RAAF Escape & Evasion map : Ruth Hunter, Canteen volunteer, 'The Hut', St Andrews Cathedral, Sydney

Airman's rectangular silk map, printed in black, with a legend in the lower left corner with a scale of miles, and the title 'North Eastern Area'. Depicts eastern New Guinea with large inserts showing New Ireland and New Britain. No maker's details evident.

Silk map given to Miss Ruth Hunter by a friendly Australian serviceman while she was working as a volunteer worker at the canteen established in the front section of St Andrew's Cathedral, George St Sydney in 1942.

Known as 'The Hut', it was run by the Church of England National Emergency Fund (CENEF) in the grounds of the cathedral. The canteen was one of a series of prefab huts built and maintained from February 1940 to August 1947, when they were demolished. According to the Register of War Memorials in New South Wales, '3.5 million meals and recreation facilities were provided for Officers and Men of the fighting forces and a mobile canteen made nightly visits to isolated anti-aircraft and searchlight units. Nine hundred members of the Sydney Diocesan Churchman's Association gave voluntary service in these activities.'

Miss Hunter recalls volunteering to work in the Hut one day a week after work. Aged about 18 at the time, she used to catch the tram to George Street, arrive around 6.00 pm in her volunteer uniform, and work until 10.00 pm before catching the tram home to Haberfield. The cathedral windows, she remembers, were boarded up at the time. She recalls it was 'quite a night out' with scores of men being fed and entertained on a typical night. Volunteer tasks varied - 'we could be waiting tables one week, cooking in the kitchen the next and on cleaning up duties the following week'. Ruth was given this silk map by a RAAF man who attended The Hut. She wore it for some time as a scarf before retiring it to a bottom drawer. Despite the gift, she jokes, 'I didn't marry a serviceman!'.