Author Archives: Geraldine Lee

From Longreach to the Western Front – Kenneth Selby Henderson

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  1914-15  England and France are in conflict against Germany and Austria in northern France and Belgium – the Western Front. The war is deadlocked. The Gallipoli campaign, conceived by Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill, is an attempt to break the deadlock by invading Turkey through the Dardanelles to reach Constantinople (Istanbul), establish a supply route to Russian troops fighting the Germans on the Eastern Front. 1915-1916  The Gallipoli campaign fails – poorly executed, the defensive capabilities and determination of … Continue reading

Captain Fred – Unmasked

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My last blog was about Captain Fred Rhodes, master mariner, WWI veteran, journalist and author.  I called him a man of mystery because I could find no photograph of him.  I didn’t look hard enough… To recap: after a stint as an infantryman in the A.I.F. (NAA 6858), Fred accepted a commission in the British Naval Reserve (Admiralty 340/115/35). He served on a destroyer for the remainder of WWI and was discharged with the rank of Captain, a title he retained … Continue reading

Captain Fred’s War

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One hundred years ago World War I was in its third year. Thousands of Australian soldiers were fighting for Britain against Germany and the Austro-Hungarian empire. Newspapers published reports from the frontline and lists of casualties that told of the horrors of war. Recruiting posters encouraged men to enlist, to keep hope alive in the trenches and at home. A soldier blinded by a shell burst wrote a poem calling to ‘the lads back home’ to join the fight:-   … Continue reading

Beware Junk Genealogy – Don’t Rely on Research of Others…Validate Sources!

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Lately I received an email questioning the validity of my family tree, based on a belief that a photograph of my paternal great-grandmother Ida Parker was in fact a photo of a woman named Mary, the emailer’s great-grandmother; the evidence for this assertion was having been told (as a child) that the photograph was great-grandmother Mary. Upon seeing the photograph in my family tree the emailer felt compelled to enlighten me.  And to claim a new branch of her family … Continue reading

Tracing Chinese Ancestors (cont’d from 16/1/2017)

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In 21st Century Australia, discrimination based on race, creed, gender or sexual preference, age or physical capability is prohibited by law. Most of us regard this as progress, as evidence of Australia’s commitment to basic human rights, an acknowledgement of the cultural benefits of tolerance and diversity. In colonial Australia, British assumptions about race – the inferiority of the Oriental, the inability of ‘whites’ to labour in the searing heat of the tropics – gave way to an economic imperative: populate or … Continue reading