Letters from Arthur Seaforth Blackburn to his family, 1941 - Part 23

Lt Col. A.S. Blackburn 
SX6962 2/3 MG Bn 
AIF Abroad 
22/10/41. 
  
Dear Bob, 
By the time this reaches you, you will either 
be just about to start, or have started, your exams. I 
have no doubt whatever as to the result of same 
but in spite of that I wish you the very best of 
luck. I am quite sure that I will hear that you 
have passed with distinction because I have heard 
from the family letters how hard you have 
worked. It will be a great relief to you old 
chap I know to have it all over. The more 
I think of it, the more I am sure that your 
decision to get a job in the AIF at the earliest 
possible moment is very wise. I feel sure 
that the experience you will get in Australia 
prior to getting away combined with your 
experience over here will be worth more 
to you than mere experience in Australia 
in a civil capacity and in addition to that  
I know that you will be very

2/ 
much happier. 
I have just got back from a trip down to Palestine in 
the course of which I called upon Major Joyner - and in 
fact stayed with him for a few days. The trip down 
was very interesting as the country all looks very 
different now. When we came up here it was quite  
green looking & fresh in many parts, but now at 
the end of summer it is all as bare & parched  
looking as any place can possibly be. One of the 
amazing thing about this country is that the natives don't 
waste wait until the rains come before they start ploughing 
as we do in Australia. They seem to be able to plough 
up this soil just as well & easily when it is quite 
dry as at any other time. One could easily understand 
this if it was all very light or sandy soil but 
much of the soil is a heavy rich clay and it says 
a lot for the sharpness of their ploughs to see the 
way it is turned over. The ploughs used by these 
people in Syria is the most primitive thing you have 
ever seen. It is shape rather like this [[drawing]] 
the tip of it being metal & the rest of it two 
ordinary wooden bars, connected by two cross 
wooden bars. Any sort of beast, donkey, camel, 
mule, cow, horse etc is harness - usually with 
rope to the front of it to pull it along & the  
owner walks behind with the two ends or handles 
& by some miracle keeps it straight & in the 
ground. However it does the job very effectually.

3/ 
Today we have had a very heavy rain. It started about 
eleven o'clock last night & didn't stop until about 8 o'clock 
this morning. The moment it stopped all the locals turned out 
with buckets, saucepans or any other recepticals (that spelling 
doesn't look right) possible & went snail hunting. I cannot 
find out what they do with them but I fear they must 
cook & eat them. This sounds utterly loathsome as they are 
the huge garden variety such as we see at home but from 
the intense eagerness which with which they searched for 
them & the care with which they handled them it looked 
as though they were delicacies. The country here is 
terraced right down the hills almost to the gullies & 
watercourses far below & it was an amazing sight to see 
these people climbing down from terrace to terrace in 
search of snails until they were nothing but specks 
visible far below us. All the family down to young 
children would join in the search & then climb all 
the way back without any apparent effort. I ascertained 
later that they cook them with a green vegetable like spinnach 
& claim that it makes a very palatable dish. However I am 
not in the least tempted to try it. By the way, I have 
posted your birthday present, a leather toilet case, to you. 
I couldn't get your initials put on it here, old man, but 
you can easily get it done yourself. You may get 
the two parcels, your Xmas present & your birthday present 
about the same time. If you do the big one is your  
birthday present and the small one your Christmas 
present. Although it is only two days since I started 
this letter, there has already been a remarkable

4/ 
change in the weather. When it was raining it was bitterly 
cold and one could hardly get warm but by next 
morning it was reasonably warm & today it was quite hot. 
The road leading to our village is a bit difficult in wet 
weather. There was previously a good solid metal road but 
it wasn't build for heavy traffic, so to make it strong enough 
for our vehicles it was resurfaced about a foot deep with 
solid road metal & then clay & earth was spread over the 
top of this to bind it & make a usable surface. Unfortunately 
there are no rollers here so each successive rain it becomes 
a glue pot until traffic has finally settled it down. It had to 
go down it the morning the rain started and it was 
a pretty trying trip for Robert. Every now & then the whole 
car would swing sidewards & proceed crab-fashion towards 
the edge. At one stage we came across another vehicle 
which had gently slid over the edge of the road & dropped 
into a ditch about three feet deep & was there firmly 
stuck. A big lorry had come along & fastened a tow chain 
to it & tried to pull it out. The only result was that the  
lorry simply sf slipped sideways into the edge of the ditch  
itself without making the slightest impression on the 
other vehicle. The amazing thing is that extremely few 
vehicles capsize. During the two rains we have had so 
far, out of over twenty vehicles which have slipped 
off the road only one has capsized & that one was 
only because the side of the road collapsed & just 
quietly let the vehicle down on its side into a morass 
of mud. Robert takes rather a poor view of all this 
mud & slush. During the actual campaign it didn't 
matter much - in fact the more dust & muck on the 
car the better as it made it more difficult to see

5/ 
but now that has ended he finds it a bit hard to keep 
the car looking anything like respectable. Did I tell you that 
Robert has had a spell away in hospital? He got jaundice & 
was off duty in the lines for a week or so. However he didn't 
seem to be progressing entirely satisfactorily and so they sent 
him away to hospital for a spell. However he got back in about 
a week and now seems to be feeling 100%. The amount of 
serious sickness over here is very small, although there is a  
lot of minor ailments which keep a lot of the men away. 
One of the most frequent is what is called "Syrian Sores". 
Apparently it is caused by some microbe in the soil here which 
gets into any abrasion etc & at once makes it septic. It is an 
organism which is peculiar to this country & is quite well known. 
Another cause of frequent hospital cases is "Sand-fly fever" which is 
most insidious. In its usual form it causes complete prostration for a few 
days accompanied by utter depression after which, usually there is 
a complete recovery. So far I am glad to say I have missed 
them both  - and all other kinds of illness as well! It is a  
remarkable thing, but I believe that the sickness amongst the  
troops in Tobruk, in spite of the discomfort & lack of fresh food 
& vegetables & fruit etc is very much less than amongst the 
troops here or in Palestine. 
Well old man there is not much more news to tell you. Once 
again the best of luck if this reaches you before your exams. 
I can imagine the immense sigh of relief with which you will 
see your name on the list which means the culmination of 
your work & your hopes and, as I think you know, I am  
terribly proud of you old man for having the courage & 
the industry, in spite of all the difficulties you have had to 
go through, to go right through your course. I am very 
sure you will never regret it and you will, I am sure - 
and also very sorry to say - see all you want to & more of this 
damned war. 
With love to you all 
Your affectionate father. 
Arthur S Blackburn 
Arthur S Blackburn

Lt Col A S Blackburn 
SX6962 2/3 MG Bn 
AIF Abroad 
27/10/41. 
  
My darling Wody, 
I have got three wonderful letters from you to 
which to reply - I think there are really four and I have mislaid one  
of them.  You really do write a most interesting letter and I got a 
tremendous thrill out of reading them. I did enjoy your  
lines from Wordsworth - surprised by joy - impatient as the Wind.  
I turned to share the transport. 
I have been thinking over them quite a lot. I think it is the slow, ever 
 increasing joys which one wants to share more. The joy that surprises,  
the sudden unexpected joy, is usually to me something which I want to  
keep to myself until I have fully flavoured it. I can however very  
fully appreciate your enjoyment of a chance line or stanza. To me 
part of the joy of reading is to come on some beautiful thought or  
expression & give one's self up to the joy of reading it or saying it  
over & over. I was tremendously pleased that you came top of the  
English exam. I never had the slightest doubt that you would,  
but still, you, I know were not so certain & so it is very very nice  
to have your determination succeed. You really do lead a busy  
life, my dear. Is there any school activity which does not engage your 
 time. The mere job of running your house & bringing it out on top both  
in sport & work mu as you are doing must be pretty colossal  
without debates, tennis matches, exams & everything else. And so you  
are an accomplished debater too! Perhaps after the war if we  
can't earn our living any other way we might try ourselves out  
as the Blackburn debating team! My dear Wody, there will be  
plenty of dances next year! Don't you go & get the idea that there  
won't be any as you suggest. The fact that your friends are all  
enlisting doesn't mean the end of your world - and very definitely  
mustn't mean that. They will be in Australia for some time yet &  
anyhow the war may be over before next winter in Australia. 
After all winter is Australia is summer in Europe & next summer 
in Europe may easily see the end of it all. I was very pleased 
to see that David Susman may - if he is disappointed in attaining his

2/ 
desire in the Air Force - try to get into this Bn. I will be looking out for  
him if he does & will be very glad to see him. How is the tennis going, 
 ‘Wody dear. You haven't told me expressly but I gather your are in  
the B team. Are you Captain of it & how is it going. You will be  
playing on our own court by now I hope & that will give you  
a lot more practice. I was interested to see by the way that you found  
Elliott Johnston a good debater. I am glad he is good at something 
 because personally I consider him a lowly hound whom I would at  
all times be very glad - not to know. However that is personal & perhaps  
unjustified. I am looking forward to the gloves. by all accounts they will 
be badly needed her soon soon. I didn't know you all had such 
a pash on Sam Cowan. He is a very nice chap I know. Actually at 
present he is not with the Bn as he has just gone down to the training  
Bn to do a six months tour of duty as second in command of it. What  
a thrill the match against Walford must have been. Isn't it wonderful  
when you suddenly find yourself quite unable to go wrong wrong at  
tennis. I have only had the experience once that I can remember  
but it really is amazing. I would very much like to know the  
reason for it but have never managed to think out a satisfactory  
one. I think I remember your friend Tinkabell from McLaren Vale. 
I was interested in your comments on your liking for country people. I 
 find it quite impossible to generalise as to country people or any other 
particular class. I think liking or not liking a person is the most  
inexplicable thing in life. Have you ever been able to say why in  
particular you like anyone? and as for dislikes - I always think  
that the reason we think we dislike someone is an excuse thought  
out afterwards in most cases & not a reason at all. The old lines,  
"I do not like thee, Dr. Fell, The reason why I cannot tell, But this 
 I know & know full well, I do not like thee Dr. Fell" have always been 
 very true to me. I was amused at your candid revelation of your 
feeling for Mary Hone. My Dear, a good old dislike is not an  
unhealthy thing. I am afraid I have never really been able to  
apply the old ethical idea, that we should never hate anybody. 
However, the sort of dislike which spends itself in being thoroughly  
nice & polite & trying to think out really nasty hurtful things to 
 say & do is thoroughly feminine I think - but oh how thoroughly 
 human! By the way, tell Mrs Angove from me it was like her  
cheek to say that your result of coming top of English was "nothing  
to write home about"! It was the result of hard, solid work 
 & a fixed determination & success after that is always worth  
writing about - & feeling proud of! My dear how on earth did

3/ 
you girls manage to make £305 at the Bazaar. I have never heard  
anything like it & still can't imagine how it was possible I can almost  
see you in the flower stall. I hope you didn't sell too many  
flower plants as vegetables or vice versa. it would really be awful  
for someone who had bought a carnation for her garden, for example,  
to see a prickly pear bush coming up instead or something like that. 
How lucky  you were with the weather. Can you imagine anything  
more utterly depressing than a bazaar in pouring rain? Your account  
of your "weird" behaviour in a tram amused me very much, You 
 know, dear, the most amusing thing about it is that we should all  
regard it as so extraordinary to laugh out loud, or do anything like  
that in public. We all do of course. We get into a tram or a train, &  
all sit decorously quiet & if someone suddenly burts out laughing we  
try to look very superior & shocked. But in reality why on earth  
should we. It really ought to be fare mor natural to laugh  
out loud than go on sitting there like a tailor's dummy. I too 
 enjoyed your passage from Beverley Nicholls "No place like Home"  
but it is a disappointing book I think. Your account of the lovely  
sunset made me more homesick than ever my dear. We get good 
sunsets here but they aren't like our wonderful ones in Adelaide. 
Please give Lidibo my love & tell her I am sorry she is ill. However 
I hope she will be quite all right soon. Wody darling set to work 
with the fixed determination & knowledge that you can beat  
Mary Hone at tennis whenever you like - as you can. She is 
beating you - on those occasions when she does beat you by 
sheer bluff or by getting you worried before you start. Don't let 
up her; if she gets temperamental, knock her right off the court 
& scoff at her temper - remind her it is more temper than 
mental - you hope! & get her so that she is thoroughly worried! 
Does that sound very horrible, dear? I have no compunction if 
it does. A good dislike is not a wrong thing & I would like to see 
you put Mary Hone in her place. To be quite frank I have 
always dislike her father & used to get inferiority complex 
with him until I let my dislike go right ahead - and now he has 
got inferiority complex with me! I am afraid this letter so far 
sounds very disjointed but I have just answered your letters 
as they came - that is the way I like answering letters

4/ 
I don't think I have ever described to you the extraordinary cradles  
which they use in this country. They are absolutely flat on top,  
where the baby lies & the baby is bound onto them with soft  
cloth in long strips which goes right around baby & cradle 
& all. The result is that the baby cannot possibly fall out & as 
the cradle is semi-circular every movement of the baby rocks the 
 cradle. I am such a bad drawer that I haven't the least idea 
how to draw a side view of the cradle but the end view  
is like this [[drawing?]]. That is to say it is the shape of a 
circular log of wood cut in halves, a long cylinder 
which is cut straight down the centre, a soft mattress is 
fastened to the flat top of it & then baby is put on the 
mattress & these extraordinary bindings are wrapped right 
round. It sounds terribly uncomfortable but it apparently 
isn't as the baby all seem to be very happy & contented in - 
or rather on - their cradles. The people here are nearly all 
very poor and their houses are very humble & simple according 
to our standards. However they seem extremely fond of their children  
& many of the youngsters are extremely attractive - even in spite  
of the fact that they look as though they could do with a  
good wash! Right through this country the universal name  
which the locals call us is "George". I don't know the origin  
of it or why it should be "George" but wherever one goes, you  
are greeted with "Hello George" "How are you George" or "Good day  
George". If for example a native wants to ask you for a ride 
in your vehicle, he comes up to you & says "Ride, George?". I have 
been trying to get at the origin of it. It seems to be the same as the way 
 the Scotchman is universally called "Jock". However nobody seems to be able  
to say how or when it started. We had another local storm today. 
It didn't start this time until long after daylight and it was most 
interesting to see it gradually working up. It started as a bank of black  
clouds which rapidly spread over the sky. Inside it, i,e, lower than  
the bank of black clouds there seemed to be a smaller bank of  
almost pure white cloud. Suddenly there was a gust of wind & a  
terrific flash of lightning. That was followed by one of the  
heaviest claps of thunder I have ever heard & then the rain  
started in sheets. It only rained for about an hour and a half

5/ 
but I am sure that there must have been several inches in that 
time. The hillside gave one the impression of being moving sheets  
of water.  All the time the wind was getting stronger & stronger & the  
thunder was almost incessant. After it stopped the wind cleared  
away the clouds & then gradually dropped and tonight it is  
quite clear & bright again. It is very beautiful to watch the  
change which is coming over the countryside. Green grass is springing  
up everywhere and all around here instead of the barren bare  
hillsides which were really so depressing, there is a tinge of  
beautiful soft color. Ploughing is now in full swing and it is really  
amazing to see the local people clambering down the face of what 
 looks like almost sheer cliffs to terraces cut out of the sides & leading  
their donkey or bullocks down to them to pull their ploughs along. 
The newly turned earth seems to alter the whole look of the place. 
What used to look like a stony waste is now becoming fresh & 
clean looking with the newly turned earth. There are so many rocks  
& stones & comparatively so little soil that the greatest care has to be  
taken to prevent the soil being washed away. This morning when it 
 rained the locals were out all over the hills diverting the streams  
of water away from their little patches of soils so that none of it  
would be washed away & making certain that all the waste  
water was strictly confined to water courses etc. It is a real  
object lesson in thrift to see the care which these people are  
compelled to take to preserve such little crops & soil as they possess.  
Well Wody darling there is no more news to tell you, I am afraid. 
Life over here grows more & more boring. I suppose it will be much  
better to live quietly in this village throughout the coming winter than it  
would be to be fighting again, but I am afraid I get very fed up  
with this sort of life over here when I could be leading the same  
sort of life over there with you all. However I suppose I mustn't  
complain. 
With much love to you all from 
Daddy 
Arthur S Blackburn