King's Condolence Letter sent to family of Pilot Officer John Hudson WILKINSON- killed in action in 1944 during WW2Cream note paper with Royal Crest letterhead containing message and signature in black type.Buckingham Place George RIkia, ww2, raaf, j h wilkinson, 1944

Extract from The Spectator of June 12, 1946: "From the Queensland 'Methodist Times'. Dreams do come true. At any rate, that is what the Rev. Cliff Lanham believes, who after the lapse of several years finds that his early dream of a Flying Patrol for the Inland is now an actuality. The Methodist Inland Mission Board has purchased from the Disposals Commission of the R.A.A.F. a De Haviland Fox Moth Biplane. Indeed, two machines have been bought, but one will be broken up for spare parts. This 'new angel of the air' is fitted with a 130 h.p. engine and possesses a cruising speed of 100 miles per hour. The petrol consumption is only that of a big six-cylinder car—18 miles per gallon. In addition to the pilot there is room for three passengers, and a stretcher is installed whereby urgent cases of sickness or accident can be flown to the nearest hospital. In this machine, Mr Lanham proposes to cover the whole of S. W. Queensland and a portion of the Northern Territory from his headquarters at Mt Isa. It takes little imagination to realise what a boon the 'flying parson' will be to those of the great outback." …. "Before [Mr Lanham] inaugurated the scheme [the idea of a flying parson] he spent his first furlough from inland mission work (and incidentally £60) learning to fly. 'In a month,' he says whimsically, 'I was a pilot of sorts.' Mr Lanham is a son of the Church. His parents were staunch Methodists, and their home offered generous hospitality to mininsters and preachers. His brother, the Rev. Percy Lanham, M.A., died in Libya when on active service as a chaplain. His widowed mother must be proud of her tall, stalwart son, whom the Church now sends forth on his flying mission for the Lord. May he ever be wafted through inland skies on two wings and a prayer." It is of interest to note that although Cliff Lanham's brother, Percy, is listed in the Methodist Church of Australasia's Ministerial Index (9th Edition, Revised to 1961) Cliff Lanham himself is not listed as either active or deceased.Three B&W identical photographs of Lanham standing next to a Methodist Inland Mission bi-plane. Lanham and an unidentified man are holding a stretcher between them with a boy of about 10-11 on it. They seem to be exiting the plane. The original photograph F69-1 is a 110x65 mm Kodak print; the other two are 195x145 mm enlargements. Lanham is wearing a white shirt and grey trousers, the other person is wearing a safari helmet.All three photos identify "Rev. Cliff Lanham" on the back. They seem to have been originally used or intended for use by The Spectator.lanham, cliff, queensland, methodist inland mission, flying parson

Ginger Meggs, Australia's most popular and longest-running comic strip, was created in the early 1920s by Jimmy Bancks. The strip (based on Strip No. 589) follows the escapades of a red-haired prepubescent mischief-maker who lives in an inner suburban working-class household. This story follows characters Ginger and Mim, and their attempt to find and get an apology from new kid, Osmo Willis who plays a prank with a toy mouse on Mim. Ginger goes to Osmo's house to get an apology from him to Mim, but instead Osmo invites Ginger to his birthday party. Ginger then takes Osmo to buy ice-cream. Ginger in the end, gets caught out in his lie to Mim, that he couldn't find Osmo. Min finds out and scolds Ginger for being deceitful. "If only you were half a gentleman..." she says.Crawford Productions and Robin Boyd also explored ideas for other television productions, besides the successful 'The Flying Dogtor" series.Typewritten, carbon copy, foolscap, 3 pagesHandwritten side notes by Robin Boyd in pencil.ginger meggs, cartoon strip, jimmy bancks, robin boyd, crawford productions

Flight Engineers handbook "Halifax 11 & V"second world war (ww2), 1939 - 1945, literature, ballarat rsl, ballarat

An amazing photograph of a British or Australian Air Force Observer waving to a nearby plane while in flight. Planes of the era were yet to possess sealed cockpits.There is an inscription on the back of the photograph that says "One of our mechanics going over to the lines. This was snapped by a pilot while in the air. Note the observer waving his hand".aeroplane, observer, biplane, ww1, world war 1, war, flight, flying, r.e.8, reconnaissance experimental 8