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The war news was bad. The Germans were racing through France and everything looked black … Baby Bronwyn was three days old when the Channel ports fell and Ken came into the ward and said he’d enlisted. ‘I just had to do it dear,’ he said. ‘I know you’ll understand.’
For six long years Eileen and Ken MacFarlane wrote to each other at least once — sometimes seven — times a week. In their letters they described their daily lives, but under their amusing descriptions lay a poignant, deep love and a longing to be reunited. A selection of these funny and frequently moving letters is reproduced here.
Eileen in her richly descriptive letters brings alive the Australian home front of the early 1940s. Soon after Ken left to join the 2/7th Australian General Hospital, Eileen, despite having a babe in arms and a toddler at foot and various elderly family members to care for, decided to set up a poultry farm.
Eileen's letters to Ken are rich with descriptions of building the chicken sheds with the help of local people, of recalcitrant chooks, family tantrums and of the deeds of her two delightful precocious daughters.
About the Author
Heather is a retired English teacher who lives with her husband on the South Coast of New South Wales. She enjoys the outdoors, bird watching, voluntary work at the local Botanic Gardens, and knitting sweaters for her grandson.
The war news was bad. The Germans were racing through France and everything looked black … Bronwyn was three days old when the Channel Ports fell and Ken came into the ward and said he’d enlisted. ‘I just had to do it dear,’ he said. ‘I know you’ll understand.’
Heather Haughton has pieced together the six years of letters that her parents Eileen and Ken MacFarlane exchanged while he was away at war. In their letters they described their daily lives, but under their amusing descriptions lay a poignant, deep love and a longing to be reunited. From the war fronts of Syria, Palestine and New Guinea to the difficulties of the home front (complete with recalcitrant chooks, and feisty toddlers), this is personal folio of letters is a privilege to share.
ISBN: 9781741109054
ISBN-10: 1741109051
Audience:
General
Format:
Paperback
Language:
English
Number Of Pages: 156
Published: 1st March 2010
Dimensions (cm): 20.8 x 16.7
x 2.3
Weight (kg): 0.582
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