Letters of Thomas Rampton Hunter, 1940-1944 - Part 3

4
Purchased some trinkets and by now       
they should be well on their way &
I hope they arrive secure & safe.
A note with them will tell
who they are for. Brooches & Jam
for Mother, Elephant for Jean &
necklace for Joan. I put them all
together to facilitate speed this
end. Hope the wire arrived O.K
and in your next letter let me
know if you could tell our
destination. Bill & I made a 
sad mistake by giving some anna's to
some kids (an anna is about 1½d.) & in
a few seconds we had hundreds & 

girls of about 10-15 ^who were only too
willing to do anything for 4 annas 6d
so we promptly beat it. Life 
is very cheap here & I think that
they are more concerned about the
next world than the present one.
Many ^more of our chaps have had their
hair clipped off & Bill has now
joined their ranks. They certainly
look very odd.

5
It was a very interesting 
day, and you can only see a
fraction in a place so large
as it was & therefore you only
see things with a glance. It
could keep me interested for ages
as every corner hid something
different. From the markets & 
cheap native selling places, they
quote you a price & by dividing
it by 6 you are somewhere near
the value, it takes some beating
down. After our day out we
appreciated a wash for you get
filthy. We left on the Wednesday
and have been sleeping with
our hammocks on deck of a
night. It has been very pleasant
travelling the sea being as calm
a mill pond & flying fish are

6

about each day & once or twice large
schools of dolphin have been seen.
Took a few snaps and
later I think we shall be
able to post them home.
Well Mother, we are
all very well &very happy
& looking forward at last to get
on land.
Remember me to Ron
Fanny & all the others
Lots of Love
Thos.
[*RE Playford*]
AWM2017.208.1

No 3
Mrs. B.M. Hunter,
277 Springvale Rd,
Tunstall.
Victoria
Australia.
 [*RE Playford*]

AWM2017.208.1

Letter No5
VX17049
Cpl. T.R.Hunter
2/1 Corps Field Survey Coy

R.A.E  A.I.F.
abroad.
Monday, 24^th Mar '41
Dear Mother & Jean,
Today more mail turned up
& 2 of yours dated 13^th & 18^th of Feb posted at
Tunstall and from now on the mail should
be just about rectified as most of the stranded
letters have turned up. Yesterday we visited an
Arab village after tramping through mud (it
always also rains here) we saw some different
conditions - mud houses, low roofs, very narrow
streets - too narrow to feel safe on your own
and a very interesting sight was one of
several women working a water wheel. The
women do practically all the work & they carry
large water jars on their heads perfectly 
balanced. The smell was terrific as chooks,
donkeys, cats, dogs, pigeons, camels & kids etc just
wandered up & down & left their traces anywhere.
The drains run down the streets into a large pool
in the lowest level of the village & the animals 
drink from there. Further on was a Jewish
Settlement where they operated under a
co-operative system - all houses the same, small
blocks with every square inch filled & each
possessing a few well -bred cattle & the only
store or shop was a cooperative one where

2
they purchased on a coupon system & in the same
section they brought their milk where they were
credited for same. There was a vast difference
between the Jews & the Arabs for the Jews were
all plump & clean & this was most noticeable 
amongst the kids. Neither of these communities
expressed any welcome to us & we just had to
find our own way about. I would not go
alone through an Arab village at night for all
the tea in China for their looks are villianous
enough & the knife they carry looks wicked.
Safety in numbers is the motto. Jack Lodge
enjoyed himself so much at our first stop in
our party that wherever we intend to go he
always asks if we would mind - & his company 
is good. We got him fairly shot at the first stop
as we primed the bar-maid to give him double
gins each time & he had 10.
It is much improved here since we have
obtained some beds which crumple to pieces at first
but after reinforcing they are very good. A local
laundry service operates here - very cheap, so it saves
us some domestic duties. Some of us have been
selected to go to Tel.A.Viv tomorrow so I will
tell you more later on.  I will enclose some maps
I received back today with a few brief  descriptions
Wednesday. Had a most enjoyable & interesting day

3
In Tel-A-Viv - a Jewish town ^about 1½hrs travelling from our camp which has been mainly
built in the last 4 - 5 years. A more modern and
attractive place you could not imagine. Clean,
wide, streets & footpaths, no trams, fast buses &  
taxis, no verandahs from the shops and the flats
(where they all live) have an air of cleanliness 
& brightness. All buildings are light in color
& every convenience imaginable has been incorporated.
Taken as a whole, it could be said that it is
perhaps the most modern city in the world.
The majority of the people dress very smartly
especially the women and upon shopping anywhere
in the shopping centres, you are approached nicely
and tactfully by Jews to enter their shop & see
their goods at no obligation. If oe were not
careful you would be buying things unnecessarily 
as they are perfect salesmen. There are many
lessons our tradespeople could learn from these
people regarding courtesy and manners. Took a few
snaps here & if th - I do not enclose in this, will
forward some later. A Taxi driver we hired
said he was a German Jew Professor of Physics & had been
interned in Germany but was brought to Palestine by
friends & arrived with about 9/-. He said ₤9 per
month was now good money.  I do not think he
was pulling our leg as I cross- examined him
in a composition of English French, Jewish signs

4

for more than 1 hour. The best flats cost
£6 per month i.e. 2 rooms bath-room & kitchen
and if a visitor calls he presses a button (belonging to
the person he desires to see) on a panel and through
a microphone the dweller asks who it is & a communication
& conversation is held between the two. If
the caller is allowed in the building the dweller
from his flat, presses a button which unlocks the
main front door. These flats are only 3 storys
high yet modern silent lifts are installed
and throughout the design of all light and
air has been considered and the maximum
allowed to enter. All new places have air-raid
shelters incorporated & these shelters are
also placed in parks etc. In November last,
bombs were dropped in the flats section &
many killed - also saw this damage.
All traffic here keeps to the right and in the
city, for a while it seemed confusing. Everything 
was very expensive except the flats & buses.
The weather is perfect again & all the boys
very well & contented. Tell Jean I spoke to Harold
about the flute & he said he would think out a
means of trying to tell her by post.
Well, lots of Love to all

Thomas
[[[*WBRelf*]?]] 

[[W.B.Relf?]]
No 5

Mrs. Hunter,
277 Springvale Rd,

Tunstall,

P.O 

Somers
Victoria,
Australia.