Soldier Settlement was a federal, but state administered initiative which began during WWI. Land was purchased by government to provide small farms for returning servicemen, often on leasehold. One person who applied was my great-uncle Arthur Singleton, from Ulverstone. With the 12th Battalion he had taken part
Read more →The following story is about my great-uncle Arthur, who I never met and barely knew existed during my childhood. This was despite the fact that my father had been named in his honour. Arthur died when I was fifteen. He was buried in our local cemetery at
Read more →On February 19 1922 my great uncle, returned WWI veteran Arthur Singleton, was arrested. According to a later report by the Ulverstone police he was in a disturbed mental state. Like many men, he had never recovered from his war service. As one of the first Australians
Read more →MATES AT GALLIPOLI HAUNT A SHELL-SHOCKED ANZAC My great-uncle, Anzac veteran Arthur Singleton, was admitted to a Tasmanian mental asylum in 1926. He constantly spoke of being tormented by the voices of his dead mates on Gallipoli. After enlisting in the 12th Battalion at the outbreak of
Read more →Private Arthur Singleton (Service No. 301) was one of the first young Australians to volunteer in WWI. He was a farmer’s son, from South Road, Ulverstone. Aged 20, he joined the Tasmanian 12th Battalion, sailing off to Egypt aboard the troopship Geelong on October 20 1914. He
Read more →PRIVATE ARTHUR WILLIAM SINGLETON – SERVICE NUMBER 301 Aged 20, Tasmanian born Arthur Singleton enlisted in the 12th Battalion, one of the first raised in Australia. He was a farmer’s son, and had already served in the state’s volunteer military service for several years. Like many young
Read more →FLORAL MEMENTOES OF WAR The Gallipoli Rose (Cistus salvifolius) was the Australian War Memorial’s first commemorative plant. It grew on the bloody battlefields of Gallipoli. The sight of the flowers lifted the spirits of the Anzacs (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps), who brought home the seeds.
Read more →THE WATER DOCTOR’S DAUGHTERS 29/6/2012 – It occurs to me that I should give a brief explanation of how I came across the story of Dr James Loftus Marsden and his daughters. It”s a little convoluted, but bear wih me. For some time I have been researching
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