Harry Hawkins and Edith May Forshaw - 'All Australians Had Plenty of Money and Gold Teeth: a digger's diary: his daughter's memoirs', collated by Amy Auster and Arron Wood, 2002 - Page 73

[page 73]

Well now another year gone and now its 1949 and we still go to see Nanna Wood and she now has her sick sister living with her and we used to call her old Aunt Jess because they used to have their fathers sister who was Aunty Jessie (desiliation). It was not hard for us to slip over to Nanna Wood's from Campsie. Now Albert has left the pastry cook and is working at a car repair shop in Canterbury Road, his father got him that job as that is where he used to take the old Rugby. Now it is time for Betty to join the work force. Before she left school she won a typing examination for 100 words per minute, also from High School they sent home some papers to be signed and her father would not sign or fill them in so guess what she missed out on a Bursary which was a shame. Anyway she had several little jobs which she was only feeling her way around. She finally got into a Solicitors office in Martin Place. She used to also go to the Courts. She was at this office until and after she was married in the year 1957 and whilst she was here with me 5 weeks ago she typed out for me the first lot of writing I have done. 
John is now 13 and he is at Canterbury High and doing well. We are turning out work and also I do some cake making of a weekend to make more money. (£.S.D. as we used to call it). It was about now that old Aunt Jess was very ill and Nanna asked me would I come and sit with her some nights so as she (Nanna) could get some sleep, so this I did. Nanna used to ask me to do these little things for her as she krew I could handle it. Well I only went a few nights and the dear old soul died. Very early hours of the morning and I said "you better get the Doctor. I think Aunt Jess has gone". So doctor came and sure enough yes. "I will send a nurse to lay her out", well I helped the nurse and I never forgot how to do that. It was old Aunt Jess that gave us her furniture and wanted us to have her house in Auburn, but Ray would not have it, so she sold it and that's when she came to live with Nanna. We are still fitting dog gear in and Ray is still selling and we are making headway. 
We don't hear from Beryl very much but this letter came asking me to go and see this chap that had his arm broken down there as he was in some private hospital at Enfield. So this I did. I took some fruit and cigarettes as Beryl suggested. O.K. when he came out of hospital I invited him for a meal before he went back. Well the next thing we know they arrive home late one night from Delegate the two of them. We were all in bed, she said "I am going to make a cup of tea do you want one?, yes please". After having the tea they both came in and Ray was awake too and they asked if they could get engaged as I nursed Stan in Delegate or Bombala. I am not sure which, and we fell in love. I looked at Ray and he said "that's your pigeon" so I said "if I say no you will only wear the ring behind my back, so alright but you can not get married till you are 21 years of age". "That's alright" Beryl said. "thanks mum and dad". So he goes outside and comes back with the engagement ring. So I just had a few of her friends in for a very small evening and off they went back as she said she was asked to go back and join the staff. 

Margaret and Yvonne are at Campsie school and coming home one day Margaret jumped down the railway steps over the lines, the bridge walkway and dislocated her ankle and that darned ankle still plays up with her. Now Margaret and Yvonne have two new girlfriends and Yvonne does not see Jimmy any more. They are still in Earlwood. Now they have Kay and Rhonda Simmons, and Mrs Olga Simmons and I become