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Young Digger
Chapter Notes
Read these Chapter Notes with the References
Young Digger with Tim Tovell in France on the way home [Courtesy Sally Elliot]
Chapter 1. Orphan Boy
Disembarkation pass. Ellison page 15.
Miniature uniform. Ellison page 10. See AWM photograph P867/01.
Boat roll. While Henri’s presence was known on the Kaisar-i-Hind, nowhere does his name appear among four thick files of military papers relating to the voyage. On board were 174 officers, 1393 other ranks, fifty-seven civilians (including 10 children) and 321 crew: 1945 souls altogether (plus Henri). Lt Col Watt's diary in Papers of HMT Kaisar-i-Hind.
Kaisar-i-Hind. The name apparently means ‘Lioness of India’, a title adopted by Queen Victoria.
AFC. The military passengers included Nos 2, 3 and 4 Squadrons and Nos 5, 6, 7 and 8 Training Squadrons, Papers of HMT Kaiser-i-Hind. No. 1 Squadron sailed from Egypt in March 1919, Cutlack page 385.
Immigration officer. Ellison page 15 calls him the ‘disembarkation officer’. I assume he was an on-shore civilian official, see Hunt’s telegram to the Collector of Customs National Archives of Australia (NAA) Chapter 16. A shipboard military officer would have known about Digger.
Ellis’s help. Ellison page 15. The diversion is imagined. Tim says merely that, as Major Ellis was explaining about Henri, ‘we do a get’.
Captain Palmer. Ellison pages 13-14.
Premier Ryan & family. Ellison page 15.
Perth. Ellison page 15 says Tim and Henri went to Perth to buy clothes.
Chapter 2. Christmas Day
 Bickendorf. Description of Christmas dinner is based on Richards page 42, Ellison, and No. 4 Squadron’s AIF war diary. For decorations see AWM photograph P0826/291/227.
No. 4 Squadron. No. 4 Squadron is used in the narrative voice, and interchangeably with 4th Squadron in conversational form, as was usual at the time. 4 Squadron is modern usage.
Imshie & Henri’s reply. Ellison page 4.
Menu, toasts & music. In No. 4 Squadron AIF war diary.
Ellis & Jones. Ellison page 4 and Bazley (1967). Jones and Tim are not in the photograph. Jones was born 22 November 1896; Ellis on 14 October 1894.
Site of Bickendorf airfield, 2000
No. 43 Squadron. A key assumption. Richards page 71 and Bazley (1967) say Henri was with No. 43 Squadron. Nos 79 and 48 Squadrons were together at Sainte Marie Cappel in October 1918, later at Rekkem and Nivelles (Halley). The only time No. 43 Squadron shared an aerodrome with either of them was at Bickendorf. I assume Henri went to No. 43 Squadron there, but it may be corrected. Interestingly, No. 206 Squadron, one of the seven RAF units at Bickendorf, was also at Sainte Marie Cappel in April and October 1918, but is not mentioned in any account of Henri.
Honoré. I believe this to have been the orphan’s true name. He signed a photograph and postcard from Cologne ‘Heememe Honoré’, and ‘Hememe Honoré’ with surname first. There is a photograph among the H. H. Tovell Papers signed ‘Honoré Heememe’. The Toowoomba Chronicle 21 June 1919 gives his name as ‘Hemene Honori’. No such surnames – including ‘Heremene’ (on Digger's grave) or ‘Hermene’ (inquest) appear in 2001 regional telephone directories. There are many families called ‘Herman’ or ‘Hermann’, see Author’s Note in the book Young Digger and also note Chapter 17.
Refugees. See AWM photographH08572 for French refugee children with soldiers.
Young Digger. Nickname in the Argus 25 May 1928.
Photograph. A keyed photograph is in the AIF war diary where the boy’s name is given as ‘A/Cpl Honoré (mascot)’, and also captioned in AWM photograph P02658.004. Ted is in the back row, fifth from the left.
The Aussies will do me. Tovell’s postcard in H.H. Tovell Papers, see Chapter 12.
Officers’ Christmas party. Richards page 42.
Lieutenant Johnson. Also close to Henri, see skating reference Chapter 6.
Sleeping quarters. Ellison page 4 says Henri slept in Tim’s hut on Christmas Night. Bazley says he returned to RAF squadrons, reappearing in the Australian lines next morning.
Duty officer. A literary device to give some necessary background.
Joe. Photograph of Henri captioned ‘Joe’ is in Richards facing page 36, also National Archives of Australia Papers.
Napoleon & Tricolour. Ellison page 4.
Chapter 3. Bickendorf
Wounds. Ellison page 6, Richards page 71. The artillery officer is nowhere named, see note Chapter 9. Henri in Appendix I says he was in hospital for a few days, Ellison and Richards say two months.
Tim’s gassing. Family recollection. Mentioned 1953 in Tim’s files with Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA).
Jam tin. The Age.
Stone throwing. Ellison page 4.
Maman. Ellison page 7, also Bazley (including Cumbrae-Stewart), and see Appendix I.
Rifle. Ellison page 5.
Rat-catcher. Ellison page 5, and AWM photograph P0826/291/151.
Dog. Ellison pages 5-6. ‘Roy’ is invented.
Chapter 4. Tim
 Royal visits. Richards page 43, and page 41 for the 11th Wing squadrons and their planes at Bickendorf. They were: Nos 4 (Snipes), 29 (SE5s), 43 (Snipes), 48 (Bristol Fighters), 70 (Camels), 79 (Dolphins), 149 (FEs), 206 (DH9s).
Uniform. Ellison page 6 and the visit to the tailor. Jones bought the boots: Ellison says in England, but Jones G page 25 says the sheepskin was made up in Cologne.
Snipes. Cutlack pages 397-420 for aeroplanes in WWI.
Prince Edward. ‘Just Like one of us!’ Tim writing on postcard in H.H. Tovell Papers.
Cap. Ellison page 6.
Figures in garden. Henri’s statement Appendix I in Young Digger.
Duke of Clarence. Author interviews with Nancy Elliot and Edith Lock. No record of the incident survives in the Royal Archives.
Tim’s history. Elliot and Lock interviews. The work book and photographs are in the family collection. Tim's service papers are online at the National Archives of Australia.
1912 voyage to Australia. Diary and autograph album in family collection.
Lille. Bazley. Ellison page 6 says Henri was found by the British at Lens; but Lille appears in most other accounts.
The hotel Tim built at Jandowae, painted pink 2000
Chapter 5. The Mascot
Foundation Day. Richards page 44, AWM photograph P0826/291/145, No. 4 Squadron AIF war diary. Squadron formation. Richards page 7.
Lille raid. Richards page 26, Cutlack pages 346-348, Newton page 27.
Activities at Bickendorf. Richards page 44. Visits to Cologne, fraternisation prohibited, restrictions on buying food, Orders 4 January 1919. No 4. Squadron AIF war diary.
Foundation Day Dinner. AWM photographH13878.
Henri’s age. Ellison page 7.
Skies above Bickendorf. Richards pages 42-43.
Joy ride. Imagined. The Age says Henri was taken on two secret flights. The two-seater LVG used to fly visitors, mentioned by Jones G page 25 (and ms), is a reasonable guess. Second flight Chapter 7 is imagined. From January No. 4 Squadron also had a two-seater German Rumpler machine for intelligence work, AIF war diary.
Parachutes. Cutlack page 376.
One more in the family... Daily Mail 26 May 1928 Appendix II for direct quote; also Ellison page 6 for variation, ‘… one extra in the family wouldn’t make that much difference.’
Chapter 6. Home Thoughts
Snow. AWM photograph P0826/291/154 and 180.
Wheedling food for Germans. Ellison page 5.
Influenza. Richards pages 44, 69. Tim’s pleurisy. WWI Personnel Records, National Archives of Australia.
Fire. Richards pages 44-45.
Car wrecked by shell. Brisbane Daily Mail Appendix II, Bazely (Cumbrae-Stewart). ‘Uncle’. Account possibly by Major Coleman, National Archives of Australia Papers. See also Henri’s statement Appendix I.
Skating. Richards page 44, AWM photograph P0826/291/235.
Postcard. Family collection. See note Chapter 2 on Honoré.
School. Ellison page 7, author visit to Sainte Marie Cappel, November 2000.
Jandowae. Tim’s diary, work book, poems, photographs of hotel, house, buggy, family, Tim and Ted in uniform, family collection. Elliot interview. Mulholland’s is now the Club Hotel, see photograph above,
Enlistment. WWI Personnel Records for Tim and Ted Tovell.
Family. Elliot and Lock interviews.
Cologne cathedral, 2000
Chapter 7. Packing Up
Orders. Richards page 45, AIF war diary.
Jones’s nightmares. Jones G page 24.
150 enemy planes. Cutlack page 385.
Losses. Richards pages 69-70.
Taplin. Richards pages 29, 23.
Death of Red Baron. Cutlack pages 249-252, Air Council history page 299 for British version. Goering, of course, became one of Hitler’s inner circle, commander of the air force, head of the Gestapo, and director of the German economy during the Second World War. Committed suicide 1946.
Silhouette. Postcard in family collection.
Joy ride. Imagined. See note Chapter 5.
Tovell’s authority. Ellison page 5, full text in Bazley.
The Dinkum Oil. Ellison page 5. It hung in Tim’s workshop for years.
Final parade. Richards page 45.
Chapter 8. Flanders Fields
Return journey. Details in Richards pages 45-47, AIF war diary and Lt J Ellison’s monthly reports as Equipment Officer. Visit by author November 2000. Farewell from Bickendorf. AWM photographs P0826/291/086, 088, and 091 for the Kaiser’s statue.
Perth teashop. The incident is imagined.
Planned trip to Paris & breakdown. Jones G page 25, AWM photograph P0826/291/107 of Crossley.
Wrong way to tickle Marie. Nettleingham page 23, with variations on various internet sites. Nettleingham, an RFC officer, also has a ruder version (It took a long time to get it hairy/Twas a long time to grow, referring to the airmen’s moustaches).
Namur. Richards pp 38-39 and AWM photograph P0826/291/261; Eupen, AWM P0826/291/259; Liège, P0826/291/260; Mons, P0826/291/129.
Nivelles etc. Aerodromes used by RAF Squadrons, Halley.
Mons. Sunday stopover, Richards page 47 and AIF war diary. The barber is in Bazley (Tovell’s 1928 narrative). Angels story in Mons War Museum brochure and other accounts, e.g. Robert Graves.
Saint-Symphorien. The scene is imagined, serving as literary catharsis. Henri’s flashbacks were real, however, see Ellison; and the cemetery is as lovely as described. The two Allied soldiers killed on 11 November 1918 and buried at Saint-Symphorien were Private George Price of the Canadian Infantry, and Trooper George Ellison of the 5th (Royal Irish) Lancers.
Chapter 9. Henri
The restaurant. The meal is wholly imagined, to draw together the differing versions of Henri’s story. The account, possibly by Major Coleman, in the NAA Papers, has a tantalising but inconclusive paragraph:
… an interesting occurrence is the fact that on the way to the embarking place in France an Imperial SM [Sgt Major] recognised the boy and practically confirmed all reports about his origin and career prior to being attached to the Australians. He also gave 2nd AM Tovell the name of the battery which picked the lad up after his parents were killed and his home destroyed, but this document has subsequently been lost.
No other account mentions this incident. Tovell’s family does not recall the document, but it strengthens my reliance on his version. A letter from Tim to Coleman on 21 June 1923 offers to send details of Henri’s history, National Archives of Australia (NAA) Papers.
The convent orphanage at Ste Marie Cappel, 2000
 Brewery. Account in NAA Papers, Bazely (Cumbrae-Stewart).
Seclin. The Argus, 25 May 1928.
French battery. The Age, 24 June 1919.
Car. See note Chapter 6.
Poperinghe. Based on author visits to Ypres, Poperinghe, In Flanders Fields Museum, Talbot House, November 2000.
Hospital & artillery officer. Ellison page 6.
Balloon unit. Bazley, see note above.
Balloons. See Cutlack pages 284-285, Jones H, volume IV pages 150-151.
Sainte Marie Cappel. Bazley. Nuns. Ellison page 7, author visit November 2000. Aerodrome near the village, see Halley.
Chinese Labour Company. Ellison page 7, also Army Service Corps. See reference Controller of Labour BEF.
Sims, Palliser. Jones G page 23.
RAF Squadrons. Moves, Halley. Henri. Bazley papers. The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service merged to become the Royal Air Force (RAF) in April 1918, the world’s first separate air defence service.
No. 43 Squadron. Assumed. See note Chapter 2.
Chapter 10. Padre Gault
Lille enquiries. Bazley, Henri’s statement Appendix I. Roads. Lt Ellison’s reports in AIF war diary.
Accident. Richards page 47. Tim’s back injury, Elliot interview and his DVA file. I assume it happened here.
Béthune. See AWM photograph H13588.
Tim’s adventure. Elliot interview. Similar story Richards pages 34-35. The Tovells joined No. 4 Squadron as riggers on 19 October 1918, Ted posted to A Flight, Tim to B Flight, AIF war diary.
Rouelles. Author visit November 2000. Base photographs AWM H01076, H01078, H01111.
Padre Gault & stunts. Gault pages 50, 60, 74-75 for Watch Your Socks! and description of AIF Base. See AWM photograph H15641. Gault’s obituary in the Argus 2, 4 February 1938.
Henri’s health certificate. Text in Bazley (1967).
Gault & Tovell. Ellison pages 7-8.
Chapter 11. A Sack of Oats
The oat sack. Ellison page 8, including the wooden box and jam tins. See also the Brisbane Daily Mail Appendix II. The Age says a sugar bag was used, the Argus May 1928 a bag of official records, and Richards a kitbag. The Hurdcott photographs clearly show the bag marked OATS 100 lbs. Reconstructing the operation, it is clear how important both brothers were.
Napoleon. I assume the flag and statue were left behind. The family does not remember them.
Gault’s card, Major Ellis. Bazley (1967 and Cumbrae-Stewart).
Smuggling. Ellison pages 8-9, and Bazley. Some accounts say Tim left his kitbag behind, but surely not! I assume Ted brought it.
Le Havre harbour. See photo AWM H11820.
The hold. The accounts are unclear: ‘hold’ is the word used, but they don’t usually have seats. I have made it a locker room ‘like a small hold’.
Departure. Richards page 47. Timings. Bazley (Tovell 1928), Ellison.
Tim’s dark dream. Elliot interview, put here for dramatic purposes. Ellison page 6 states Tovell heard of Timmy’s death at Hurdcott.
Jam tin. Ellison p 9.
Orange and bread roll. Ellison and Bazley.
Rivulet of pee. Lock interview.
Timings & Henri’s reappearance. AIF war diary, Bazley (Tovell 1928), Ellison page 9.
Chapter 12. Hurdcott
‘The wonderful smile’. Bazley (Cumbrae-Stewart).
Massage. Ellison page 9.
Verdun. See Appendix II.
Fovant. Author visit 2000. See publications by the Fovant Badges Society. AWM photographs of Hurdcott sports, H00304, H00307, H00308. Quartermaster’s store. AWM photo D00300.
Photographs. They are AWM H13589, H13591, A03056. Some captions say they were taken in France, but the buildings and grounds are identical with known Hurdcott photographs – see Henri boxing and in his ‘British Warm’ (under Uniform below). Others suggest they were taken as the squadron left Hurdcott, but this cannot be correct, see Chapter 14.
Squadron fund. Tim’s notebook in the family collection.
Timmy’s death. Based on Elliot and Lock interviews; the Courier weather report 31 January 1919, and funeral Toowoomba Chronicle 5 February; author visit to Jandowae and Jimbour July 2000; interview with David Russell QC, whose family has owned Jimbour House since 1924. The buggy trip is clear in the family memory, but the details have been imagined. For more info see the Background article Writing Young Digger
Who plucked this flower? The words appear in varying forms on epitaphs and in newspaper death notices. See Stevenson ‘Home Book of Quotations’. Origin unknown, possibly inspired by the Resurrection scene in John 20 v 15-16.
Tim’s verse. Tovell wrote the following verse in his notebook:
 The Masters Message
Lift up thine eyes, My Son.
Pausing awhile
Rest thou on Me.
Thy way to see.
Stretch forth thy hand, My Son,
That way to know
And calmly stand
Till I command
I am the Orphans Friend
Presence Divine
Still at thy side
Whate’er betide.
Nancy beside Timmy's grave
Visit to Princes Risborough. Both Nancy Elliot and Edith Lock recall Tim saying he visited his family living at Princes Risborough during this time in England.
Horseferry Road YMCA. See AWM photographs H01300 ff, and the Aldwych H01255.
Uniform. Ellison page 10. See AWM photograph P867/01, and A03678 for Digger in his ‘British Warm’.
Postcard. Found in papers of H. H. Tovell. I thank the AWM conservators who carefully removed the newspaper clipping pasted over the handwritten message.
Queen Marie. Bazley (Cumbrae-Stewart), Ellison page 10, Appendix II.
Acting Corporal. Keyed photograph in No. 4 Squadron AIF war diary see note Chapter 2, the Age (which called him a lance-corporal).
Chapter 13. The Dinkum Oil
Johnson. WWI Personnel Records, and No. 4 Squadron AIF war diary.
Henri’s behaviour. Ellison page 9.
Two-up school. Ellison pages 10-11, the Age, The Australian Encyclopedia for description of game.
The Dinkum Oil. Ellison page 11. Henri deprived of his stripe, the Age.
Toys. Ellison pages 11-12.
Salisbury & walk home. Ellison page 12. Author visit 2000.
Boxing. Photograph of Henri & Ted at AWM (Ric Elliot collection).
Anzac Day March. Richards page 48 and photograph AWM H16106. Photographs AWM P867/01 of Tim, Ted, Henri on Anzac Day (note Tim’s weight loss), and Henri singly in AWM (Ric Elliot collection). Note also Henri’s swagger stick and service ribbon.
Cobby’s stunt. Cobby pages 102-103.
Chapter 14. Sporting Goods
Leaving Hurdcott. Major Ellis’s final report in AIF war diary.
Ellis’s proposal. Ellison page 12.
Wagers & terms. The Argus 25 May 1928 says Ellis placed a £25 bet with the ‘transport officer’ – assumed to be Lt Ellison, responsible for transport. I have added Jones, Ellison page 13. Again, reconstructing the operation, it is clear how important the officers’ compliance was for its success.
Basket. Ellison page 12, also the Daily Mail. Bazley (1967) mentions the pierrot outfits. Pierrot photograph see AWM P01939.001.
Nos 2 and 3 Squadrons. See AIF war diaries AWM 4. Also Papers of the voyage of HMT Kaisar-i-Hind and Lt Col Watt’s diary.
Jones. Ellison page 13 and Bazley both say Jones tossed down his cabin number on a piece of paper. The bag and key are imagined. Jones G is very circumspect in his autobiography page 25, ‘We took Henri back to England with us, and managed to smuggle him aboard a troopship bound for Australia …’ Bazley says Tim carried the basket to Jones’s cabin. Ellison page 13 says Tim went down to Jones’s cabin later, which seems more likely. The Daily Mail Appendix II is somewhat different again.
Kitbag hide. Imagined. Ellison page 13 says only that Henri was ‘safely planted’ as the ship left the dock.
Departure. See Ellis’s final report in AIF war diary, Watt’s diary.
Chapter 15. The Kaisar-i-Hind
Voyage. All details of events, weather, food, sports, mess-deck competitions, Mr Sparkes’ report, ‘dry ship’ policy, are from Papers of HMT Kaisar-i-Hind, Watt’s diary, and Ellis’s final report AIF war diary. Ship photograph AWM P01147.001.
Henri’s bottle and photo money. Ellison page 14, amounts in Tim’s notebook, see Chapter 12. Bottle money appears from 7 May.
Elgood. Watt’s diary, Ellis’s final AIF war diary entry, Papers of HMT Kaisar-i–Hind.
Discovery. It is a little uncertain when Captain Palmer discovered Henri. Bazley says Port Said, 16-17 May (Cumbrae-Stewart and Tovell 1928), and money from ‘photos’ appears in Tim’s notebook from 20 May. I have adopted this. Ellison does not give the date, but says Henri gained acceptance at Port Said page 14. Henri suggests he was found the day after sailing Appendix I, and the Age says Colombo.
Captain Palmer. Ellison pages 13-14. The Argus 25 May 1928, and Henri Appendix I say Watt (and Premier Ryan) helped. Ellis’s presence may be inferred from Ellison. See also Appendix II.
Tom Ryan. Murphy pages 404-426. See Appendix II, and the Age for Henri and Ryan ‘engaged in animated conversation.’ Ellison page 15 says Henri didn’t go to the saloon deck. Weakened by the Spanish Influenza, Ryan was to die of pneumonia in 1921.
Sunburn. Ellison page 14 and Jones the banker, page 15.
Captain Palmer looking skywards. The Daily Mail Appendix II.
Shipboard photograph. See AWM A03679.
Colombo. Bazley (Cumbrae-Stewart).
King Neptune. Papers of HMT Kaisar-i–Hind. Henri’s private dunking is imagined.
Fremantle. Ellis’s final report AIF war diary, Watt’s diary.
Safe home at Jandowae, 25 June 1919 [Courtesy Nancy Elliot]
Chapter 16. Jandowae
Tim’s plan. Ellison page 14, and Jack Ryan impersonation, page 15.
Adelaide. The French woman offering £1500, Ellison page 15, the Daily Mail Appendix II. I have assumed she lost her son in the war. Photograph of ship at Adelaide AWM H13879.
Ryan’s help – Lily. Ellison page 15. Whether Lily was asked to approach her husband by Digger, by some other person, or whether it was her own idea, is unclear. Records of conversation and cables by Webb and Hunt. Department of the Interior file. Murphy does not mention Ryan’s intervention. Minister’s cable. Ellison page 16.
Port Melbourne arrival. The Argus 17 June 1919, Ellis’s final report in AIF war diary, the Age for Henri seen talking to Ryan and the £60 subscribed for Henri by the squadron.
Collins Street. Bazley (Cumbrae-Stewart), Ellison page 16 also the gold brooch. The brooch has disappeared.
Newspaper reports. The Herald Melbourne 20 June, the Age 24 June. The Herald oddly referred to Henri as ‘little Piou Piou’. Some details in the Age report differ from those given by Tovell. It appears to be based on talks with returned AFC airmen, but strangely it says Digger came to No. 4 Squadron at Lille – Cologne and Christmas Day aren’t mentioned. See Brisbane Daily Mail 21 June Appendix II, for Tovell’s account.
Henri’s distress. Bazely (Cumbrae-Stewart). The Toowoomba Chronicle 21 June uses similar name Henri wrote on the card from Cologne with his surname first, ‘Hemene Honori’ (actually Hememe Honoré).
Knife and fork. Appendix II.
Brisbane welcome. The Courier 21 June, which gives Henri’s age as eight, Daily Mail Appendix II. Hospital. Ellison p 16.
Arrival home. The Chronicle 2 July says Tim and Henri were met at Jimbour and motored into Jandowae on Wednesday 25 June.
Hullo Mum. Ellison page 16, also gold brooch.
Chapter 17. Home
Hospital. Henri’s tonsils Ellison page 17; Tim’s sinuses, DVA file. Ellison says Tim was ‘a cot-case for seven months’, but his records show he was discharged from the army on 17 September 1919. Perhaps Ellison meant seven weeks.
School. Jandowae school enrolment 4 September 1919, Queensland State Archives. Both Nancy and Henri left in October 1919.
They’re nice words, Tim. Tovell letter to Major Coleman 25 May 1928, NAA Papers.
Move to Cooroy. Elliot and Lock interviews; author visit to Cooroy July 2000.
Horse race. Ellison page 17.
Gertie sick. Elliot interview.
French Consul. Ellison page 18, also account possibly by Coleman in NAA Papers, which include correspondence with Carter and Campana. After Henri’s death, Major Carter unveiled Digger’s photograph in the Brisbane club rooms of the RS&SILA.
Heremene. The boy who signed himself Hememe or Heememe Honoré in Cologne in January 1919, acquired yet another version of his surname. Even that would change. Heememe is used in the Webb-Hunt correspondence; Henri used Hemene in his naturalisation application; Heremene appears on his tombstone; and Hermene in the inquest papers. It’s curious the surname ‘Herman’ or ‘Hermann’ didn’t suggest itself to the French Consul, for the pronunciation is very similar. See note on Honoré Chapter 2.
Brisbane move. Elliot interview; Cooroy school register, Queensland State Archives. ‘Henri Heememe’ enrolled 27 January 1920, left November 1922.
Headmaster. Ellison p 19; Kangaroo Point boys school register 29 January 1923, Queensland State Archives.
Fight. Elliot interview, and similar story Ellison page 18.
Gault. Ellison page 19 puts the visit in 1922. I could not confirm it.
RAAF advertisement. Ellison page 20. The RAAF was formed in March 1921 as a separate defence service.
Wilson letter. Henri’s statement Appendix I. Ellison says Tim initially wrote directly to Coleman, but it seems unlikely. Coleman had not served in the AFC.
Coleman letters. To Henri and Tim; also to Carter and Consul-General, with replies, NAA Papers.
Henri’s message. Tim’s autograph book, family collection.
Air Board. Coulthard-Clark page 370. Henri’s employment NAA Papers.
Wilson. Service records. Author visit to Lantana Rd, No. 2 has been demolished.
Night school. Henri’s statement Appendix I.
Henri’s ex-serviceman’s badge. The Duckboard 2 July 1928.
Resignation. NAA Papers, also for Coleman’s letter and Tovell’s response. Note in file says Henri began at Point Cook on 1 March 1926.
Holiday. Note in NAA Papers says Henri was due for 18 days recreation leave on 14 July 1926. Vera Schaffer, Elliot interview. Photograph with inscription, which places the visit in June 1926, AWM (Ric Elliot collection).
Henri’s letters. Family collection letter 8 November 1926; H. H. Tovell Papers, letters 17 December 1926 and 12 June 1927.
 Single men’s quarters. Note on file NAA Papers. At this time the single airmen probably still lived in Nissen huts, see Coulthard-Clark pp 121-122.
Henri’s behaviour. Coulthard-Clark page 127.
Wing Cdr Cole’s reports. NAA Papers. The February 1928 report states: ‘Trade progress not satisfactory. Conduct not satisfactory. Diligence not satisfactory. Attention on parade not satisfactory … In accordance, I cannot recommend that the annual increment due, be given to the temporary junior assistant.’ But see below, Auction of Henri’s effects. Single quarters, RAAF Base Point Cook, 2000
1927 Christmas card. Family collection.
1906. File note in NAA Papers.
Coleman in Brisbane. Tim’s letter 25 May 1928, NAA Papers.
Naturalisation. Department of the Interior file, Henri’s statement Appendix I.
Plan to go home by ship. Lock interview, Ellison page 20.
Sold bike. On back of photograph in family collection Henri has written, ‘On my (own) bike before I sold it at PC.’
Girlfriend. Coleman’s letter to Tim 25 May 1928, the Argus 26 May. She is not named. Possibly the daughter of ‘Mr Fiske of Westgarth Street North Melbourne’ (actually James Fisk of North Fitzroy) who is named in NAA Papers as one of three people having an interest in Henri’s future (the others are Wilson and Tovell). Nancy Elliot and Edith Lock recall Jack Fisk, of Stanthorpe, as a wartime friend of Tim’s. Possibly he was related to James Fisk.
Henri in civvies. See AWM photo A03680.
Despatch. Mentioned by Rev Perry in his eulogy 3 June 1928.
Young Digger's neglected grave, 2000
 Death. Based on Coleman letter to Tim 25 May family collection, and Proceedings of Inquest. The motor cycle belonged to Aircraftsman Grade 1 Duncan Cameron of the Point Cook Workshop Squadron, NAA Papers. And see photo of Henri on a mate’s racing TT model AJS motor bike annotated by Tim, ‘He was riding this machine when killed’, AWM (Ric Elliot collection).
Telegrams. In NAA Papers, also letters; Lock interview; newspaper reports.
Tim’s letter. 25 May NAA Papers.
Funeral. The Argus 26 May.
Memorial service. Brisbane Courier 4 June. Perry’s eulogy. H. H. Tovell Papers.
Tim’s letters. NAA Papers.
Inquest. Proceedings of Inquest, the Argus 29 May 1928. The speed with which everything was done is astonishing. Tovell was given no chance to attend the funeral or even the inquest upon the young man who regarded him as his foster-father.
Coleman letter. Dated 17 July, NAA Papers.
Auction of effects. NAA Papers. Despite Cole’s February report, Coleman recommended Henri’s estate be paid his wage rise.
Curator of Deceased Estates. It is unclear what happened to the balance of Henri’s estate. A note from Cole in NAA Papers suggests it be paid to memorial fund.
Wilson. Letter to The Duckboard 2 July 1928.
Memorial. NAA Papers; photograph with statue of orphan boy AWM A03681; the grave is D632, Methodist portion, Fawkner Cemetery.
Chapter 18. Epilogue
Statue. Lock and Elliot interviews with author. The memorial, erected on 3 February 1932, cost nearly £300, NAA Papers.
Cumbrae-Stewart. Tim’s correspondence with AWM in T.W. Tovell Papers. I was unable to locate Cumbrae-Stewart’s original ms, but a (partial) copy is in Bazley collection.
Wilson. Service papers. Death notice the Age September 20 1949.
Ellis. Obituary Wings March 1948; Who’s Who 1947.
Jones. Autobiography. Who’s Who entry 1992.
Tovell family. Interviews with Nancy Elliot, Edith Lock, Ed Tovell.
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