| Accession Number | AWM2017.208.1 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Private Record |
| Record type | Collection |
| Measurement | 1 wallet: 2 cm |
| Object type | Letter |
| Maker |
Hunter, Thomas Rampton |
| Date made | 1940-1944 |
| Access | Open |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copying Provisions | Copyright restrictions apply. Only personal, non-commercial, research and study use permitted. Permission of copyright holder required for any commercial use and/or reproduction. |
Hunter, Thomas Rampton (Warrant Officer, b.1924 - d.2001)
Description
Collection relating to the Second World War service of VX17049 Warrant Officer Class 2 Thomas Rampton Hunter, 2/1 Australian Army Topographical Survey Company, Middle East, 1940-1944.
The collection consists of 26 handwritten letters, spanning 1940 to 1942, written by Thomas Hunter to his mother and sister (Jean). The first letter is dated 1 July 1940, one month after his enlistment and whilst still at training camp. The final letter is dated 5 January 1942, while he is serving in the Middle East. Hunter’s letters primarily talk about the aesthetics of the landscape, the climate, and the culture; his letter on 22 October 1941 reads ‘You ask me about the learning of Arabic and although having been here for 8 or 9 months I only know about 12 words – just enough to tell them to shut up and go away. To learn it phonetically as a parrot would not be a great task but I can never make head or tail of the peculiar signs they make. I think the reading of Arabic reads from right to left. It looks like a combination of shorthand and Chinese writing. I still have my small French dictionary and I will see if I can progress more favourably on those lines as having been to Syria several times it may be a little more helpful in the future.’
The collection also includes a typed, five page letter from Hunter to the Editor of the Melbourne Argus, dated 11 September 1941. The letter describes in great detail a leave trip from Hunter’s camp in Palestine to Petra. Hunter suggests to the Editor that the content, titled ‘AIF on Leave’, may stimulate the travel interests of men who are eligible to join as reinforcements. Hunter’s letters reveal an obvious interest in travelling, and it’s poignant to note that two additional letters in the collection, on Department of External Territories letterhead, dated 1943 and 1944 respectively, cover Hunter’s application for post war employment in an administrative capacity on an island in the South West Pacific under Australian Administration.