer (Mr, RUd'd). and rQPorted results to the War Ojilce. Mr. Ru~d re orted to the Works Com-Later he toured the battlefields. of ~he 'tt It' ~t that the Spencer Weed Franco-German War of 1870, staYIng With mK!llee Cas .mg h d flered to kill the So 'Uhlan regiment at Strasbourg. The I er ompany a 0 for an area Germans did not realise that in the trim,' weed for Id a square yard spare English cavalryman \ fond of play- under three acres and %.d a square hard ing the fo'ol. always chee~ful, they were for three acres or more. The cost of t reo r entertaining a man with peculiar powers acres would be £45/7/6. , of observation and deduction. Spying "To. treat footpaths where son crete stnps alw.e.ys appealed to him are laid'," Mr. Rudd added, the length reo 'In January, 1888, B~den-Powell was quir~~ to make up three acres would b~ I!gain in Africa, as A.D.C. to his uncle, 3.~ mIles for footpaths 12ft .. wI?e aJCld ,,2.lc tl Ge.ueral 8:. A. Smyth, G.O.C.,' South mIles where no cO:lCrete st~IP IS 1~ld. OJ Africa. Here he took J)l\.l't in the Zulu Ald. Dunkley B~ud one thl?g agamst the 01

campaign and other native wars with spray was that It was highly mflam- se distinction, mabIe. although t~'~:'firm was prepl!red to ,,'

Mafeking is Relieved!' Badlln-Powell's defence of Mafeking,

west of the Transvaal, from October. 1899, till May. 1900. brought him world fame. He had about 1100 men for the defence. against 9000 Boere;, amonl!: who}n were 50 or 60 German officers. The

~ ,town WI18 not only an iznortant eentte '" for trade, on the edge of t· desert, 1:l~ '~'h \ ,_." '1a~clO

, . ..'" ~ ....... '" n~

accept fire risk. 1),,'1 '1 Ald. Christie: !>G'we indemnify bakers n

whose horses may be poisoned by eating t sprayed grass? ."

.Ald. Stevenson saId he d'id not Wish to <' be pessimistic, but he had little faith in poison sprays. (

Further consideration was deferred pend­ing a report from Ald. Dunkley and Mr. ( Rudd. , ,d MR. HOARE SUMS\%~~'-

"

~

ih ~ German Tush submarines through shipyards by pre-fabrication and ,e are- visible above; four more are in yard beyond.

ope of a large number ju.t arrived,

VEGETABLES STILL -PI .F.NTIFUL

BUSINI§SS EASIER ·r-

ON 'CHANGE