Correspondence and papers relating to the death of Patrick Hore- Ruthven,, 1942

Component identifier:

Series 11

Content Summary:

In 1933, after graduating from Cambridge, Patrick-Hore Ruthven joined the Rifle Brigade and served in the Middle East. On 20 December 1942 he was severely wounded whilst on a paratroop commando in the Western Desert, and died four days later in the Misurata Italian Hospital, Libya. Although reports of his wounding had filtered through, news of his death did not reach the Gowries at Government House, Yarralumla until February 1943. He was survived by his wife, and two young sons whom he had never met due to the intervention of World War II.

This series contains correspondence arising from the Patrick's death, including cables and dispatches establishing his fate, letters of condolence and copies of replies. Then follows a sequence of papers relating to the posthumous editions of his poems, which he had begun writing as a child (published as The happy warrior. Sydney : Angus and Robertson, 1943) and letters (published as Joy of youth. London : Peter Davies, 1950).

A review of The happy warrior is filed at Series 5/Folder 29; correspondence of Patrick is contained in subseries 7.5; a photograph of the Patrick Hore-Ruthven memorial fountain at Government House, Canberra can be found in Series 19; press cuttings documenting aspects of his life and death are located in Series 20.

Immediate source of acquisition:

The papers were donated to the National Library in seven instalments: by Gowrie's grandson, the Honourable Malise Hore-Ruthven, in 1970, 1981 (two instalments), 1983, 1986 and 1993, and; in 1999 by Barbara Blanch, widow of Gowrie's biographer, John Blanch. In addition, in 1969 the Library received a collection of books acquired by Lord Gowrie, which had been housed at Australia House since 1955. Most of the volumes were presentation copies inscribed by the authors. Those books not already held were added to the Library's general book collection, whilst duplicate titles were offered to other libraries through the Clearing Centre.

Names:

Hore-Ruthven, Malise

Contents

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