Writings, 1928-56
- Component identifier:
- Series 11
- Content Summary:
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In addition to his various official appointments, White was also known as a writer, and published a number of literary pieces, including wartime reminiscences, verse plays, newspaper articles and other commissioned works.
Details of his capture by the Turks in Mesopotamia, subsequent experiences as a prisoner of war and eventual escape via Russia were recorded in the best selling Guests of the unspeakable : the odyssey of an Australian airman, first published in 1928 and reprinted on a number of occasions. A partial handwritten draft of this account is filed here, together with a number of press reviews of the work.
Between 1929 and 1938 White acted as Australian correspondent for the Morning Post (London), for which he was engaged to provide general news stories from all parts of Australia and any political items of interest to British readers. His journalistic output is documented in a series of files containing letters and cables, together with a number of despatches tracing the history of the Scullin Ministry and financial troubles of 1931.
In 1943 Sky saga : a story of Empire airmen, White's popular tribute in verse to Allied pilots, was first published and broadcast on ABC and BBC radio. The poem was reprinted in two further editions, and prompted many favourable reviews and letters, some of which are located in this series.
Also filed here are folders containing draft papers for a brief history of the Australian Air Force in both wars (commissioned by the Australian junior encyclopaedia in 1945), typescript reminiscences of his 1936 trip to New Guinea, and notes and papers collated for his proposed autobiography.
Further papers relating to Guests of the unspeakable, Sky saga and Australian junior encyclopaedia article can be found in Series 3, 8 and 11 respectively.
- Immediate source of acquisition:
- The papers were donated to the Library by White's daughters in two consignments in January 1997 and March 1998, and together constitute an impressive record of White's varied and distinguished career as a pilot, politician, diplomat and writer.
- Names:
- Thomas White
Contents
Access and use
- Parent Restrictions:
- Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1516685).
- Parent Terms of Access:
- Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.
- Location of this collection:
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Parkes PlaceCanberra ACT 2600, Australia
- Contact: