Curio

State Library of New South Wales
'Dear May … from Rob'

'Dear May … from Rob'

sent ‘On Active Service’ from Palestine, 25 November 1917
Irish linen white shirt cuff with buttonholes at each edge
Bequest of Sir William Dixson, 1952
DR 89

At the time Rob posted this letter, Australian troops were deployed in the Middle East as part of a larger British campaign, which included the defence of the Suez Canal and occupation of the Sinai Peninsula. Following the Battle of Beersheba on 31 October 1917, famous for the mounted charge by the Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade, British forces stormed through Turkish defences to seize the strategic town of Beersheba and advance into Palestine.

Rob may have found this shirt cuff when he travelled through the cleared lines after the Beersheba battle. Rob had clearly made it into Palestine by 25 November, and had come upon a stash of German belongings which had been abandoned as the Germans and Turks retreated. Made of fine Irish linen with buttonholes for cufflinks visible on each side, the cuff would have been owned by an officer. It still remains crisp with starch.

Who is Rob?

To me, this is one of the really intriguing objects in the Library’s collection. If we just had his name, that would unlock so much of Rob’s story – we could tell where and when he enlisted, where he was posted and fought, what his profession was; we could start to piece together his story. But at the moment we simply don’t know who he is. Rob’s last name has been written in pencil on the reverse of the letter, I think in a different hand, perhaps by May or May’s mother. It looks like ‘R B Hedley’ but there’s no Robert Hedley who served in the Middle East at that time. I’ve searched the records using similar names, but still no luck so far.


State Library curator Elise Edmonds, 2012