Historical information

An account of the wartime experiences of Legatee Thomas White who served a term as President in 1925. This is the story of the capture and escape of Captain Thomas White, Australian Flying Corps on the Baghdad Road, Mesopotamia (Iraq), 13/11/1915. Captain White had been ordered to cut the telegraph wires behind the Turkish Lines along with his observer Captain F. Yeats-Brown from the 17th Indian Cavalry.
Although they achieved their objective, the Maurice-Farman Longhorn aeroplane was damaged on landing and could not be repaired and were subsequently captured by the Arabs and local Gendarmerie. After the Arabs had beaten them up they were taken to Baghdad, escorted by the Turks and imprisoned.
On 26 July 1918 Captain White escaped with Captain AJ Bott of the Royal Air Force. After making their way by sea (under very difficult circumstances) they arrived and went ashore at Odessa on the Black Sea. Odessa at the time was occupied by Austria and German troops and the Bolsheviks (the Russian revolution was under way). On 3 November 1918 they boarded a ship for Varna where Brigadier-General Ross met them, motored to Salonika, arriving 10/11/1918, then subsequently sent to Cairo.
Tommy White became the third President of Melbourne Legacy in 1925-26 (Melbourne Legacy Bulletin 19/7/1990). He also went on to be the Australian High Commissioner in Britain until 1956.

Significance

A story of courage, hope and endurance by Captain Thomas White.

Physical description

White A4 paper with black type x 14 pages.

Inscriptions & markings

Printing ink overlap and other printing stains throughout the document. Ltee Tom White written in black biro, top of page one.