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THE REAR PARTY
Last March a draft of twenty men was made up in Vimy and after spending a furlough at home assembled in Vancouver. Here we were joined by twelve men from the Intelligence Corps, five men from the Victoria Station, our Sergeant-Major, and four officers. This group of men comprised the Rear Party which left Vancouver on April 9, 1945. Sailing from Los Angeles, we arrived in Melbourne on May 4, and began the trip northward. We stopped in Brisbane for a four-day leave before continuing. Then on to Mount Isa where we proceeded by convoy up the Defence Highway to Larrimah. From here we travelled aboard the "Spirit of Protest", that infamous train of the North. We Joined the unit in Darwin, May 31, after a trip which lasted fifty-three days.
Immediately we began to adapt ourselves for life in the great Australian "out-back." The first few days our complexions darkened and we could no longer be called "white men" by those who had come before us. After three weeks of hardening-in by such things as laying water pipe, hauling rocks, mixing cement and erecting a building, we commenced our work.
In our spare time we have added a few conveniences to our hut to make it more comfortable. Those two rustic benches around our fire-place have been a source of enjoyment for every one of us. Here we gather in the evenings to talk of days gone by and plan for days ahead while the flames rise upward to the night and shadows play across the ruddy faces of the boys. Visitors from all over the camp come to enjoy our fireside. Thanks to "Moe" Guennette and "Gumba" Gamberg, there is always tea and sometimes even more than that.
The boys of the Rear Party quickly fused in with the rest of the unit and have taken an active part in camp activities. Photography has been the most popular hobby and we have some really good pictures which we will appreciate later on in life. Then we have swimming, volley-ball, softball, and hiking to keep us in shape, and Lou Savlov ingeniously constructed a set of dumb-bells for the manly art of weight-lifting. In such ways we have created considerable variety in our camp life.
Now the war is over and everyone's chief interest is to get home. Nevertheless, another great interest has arisen and that is to get these large documents from King Neptune autographed. The way we have been going about it has made one wonder whether or not the fellows are movie stars. Surely long after we have been re-established in civilian life, we will glance at our elaborate document with all the names inscribed and smile, recalling fond friendships reminiscent of travels and experiences shared with the comrades of the Rear Party.
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