Passed By Censor

Letters From The War
by Major John W Calder (1918-1999)

In 1940, at the tender age of twenty two, John William Calder became an Officer in the 2/7th Field Regiment. He was amongst the first recruits and went into camp at Woodside before being sent with a convoy of Australian and New Zealand troops to the Middle East and North Africa. He was stationed at various times in Palestine, Libya, Syria, Egypt and Borneo and his regiment was significant in the battle zones of the Western Desert Campaign. From his very first week in camp, John's path through the war is charted by his copious letters back to loved ones back home in South Australia. Sometimes writing several times a week, he keeps track of his letters and their replies through a system of his invention called the Calder Patent Recorder of Information - Received and Despatched. An avid photographer also, he records his tours during leave and down-time through various wondrous sights as the Pyramids of Egypt, the Sea of Galilee, Jerusalem and Bethlehem, Jericho and the Dead Sea.

The letters themselves give the reader a wonderful insight into life in camp - the fascination with food, the games played, the films and dances they attended. Due to strict censorship regulations forbidding details on troops locations and movements, very little mention of battles are made and a casual onlooker may think their life consisted of one party and outing after another. But the long nights on guard duty, the hardships imposed by the conditions they faced and the sheer terror as they are called in to fight are not seen. The reader is only given hints as the young Officer relates who has been killed to those back home.

In Passed by Censor, John's love for his family and friends and interest in the world around him are clearly felt through his correspondence and we are fortunate to be able to get a glimpse, so many years later, into a fascinating part of Australian military and social history. A must-read for war historians and anyone who has been touched by the experience of war.

ISBN 978-0-9803365-8-0
Published by Catbird Media

1 copy: $20.00 (Plus P&H)

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