1940 EX LIBRIS "FIVE DAYS IN LONDON MAY, 1940"

Amazing what goes on when you are in the cot!

There I was just 1 month and fifteen days old, all comfy and being fussed over in my Cot, and on the other side of the World the British  Cabinet was meeting to discuss what should be done about the encircled British Expeditionary Force at Dunkirk, more than 300,000 men.

In this excellent Book of 236 pages, the Professor of History at Chestnut Hill College, Philadelphia at the time he wrote, John Lukacs explores the five days history of that War Cabinet Meeting.

It is an eye opener. He reveals how delicately the Cabinet was balanced between those who wanted to extract the BEF in order to be able to fight on, and those German sympathisers who wanted to come to terms with Hitler.Winston Churchill had been Prime Minister for 18 days when the crucial point of decision was reached during meeting commencing on 24th May, 1940 and concluding on 28th May, 1940 which just happened to be my Mother's 35th Birthday.

Churchill had himself briefly considered what might be the result of negotiations with "THAT MAN" - the loss of the Fleet, the Army , a puppet Government , possibly under Moseley, and decided it was intolerable and ultimately unthinkable. He believed that at best they might be able to rescue 50,000 of the BEF's men.

At 5.00pm he adjourned the War Cabinet and summoned a meeting of the full Cabinet of 29 and announced his intention that England should proceed to retrieve the BEF and fight on.No one demurred and at 7.00 pm he returned to the War Cabinet ( 5 persons) and told them what he had done. The "opposition"especially Lord Halifax was silent. The issue was resolved - the fight continued. As we now know, not 50,000 were saved but 338,626 were saved in the most extraordinary effort in defeat in the whole War. So extraordinary, saving the British Army and very many French soldiers as well, by the greatest muddling through ever, that it came to have the same morale boosting effect as many victories and has been remembered as a triumph.

Meanwhile, in far away Berala I slept on! And grew up to think it IMPOSSIBLE that we would do anything but WIN the War!

DUNKIRK -ABANDONED MILITARY EQUIPMENT

DUNKIRK - CHAOTIC BUT SUCCESSFUL EVACUATION

DUNKIRK - POSTAGE STAMPS - DEFEAT INTO TRIUMPH

This is an exceptional book, which will reward any reader and give them pause, to think what might have been. 

TAKING WING

The Royal Australia Air Force's Acrobatic team "The Roulettes"
were a great "opening act".They fly Swiss built Pilatus PC 9 Turbo props.

It was a remarkable day! 

   Retired in recent years, the Royal Australian Air Force's former workhorse transport the amazing Caribou.

About two hours drive South of Sydney, we had come to the "Wings Over The Illawarra" Air Show at St. Albans, along with the estimated 4,000 other people.It was a very professionally run and prepared Air Show  with huge numbers and variety of Aircraft, Military and civil, historic and ultra modern.

NAZI FW 190 Fighter

There were , we were told, approximately 4,000 people present and that was a grand tribute to the very smooth , professional organisation that characterised the event. The airport is large enough to handle the landing of a Boeing 747  Jumbo Jet which is one of its static exhibits. The atmosphere of the Air Show is one of a relaxed family affair and dozens of marquees house all man of stalls from souvenir vendors, to Armed Forces representatives and food and drink vendors.

The glamour girl of the event was sadly a "no show". The Constellation four engined airliner had been sent away for a re-paint, but, contrary to promises made to the owners, it was not returned on time for the Show.

So we had to make do with the dowager glamour girl which started civil aviation - the Douglas DC 3  also known during the War as the Dakota. These planes were incredibly numerous around the world and their robust construction, reliability and  versatility made them the very foundation of all civil aviation. In WW II they also became the universal workhorse for transport of men and supplies throughout the world from Europe to the jungles of the Pacific theatre.

The legendary DC 3. 

The PBY Catalina was built in prodigious numbers as served brilliant;ly in WW II as a patrol and anti-Submarine sea plane. The stories around them are many, but my favourite is of a particular Royal Australian Air Force Catalina whose aircrew found that they were all Catholics, so as the long hours of their patrols at low speed went by, they began to regularly say the Rosary as they plodded through the air looking for submarines below.

The port side of a Catalina taken from under its huge wing.Note the trailing end of the sea plane shape and also the wheels which enabled the plane to make its way out of the water and onto land ramps.

The business end of the Catalina's nose. If you enlarge the triangular window you can see the bullets in the Machine Gun feed belt for the gun above the window.

                                              Pilot's Seat in Canberra Bomber.

The two jet engined Canberra Bomber was also used by the United States Air Force as the B 57. The Canberras were superseded in the RAAF by the F 111 swing wing Bombers which represented a quantum leap in technology and performance and became the backbone of the RAAF for decades.

          Vampire Jet foreground and ORION Anti Submarine plane background.

The two aircraft in the above photo. are oddly paired. The Vampire jet , with it twin hulled fuselage was a product of the immediate post war period and nothing especially exciting. The ORION anti Submarine plane was a military version of the civilian Lockheed Electra  a particularly noisy passenger aircraft as I remember them.

                 U.S.NAVY Chance Vought CORSAIR famous for its gull wing.

The above photograph is disappointing for what we cannot see . The famous gull wing s are folded as they are when the planes are saving space on the Flight Deck and Hangar Deck of an Aircraft Carrier. A big plane the CORSAIRS were brilliantly successful in operation with the United States Navy and its large Aircraft Carriers .They were also a very good looking aircraft, in part because of their gull wings and in part because of their proportions.

In the photograph, to the left of the CORSAIR, we can see the Royal Australian Air Force's "Roulettes" Pilatus PC 9 Aircraft. and to the right and beyond the CORSAIR we see a variety of other aircraft on display.

                    The general scene - note the Neptune Anti Submarine Aircraft 

                                                             doing a sedate fly past

                                  The stunning beauty of the FA 18  Super Hornet.

The static beauty and apparent simplicity of the FA 18 Super Hornet entirely belies its incredible performance, electronics sophistication and weaponry. I was entirely awestruck by the planes demonstrated ability in performance at the Show - not only its absolute speed (which is published at 1,915 kmph.) Its Show appearance included among other things a low pass at sped then a near vertical climb ending in what I might describe as a "lean'' backwards and twist to head off in an entirely unexpected direction. Obviously very handy in air to air combat.

All things considered it was  an absolutely splendid day, in great company. And I have not even mentioned the frightening stunt flying by Paul Bennett in his specially designed tri-plane. It was awesome beyond belief even to the point of seeming foolhardy. I could go non forever, but I hope you begin to get the picture that I had a great day.

2012 EASTER IN MY LIFE

In my life of 72 years minus one day, Easter has always played an important , joyful and defining role.

Preparing for Procession to Altar of Repose

My earliest recollections of Easter stand on two bases, as I am sure , do the recollections of very many Sydneysiders - Church and Royal Easter Show. It would be in 1947, that I could place those earliest recollections of Easter.Holy Thursday was the 3rd of April, 1947 and I attended the Mass of the Last Supper on the morning of that day , and recall being captivated, as would always be the case, by the Procession of the Blessed Sacrament to the Altar of Repose and the singing of the beautiful "Pange Lingua"which I have loved ever since.

EVIDENTLY A MAJOR FEATURE OF THE 1947 EASTER SHOW
THIS LEFT NO IMPRESSION ON MY MEMORY

Following my return home, I went out with my  Dad, to the Royal Easter Show.I don't know why my Mum did not come. Maybe she did not have happy memories of the Show - for this was the first Royal Easter Show since the War - or maybe Mum & Dad could not afford it, but on balance, I think it was just that all the crowds did not attract her.

For me,the entry through the  West Gate of the old R.A.S. Showgrounds at Moore Park (now FOX Movie Studios etc.) after our train to Central and tram ride to the Showground, was like wonderland! At the particular gate we used, and continued to use for years later, after passing through the turnstile entrance booth , the ground sloped down gently, so that one had the sense of surveying the vast complex of Pavilions and rides from an ideal platform.Dad knew his way around the Showground which was all entirely new  to me. The whole theme of everything was that of progress after the late war, ended only two years before.

R.A.S. SHOWGROUND NSW GOVERNMENT PAVILLION BUILT 1938

 The two things that impressed me most were : a Spitfire fighter hanging from the roof supports of one of the two Pavillions on the East side of the Showground (they are still there one in red brick, the other cream painted. The other item, was a brand new air -conditioned Railway Carriage for the Newcastle Flyer.Oh! And of course Sample Bags as they were then mostly called, since then they have gradually become Show Bags, as their original purpose was largely lost and they became merely items for sale in their own right. But at that time, the payment made was nominal and the products were supplied often in specially packaged sizes to provide samples of companies'wares. I have always been interested in glassware and I recall one of the sauce manufacturers putting up a Sample Bag that had about 6 or7 miniature sized bottles of their various sauces - one was HP, one Worcestershire and obviously a Tomato Sauce etc. It proved a little difficult to get home safely. The Sample Bags were all made of tough paper at the time, which created further problems whenever it rained.

1947 SHOWBAGS

As I grew and the years passed, I took the Show for granted, but my interest in the Liturgies of Holy Week grew and grew, even though I was never exposed to their celebration in the fullest quality of say Cathedral celebration. 

Then came Marriage and three children and the Easter Show became something else, or perhaps what it had originally been : a source of wonder for our child, and then, our children. At the same time, little children have little patience for , nor of  course, comprehension of lengthy liturgical celebrations. Again , times change and we were able to experience the Easter Liturgies at Cathedral level in Brisbane - mostly a great source of devotion and growth.Here it was free of any Easter Show distractions.

ST.STEPHEN's CATHEDRAL BRISBANE

Times continue to evolve and now once again we live in Sydney and in a Parish in which the celebration of the Holy Week Liturgies is a "Curate's Egg"experience! And tomorrow, on my 72nd Birthday we shall travel by train to the Royal Easter Show at its newer Sydney Olympic Park venue and meet there our daughter Justine and husband Paul and three of our seven Grandchildren as they experience the Show as it now exists.

We have always to keep accommodating to change and enjoying the phenomenon which is the essence of life, while holding on to the truths and principles that never change.The fact and Celebration of the Resurrection is at the very heart of my Faith and Life. 

2011 "LIVE HISTORY " ON DRUITT

During the week I went into the City to visit the exhibition of my daughter Maz Dixon's Paintings at the GAFFA Gallery on Clarence Street. On my way back to Town Hall Station from that happy experience I was crestfallen when I saw that the historic PHOTIOS BROTHERS Store had closed - and obviously some time ago. It is a great shame that this bit of our commercial history could not have been preserved.Surely everything doesn't have to be shallow glitz and glamour!

Read below the story of our discovery of the PHOTIOS BROTHERS Store in 2011........and weep!

THE 1880's LIVE!

Rain and cold in Sydney town greeted us as we emerged from Town Hall underground Station, and, neath the protection of a vast freebie Commonwealth Bank Golf Umbrella looked for 66 Druitt Street, which runs East - West along the North side of the Town Hall down to Darling Harbour.

The trip had its origins in my efforts to help my wife, an accomplished dressmaker of children's clothing, to locate a supplier of what is called "ric rac braid"( this is braid in a wave like pattern as will be seen in the photos). She had a well-stocked supplier or two in Brisbane, but the North Shore of Sydney has not so readily given up its sources, despite keen searches from Hornsby to Gordon. I found a supplier in the City - relying on the trusty Google - Photios Bros of 66 Druitt Street , Sydney . What a GEM!

Now you see - "Ric Rac"Braid , and the card system - neat!

The trip had its origins in my efforts to help my wife, an accomplished dressmaker of children's clothing, to locate a supplier of what is called "ric rac braid"(this is braid in a wave like pattern as will be seen in the photos). She had a well-stocked supplier or two in Brisbane, but the North Shore of Sydney has not so readily given up its sources, despite keen searches from Hornsby to Gordon. I found a supplier in the City (relying on the trusty Google) Photios Bros of 66 Druitt Street , Sydney . What a GEM!

Whoa! Don't think I've suddenly gone mad for fabrics and the like! But the shop and its antique apparatus is a joy to behold. The large A4 size boards standing on edge at the bottom right hand corner of the first photo contain tiny samples of up to about 20 stock items with their reference numbers. Once the desired item is identified the reference number leads the staff to the appropriate stock box. These shallow boxes can be seen lining the walls and shelves by the hundred, and in addition on the upper level there are the reserve stocks.

AA blaze of colour from the Feather Boas

Boxes and boxes and boxes!

The only concession to modernity - other than electric light and buzzer ( ok and an aluminium ladder!) that I noticed, was the EFTPOS  machine carefully kept out of sight. This store is truly worthy of Heritage Listing as it operates. It brought back many memories of the type of business and business systems, that were flourishing in this part of Sydney (from Kent to York Streets and from Druitt North to King Street, when I was a schoolboy - much of what was still in operation in the late 1940's and early Fifties was not all that different it seems, from what had carried Aussie  commerce through World War I. Different to-day!  Business systems and equipment seem to have a life cycle of about 6 years if they are lucky - often half that time!

Costume Jewellery - your lady could look like Liz Taylor used to  - and for a fraction of the cost!

These are natural feathers - stunningly beautiful - and ( to me at least) surprisingly inexpensive!

Anyway, Photios Bros. is well worth a look, and who knows you might choose to buy some exotic bird feathers for your hat or whatever, some stage jewellery, some chandelier crystal drops, some braid, a feather boa, the sky's the limit - or rather the ancient pressed metal ceiling's the limit - these good folk deserve to be encouraged!

  For another view of the subject, and of these photos ,which I took with my HTC Wildfire S Phone, I am sure you will find my wife will do her usual brilliant posting over at:http://hotfudge8.blogspot.com/

1968....."........................AND ABOUT 23 MILLION BLACKS"

SOUTH AFRICAN NAVY FLEET OILER AND SUPPLY SHIP PROTEA BROADLY SIMILAR TO SAS TAFELBERG

Between October and November, 1968 two South African Navy frigates and the Fleet Auxiliary TAFELBERG paid a courtesy visit to several Australian cities. The squadron was in Sydney from 2nd to the 8th of November and the vessels were berthed at Garden Island with the TAFELBERG alongside the Northern most wharf.

As a member of the Executive of the Junior Australian- American Association I, along with a number of my colleagues, was on the Royal Australian Navy's hospitality invite list. So it happened that a group of us , among many others was invited to a Cocktail Reception aboard the TAFELBURG.

There was at the time the beginning of a thaw in South African - Australia relations which had been severely strained over the Apartheid issue.So there was a little anxiety on our part as to how the evening would go. It was to prove very revealing,

We had a very fine view up the Harbour to the Harbour Bridge. The hospitality was generous and the immaculately turned out officers were doing their best to be good hosts and succeeding well,despite a perceived awkwardness on both sides. Making small talk whilst sipping a drink and looking toward the Bridge backed by the declining Sun, I asked the young officer I was chatting with : "How many people are there in South Africa?" He promptly answered "" About 3.5 millions" and lapsed into a silence which lasted so long I expected to hear no more. Then after at least 30 seconds he said : "And about 23 Million Blacks."

I had lost any desire/curiosity to hear more, and could hardly wait until I could decently excuse myself and be gone. What got to me was that the fact that the appropriate answer of "26.5 Millions"did not occur to him. The 23Million Blacks were nothing but an afterthought, they didn't count.

I doubt anyone was more surprised than me when South Africa made a relatively peaceful transition to full democracy in 1994.

"HORSES FOR COURSES" EVEN APART FROM RACING !

BERNBOROUGH

When I was a child the great horse BERNBOROUGH was the darling of the Newspapers and the Newsreel Cameras. Out of 37 Starts the great horse had 26 Wins 2 Seconds and one Third. At one stage he had 15 consecutive wins carrying heavy weights and finished that streak carrying 10Stone 5 Pounds in the long Doomben 10,000. 

Not many horses have that sort of stamina. So we have the phrase "Horses for Courses" - some horses can perform better on certain racecourses than others.

"Hello!" You are thinking to yourself is Tony a secret racehorse fanatic? NO! This is just a diversionary way of introducing some information about......steam locomotives!

Most people looking at a steam locomotive will not think twice about any of its features. But to the initiated a great deal can be told about it's designer's and owner's intentions for it by even a brief glance. The main giveaway is the size of the larger wheels - the DRIVING WHEELS as they are called. If they are small, the main purpose of the locomotive is strength - it will usually be a Goods / Freight locomotive. If the wheels are very large , it's main purpose is speed - it will always be a passenger train locomotive.

NSWGR 36 Class Passenger Locomotive 4-6-0 5 Feet 9 Inches Driving Wheels

NSWGR 57 CLASS 4-8-2 Goods Locomotive of 1927 5 Feet Driving Wheels

But the "Horses for Courses" principle has still more far-reaching influence on the design of a steam locomotive.At  the most basic level, the "loading gauge" must be considered. This is the maximum height and width that the locomotive must conform to so that it will fit into tunnels, under signal frames and bridges and be able to pass trains on adjoining tracks without contact and also pass through Station platforms without contact. These last two requirements are not simple  because curves of varying intensity will cause the locomotive to protrude at a tangent to the curve as it goes around it. In fact when first brought into service (in the days before computers) the 57 Class was found to be unable to pass through some stations until the platforms were shaved back. Even beyond these basic measurements, comes the matter of weight, both absolute and distributed along the length of the locomotive. Absolute : the bridges and viaducts to be traversed must be able to support the dense weight of the locomotive.; distributed : the weight will be heaviest on the axles of the Driving Wheels - this is important to ensure the maximum adhesion of the wheels to the track, but still it must not be too great for those same bridges and viaducts.

Having got that basic requirement right, there is the question of  turning the locomotive at the end of its planned runs. In Australia especially most lines end in rural areas, in a dead-end. The locomotive needs to be turned on a turntable for its return trip. The size of that turntable will govern the size of the locomotive that can be employed. That is the size of the locomotive complete with its coal and water carrying tender.  Turntables in NSW were fairly commonly 50 Feet in diameter in major facilities they were even larger, but if the locomotive was to serve widely it must conform to the lowest diameter. Sometimes when there were problems, smaller 6 Wheel tenders were used to shorten overall length.

So that covers the basic concerns that must be addressed. But more is demanded: the routes the locomotive is expected to cover and the gradients which will be encountered must be carefully studied in order to determine the steam generation that will be required. Regular heavy climbing up stiff gradients will require large amounts of steam to be generated. This in turn will govern the size of the boiler and the firebox , and it will also determine the amount of water and coal that the tender must carry having regard to the water replenishment opportunities along those route. The size of the boiler will also need to take into account the desired size of the Driving Wheels and the loading gauge once again. 

                                          "FLYING SCOTSMAN"  4-6-2 in Australia

                                                        NSWGR 38 Class 4-6-2

Here we see the "horses for courses" factor fully at work. The famous locomotive "Flying Scotsman" was designed by Sir Nigel Gresley specifically to haul the "Flying Scotsman" express between Kings Cross Station London 392 miles to Edinburgh Scotland   . It did this at sustained high speed and was able to draw water from pans set between the tracks without stopping.It was the most famous train in the pre-War Empire. YET  when the "Flying Scotsman" locomotive made a prolonged visit to Australia some years back and double-headed with 3801 over the Blue Mountains, it quickly became apparent that it did not have the steaming capacity for the prolonged strenuous climbing required . The result has been described as 3801 pulling "Flying Scotsman" and their train over the tough route.  

So when one looks at a steam locomotive one is seeing the complex solution to a wide variety of problems and challenges. Designing a steam locomotive is an  art  underpinned by much science.                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

2011 EX LIBRIS "A HISTORY OF PRIVATE LIFE"

I love Roman portraits of this style . They usually seem to be young couples -
perhaps  it was "chic"to have one done. 

This is certainly a handsome book, a 670 page larger format softcover, published by Harvard's Belknap Press in 1992. But like the Church of England Curate's egg it is "good in parts".  It is made up of a series of chapters by different authors and at times their writings are somewhat contradictory, and at other times disclose a degree of anti-Christian prejudice. But those parts are minor and , for the most part it is an interesting and rewarding read.

I wanted to bring to your notice a really interesting piece from the book, which for the life of me I can't find at present, despite three careful skimmings ! I am sure you have had the experience - you KNOW roughly where it is in the book, you KNOW it is on the left hand page starting in the lower half etc., but the more you look, the more the text seems to conceal itself. So, I am simply asking you to let me tell you.

 The author is dealing with aspects of law in the period of late Antiquity, recounting some surprising oddities. The example is given of a law that provided the death penalty for anyone who, coming upon a man spreadeagled and staked to the ground at his feet and ankles at a cross-road, attempted to cut him loose. Weird, we might think - what was going on?

Further research showed that the penalty for rape at the time was to be thus spreadeagled at the crossroad and left there to die!! Obviously family or tribal sympathies - if not Charity - might have tempted someone to remove the wretched fellow from his agony. But the death penalty was a strong deterrent! The good old days.

The motive may not have been "women's rights"- rightsspeak lay many hundreds of years in the future, but concern for family honour worked in this time to protect women from harm as far as practicable. The same result is sought to-day but dressed up in different verbiage.