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[Page 116]
May 1919
shore was unable to see round more of the town because I was due back on board at 2pm. I was also unable to go into the native quarters, there being guards posted on all the main thoroughfares into the suburbs to prevent us from going into them.
I would have liked to go into the suburbs, because I believe it to be the prettiest place of Colombo, also I should think it would be a better place to see native life than in the city.
Before I left for the ship, I purchased a couple of native ornaments for a Souvinir. We left Harbour at 7pm and ran straight into rough windy weather, with a voyage of from 10 to 14 days to Freemantle W.A.
The lights of Colombo had vanished from sight before I turned in.
On the 31st of the month we were well out in the Indian Ocean and out of sight of land. The sea is smooth.
August 1919
Transcriber's notes:
Bapume page 26 – is Bapaume which is about 25kms NE of Albert.
Bumboats page 112 – A bumboat is a small boat used to ferry supplies to ships moored away from the shore.
Cux-haven page 58 – is Cuxhaven, at the mouth of the River Elbe about 60kms NW of Hamburg.
De Lesseps page 102 – what Parsons writes about de Lesseps is largely correct except that he did not die in poverty.
Doiai page 30 – is Douai. It is about 50kms north of St Quentin and Reims is about 140kms south of Douai.
Heytesbury Village page 83 – is about 3 miles SE of Warminster in Wiltshire and about 1 ½ miles east of Sutton Veny.
Himmelfahrt page 4 – I think means ascension (travel to heaven), so it was possibly Ascension Day
Ilkestone page 69 – is about 10 miles south af Mansfield.
Luneburg page 26 – where Parsons is imprisoned, is about 45kms SE of Hamburg, Germany.
Mansfield page 69 – is about 20 miles SSE of Sheffield in England.
Munster page 28 – is in Germany about 30 kms from the Netherlands border and about 60 kms east of Arnhem in the Netherlands.
Paravenes pages 3 and 91 – is a Paravane which is a form of towed underwater glider.
Peronne page 26 – is about 25kms ESE of Albert.
Pleasley page 69 - is about 5 miles NNW of Mansfield in England and about 15 iles SSE of Sheffield.
Ripley page 60 – is about 12 miles SW of Mansfield.
St Quintin page 27 – is Saint-Quentin, about 30 kms ESE of Peronne.
Sedan page 43 – is on the France/Belgium border abot 120kms SE of Valenciennes and about 100kms NE of Reims.
Soltau page 19 – lies between Bremen, Hamburg and Hanover in the Lüneburg Heath on the river Böhme. Soltau Camp (Lager Soltau), was the largest German prisoner-of-war camp of the First World War.
Sossions page 24 – is Siossons about 100kms NE of Paris and about 25 kms WNW of Reims.
Sutton Veny page 70 – The Second World War saw the rebuilding of camps in Sutton Veny area though not on the scale of the First War.
Tourney page 40 – is Tournai, Belgium about 30 kms north of Valenviennes, France.
Valenciennes page 40 – if you travel NE from Amiens, you pass through Albert, Bapaume, Cambrai and then reach Valnciennes, about 120kms from Amiens. It is in France, close to the Belgian border.
Weymouth page 84 - is on the south coast of England about 50 miles due south of Warminster and about 60 miles west of Southampton.
[Transcribed by Miles Harvey for the State Library of New South Wales]