NAME John Sloan BLAIR
BORN Edinburgh Scotland 20 May 1894.
DIED –
MILITARY SERIAL NO. 818
UNIT 2nd Light Trench Mortar Battery, 18th Battalion
ENLISTED 9 February 1915 Sydney
DISCHARGED 14 April 1919 Sydney – Medically Unfit

John Sloan Blair took up a soldier settlement block of 566 acres at Barmedman in the Parish of Thurungly, County of Bland.  The block was a part of Quinn’s Estate.  Blair applied for his loan on 17 February 1921 while he was living at 7 Short Street, Lidcombe.[1]  Blair had applied for the land shortly after his return from the front in 1919, thinking that it would only be a matter of months, before he had the loan and could purchase a house. It took two years for the sale of the land to go through however. Even after he received his loan, Blair was unable to proceed successfully on his block. With rising debt and the illnesses of both himself and his wife, he was unable to continue.[2]  On 14 March 1921 Blair applied to transfer the land.  This was achieved with the land being transferred to William Joseph Workman who was not a returned soldier.[3]

In April 1923 Blair was married with three small children and was employed as a temporary labourer at E.C. Elliots, Structural Engineers 75 Macquarie Street, Sydney.    He was at this time living at Pengelly Street, Lane Cove.

Footnotes

[1] SRNSW:  Lands Department; NRS 8058, Returned Soldiers loan files; [12/7209 No9. 6984] Application for Loan 17 February, 1921.

[2] Ibid, To Under-Secretary from J.S. Blair 1 December 1922.

[3] Ibid,  Director of Return Soldier Settlements from J.T. Keating Under-Secretary 14 March 1921.

Sources used to compile this entry:

State Records NSW:  Lands Department; NRS 8058, Returned Solders loan files, [12/7209 No. 6984] John Sloan Blair.

National Archives of Australia: B2455, First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers (John Sloan Blair) online: http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/Imagine.asp?B=3089687