Diary of Garth Edward Sommerville Clabburn - 1942-1944 - Part 1

[*11.3.42.*] It is a beautiful bright sunny afternoon.

& I am commencing writing an account

of all I can remember having done

since leaving the port of Darwin back

in early December 1941. Since that day

I have travelled far & seen many strange

& foreign things. I have also learned

a great deal, not only of the ways of

general living, but I have achieved at

least one definite thing in life, & that

was to become a qualified pilot.

That was my main objective when planning

& scheming to be posted South from

tropical Australia, & my training &

travelling in the Empire Air Scheme

ever since has demanded too much

of my time to enable me to keep

even a very brief account of

my wanderings. Anyway, now I

intend to make time; & will

endeavour to record what has

happened of interest. I commence

this writing lying beside the marble

swimming pool in the beautiful

grounds of the hotel at the

foot of Cheops Pyramid Egypt.

"Mena House"

Darwin June to December 1941.

Was given rank at W.O.I. & posted from Somes

Camp No 1 I.T.S. to Darwin. There I took up 

duties as W.O.D. at No 12 sq & was later posted

to No 13 sq. where I performed the same task

for my last two months on the new Air

Force drome. I did not find this job

at all to my liking & by letter &

telegram sought to be posted South &

into the Empire Air Scheme, & there to

undergo a pilots course. My application

proved successful & after seven months

I, again stepped aboard the old Montoro

& sailed by way of Port Moresby to

Sydney. I stayed there only long enough

to fix up twenty days of leave, & left

the same day for my home in Melbourne.

There were great rejoicings when I arrived

in the midst of the family on Christmas

Eve; & for twenty glorious days I revelled

in all that was good. The weather was

fine & hot & I had the use of Mick

McCutcheon's old "charra". Every day the

girls Mark Tiki "our dog" & I would

push off to the sea shore & romp for

 

hours in the sea & on the sand. I

[*Richmond N.S.W.*] was very fit when I set off to Richmond 

N.S.W. I stayed there fourteen days working 

hard on the preliminary .21. maths

lectures prior to reporting to No 2. I.T.S.

Bradfield Park Sydney. I think it

was while I was at Richmond that

my friend Pat Black was killed in an

accident at Amberly.

At Richmond I made little progress with

the maths even though I tried very

hard. I could not even understand

what they were all about; & when 

the instructor started lecturing on

"moments" about points"; I felt very

dull indeed & felt that I was

going to have a fearful struggle

to make the E.F.T.S. I spent two

weekends in Sydney & one or two

lonely days on Manly beach & one;

Monday morning set out to Bradfield

Park full of dread but with a

blind faith that I would get

through somehow.

[*Sydney & Bradfield Park.*]

The first people I met here were W.O's who had

been with me on the same course at

Laverton nine months before, & they

were all very surprised, & I think a

little envious to see me turn in my

officers uniform & stride forth once

again as an A.C.2. I was one of the

sixty fellows at No.11 course & became firm

friends with fine fellows such as G.D. Macpherson

Malcome Blunt, John Clarke, Sam Priestley, Joe

Elliot, & Musgrave. We all worked very

industriously together, & there was an

exceedingly keen & sporting spirit right

throughout the whole camp organisation.

We had many a royal raid on other

huts & many a good nights leave in

Sydney itself. One of the best nights that

I remember was the evening of our passing

out dinner. This we held in the city

& afterwards about ten of us were

taken along to a wonderful party at

Rose Bay given in honour of the U.S.A. 

Fleet Officers who were visiting Sydney

at the time. During our time stay in Sydney

 

I spent much time at Air Force House &

became great friends with Alice Broughton &

June Adams. These were two of the charming

girls who voluntary did such wonderful

work in creating a home away from home

for all the fellows in the show. Time &

again we had grand nights out at places

like Rose's & Prince's; & because of these

extravagant bust ups I was always short

of money.

The maths exam was a great struggle & I

managed 51% after two attempts. All the

other subjects I passed with ease, but

with not high marks, for I had not

devoted enough concentration to study,

& perhaps a little too much to the

young ladies of Air Force House.

I enjoyed four or five ^days interstation leave

staying at the charming home of John

Clarke in Crow's nest Rd. Waverton.

My Sister June was staying with my

Grandfather in Artarmon, & we

went swimming & playing around

Sydney together.

We were all very anxious to start

the actual flying & eventually set out

for Narromine in great expectation of

the exciting things to come.

[*Narromine N.S.W.*]

On the 300 mile trip some of the

lads assisted the engine driver & kept

the old job rattling along. The flying

school proved to be a tremendous

drome with newly constructed runways

which we did not use. Our

familiarisation flights all proved to

be very exciting in the Tiger Moths, &

my instructor, F/O Bowman, indulged

in a little low flying. - a thing which

will never loose its thrill. After about

six or seven hours I managed my first

solo; & realised then that flying is a

very dangerous pastime because it

appears so very easy. Because it seems

so simple to the rookey pilot is

the main reason why so many are

killed in training. From that flight on

I determined to treat all aeroplanes

with great respect, & to try & never relax

& start dreaming of other things whilst

in the air.

 

We worked hard here also, & rose in the

dark at 6 A.M. We alternately flew one

week in the morning & the next in the

afternoon; & it was not long before we

were all telling each other in glowing

terms of our great achievements with

aerobatics & forced landings.

Everybody soloed except eight fellows

who unfortunately could not get the hang

of the Tigers, & had to take up some

other mustering. Altogether we had a grand

time in the centre of this rich pastoral

land. The surrounding station people

were hospitality itself; & with them we played

a great deal of tennis at the local club.

My instructor & his charming young wife gave

his four pupils a most enjoyable evening

at his home, towards the end of our

course there. A typical example of

the beautiful outdoor Australian girl

was present this night in Fay Barlow.

F/O Bowman showed us his amazing

collection of revolvers & different firearms

& proved his skill with same by shooting

a wild cat whilst travelling back to

camp in the dark at 40 M.P.H.

Although I found difficulty in doing good

aerobatics. I found the remainder of

the flying training here to be comparatively

easy, & was given an above average

mark on passing out.

Perhaps the greatest fun to be had in

this part of the world by a bunch of young

fellows is to stage a paddy melon fight,

which grow in profusion all over the paddocks.

"The melons I mean- not the fights". On a cold

& windy afternoon about 100 of ^us staged a great

melon fight from either side of the long

road running along side the drome. For

about 3/4 hr. the air was thick with flying

melons & many a "combatant" suffered from

loosened front teeth at the conclusion.

In a fine & typical Australian country station

homestead we celebrated our passing out;

at Narromine school. The owner of a

station named "Willadah" gave his place

over to each flying course that went through

the school, & all the surrounding families

clubbed in & turned on a marvellous dance

for us in the great woolshed. I became

very shat in the course of the evening,

 

&, like all the other fellows thoroughly

enjoyed myself. Prior to this the ladies of

Narromine had given us a fine afternoon

tea in a town home; & we will never

forget their kindness to each & every

member of the course. W/C King's, our C.O.,

final little talk was very good advice;

and I hope never to forget his good tip

about getting steep turns down to a fine

art.

From Narromine the entire course was sent 

on six days final embarkation leave prior

to reporting to the embarkation Depot back

in Bradfield Sydney.

"Chickadee" Clark & I set off for Melbourne

via diesel train right across the heart of

the great N.S.W. sheep & wheat area, & finally

changed to the Melbourne express. This was

a beautiful trip through perhaps the

richest land in the Commonwealth. As far as

the eye could see, throughout the 500

mile journey, were great sheep runs &

millions of ploughed acres of rich

red loam. It made me realise

just what a prize Australia would

be for crowded nation like the Japanese

[*Melbourne Final leave.*]

My people all met me at Spencer St. Station

& we drove up to Georges in Collins St, & there

had a very enjoyable luncheon together. During

my last six days at home I spent most of

the time with my Mother & Father, brother &

Sisters.I had previously ommitted to mention

that my sister Joy had made me an Uncle

just after my last leave at home & that

now there was a beautiful little girl

baby added to the tribe. Joy had just

returned to their charming flat & I

spend quite some time with her. I called

& said goodbye to Mr Burnett of the Vacume

Oil Co & also had a most enjoyable

farewell luncheon with my dear friend

Mr Lander, his won Wilton & my Father at

the Stock Exchange Club. For my last night at

home my people arranged a fine party

& many good friends were present. I

was so glad Joy managed to come also

& it was not easy to say Au Revoir despite

many bracing whiskeys. Sq/Ldr Green &

Mick McCutcheon were along & I appreciated

no end the good wishes of people like

Mr & Mrs Chapman, the Barbers, the Cravens &

 

the Gunnersons. It was most unfortunate

that there was a little misunderstanding with

our good neighbours, the Cravens for they

thought it was to be a late party &

turned up late, however I am sure everyone

had a jolly good time- I know I

did!

The following day Mother took many photographs

of Coral & I & also of the family as a 

whole - excepting Joy & Ken & we then

pushed off to the Sydney bound train.

Saying a final goodbye was not an easy

job, but we all put on a brave face

& my Mother was a perfect dear & did

not shed one tear. I fear that had

she done so we would all have had

a grand cry. Everybody was grand & gave

me some greatly appreciated gifts just

as the train was about to pull out, &

I must admit that for the whole journey

to Sydney my heart was rather heavy, as was

"Chickadee's".

Once there we hit the high spots & had

one last glorious fling around the old

happy hunting grounds. We would

clear out past the guards whether it was

a closed camp or not & immediately make

for the fine pub on top of the hill - I

think it was called the Green Gate. For

the first week back in Sydney town I

stayed at the Clarke's home once more

& they really gave me a fine time. One

evening I brought a bottle of whisky 

back to camp with the intention of filling

a fine silver flask given to me by

Ken before leaving home. After chipping

Gordon Douglas Macpherson about being

a non drinker, he calmly picked up

the bottle three parts full & sank the

lot on one breath. This brought loud

cheers from the whole hut, & ever since

we always have a grand laugh when

ever the whisky bottle incident is mentioned.

Went to a fine cocktail party given by

Brian Tait & this pal, & there became very

attached to Beth Smith. Went again to Princes

& also said Au Revoir to the girls of Air

Force House. Called & had what I think

will be my last talk with my dear old

Grandfather & bid him goodbye. He is

 

now 83 yrs, I fear he will not be there

to welcome me back. During the last

day out of camp I rang up home in the

evening & spoke to them all except Joy

& Ken who were not at home at the time.

Unfortunately I fully realised at the time

how long I was to be away & I did

not feel happy at all. This time boys

did leave Australia cheering lustily

as was done last war. Perhaps they all

felt the approaching danger from the North

to their own people & native land.

After a strict two days closed camp we finally

paraded early on Friday 13 July 1941 &

then all went by bus convoy to the

docks where the S.S. Alatea was

waiting to take us aboard. Sir

Donald Cameron made a fool of a

speech from the wharf, which fortunately

very few of us heard & several of

the lads people were staging

around the ship shouting last minute

messages from launches.

After lunch & on one of Sydney's

really delightful late summer days

This great ship with about 1400 Air Force

aboard pulled out & headed for

the blue water. Another troopship &

a battleship were along also & it

was a fine sight to see these two

large ships astern & taking it in

green.

[*New Zealand*]

The Tasman trip proved quite uneventful

& the most interesting thing I can remember

was seeing thousands of great diving ganets

operating over some great shoals of

fish just outside the entrance to

Auckland Harbour. We were comfortably

bunked down in the ship & considering

it was supposed to be a troop carrier

the food & quarters were excellent.

Strangely enough W.O. Nolan alias "The

Angry Ant" came on this Pacific Trip

as the disciplinarian; & everybody was

happy because he realised early in the

piece that a ship is not a parade

ground.

I shared a cabin with Cassels, Cadell &

two other fellows whose names have now

slipped my memory. Once in Auckland

 

the fun began & for two or three days we

really saw the country. We naturally tried the

beer first of all & came to the conclusion that

it was a good brew, although rather potent.

After luncheon Mal Blunt & I did a quarter

attack on the University in the hope of

stirring up some beautiful girls who would

look after us during our stay in Auckland.

This move however, proved unsuccessful, for

all the young ladies were far too studious.

However, a very fine fellow picked us up

outside the fine old building & drove us

all over Auckland & took us to his friends

home for afternoon tea, where we played

with some children & invited all the

girls to come to a show that night.

The surrounding was far more beautiful

than I had remembered it from

the time when I had lived here

back in 1925-26. From the Top

of One tree hill the view was magnificent

& everything was so beautiful &

green. This hill had been a favourite

haunt of ours as children & we

used to spend days toboggining down

its steep grassy slopes.

I missed out contacting my Uncle

in Wellington because of taking

a grand all day trip to Rotorua.

Eight of the boys hired a car

& we took turns at driving

the 300 miles there & back. It proved

a great unforgettable day; & we

took in a dance at George

Court's at about 10 P.M. I arrived

back aboard ship at 2 A.M. & we

sailed away the same day. N.Z.

is a beautiful & rich country &

its people a fine hospitable

crowd even though they appear

very reserved on first acquaintance.

Here we took on many New

Zealanders & now numbered about

1400 troops aboard.

[*Suva  Fiji*]

We pushed off to Suva Fiji &

arrived without incident. Only

one day was spent here & during that

time we saw all the town &

drove around the hills at the

back. It is just another tropical

 

wilderness like all those pacific islands,

& the natives smell because they try

& live according to the white man's ways.

The native police were fine specimens &

the boys bought many useless curioes;

& had great fun tossing pennies

to the native labourers on the

wharf as we were about to leave.

[*Pacific Ocean*]

From here across the wide Pacific

was a very long & dreary run.

We saw only one mountain sticking

up above the surface. When about

four days sail from Vancouver our

escorting vessel the Prince Rupert

steamed alongside & then pulled away

sharply exactly at 2 P.M. We all

gave three cheers for the Navy &

they returned them for the Air

Force. Then as both ships parted

two thousand fellows sang "There'll

Always be an England" & it was

most inspiring to hear so

many voices across the water on

such a beautiful day & in such

a strange part of the world.

[*Canada*]

We sighted America one late afternoon. The

first we saw was a great snow covered peak

up amongst the cloudes. As evening drew

on we could distinguish the lower

foothills & great stretches of sandy

beaches. We lay off Victoria on Vancouver

Island for the night & put in there for

a short time in the morning. From

there through the many many Fir covered

islands was a beautiful trip; & I

will never forget just what a beautiful

city Vancouver is from the harbour. It's

setting of blue water green firs

& snow white mountain peaks is

one of the most beautiful I have

ever seen. Here we stayed only two hours

& spent the time walking through the main

city streets & sampling the beer which contained

only 2% alcohol. We then boarded

a special train which took us right to

the capital Ottawa. It was a dirty journey

on an uncomfortable train; but the

magnificent scenery, interesting people &

diversity of scenes put any discomfort

well in the background. The trip through

 

the Canadian Rockies nobody could ever forget.

It was so grand, such clean, & beautiful country.

We were all fed very well & were given

plenty of opportunities to stretch our legs

during the four day trip. Our most enjoyable

stop was taken at Jasper where we

drove out amongst the great mountain

ranges in a large American car & also

walked around the picturesque town

and parklands. Here were deer & all

the inhabitants spoke with a very quaint

accent; one which was to become very

familiar to all of us during the next

few months. We were all very glad

to reach Uplands, primarily to take a

glorious hot shower & wash layers of

soot away.

From the very start the Canadian

people were the most perfect hosts

& could not do enough to entertain

us during our leave periods. We were

free practically every night & never

wanted for a lift into the city. You

could walk nowhere without some

kind person stopping his or her car &