NAME Wilfred Victor EARL
LOCATION NUMBER: [12/7299 No. 8335]
BORN Abt. 1891
DIED ?
MILITARY SERIAL NO. 378B
UNIT 1st Battalion Cyclists
ENLISTED Ourimba 18 January 1916
DISCHARGED Sydney 7 December 1919

how long do you intend to keep me … waiting?

Wilfred Earl’s block was called Killabatch and was located near Wingham.

On 1 April 1922, Earl wrote complaining about the delay in receiving his advance which he had been waiting on for six months. [1] He wrote again a month later stating that he would take up permanent residence on the block once he received the advance money to build a house.    He again complained about the delay in receiving the advance, ‘how long do you intend to keep me and who is going to pay for the delay. ….  I have timber waiting at the local saw mill and (he) is waiting for his money ….  also the teamsters’.[2]

In 1925, Earl was earning a living railway sleeper cutting when he was not working on his holding.  He was judged to be a hard worker and steady – ‘earning good money in the timber’[3]

It is not known when he received the advance but it was before September 1923, as he was using some of the money for fencing.[4] Delays in processing legitimate claims for funding hampered the lives of many soldier settlers.  Many settlers worked away from their properties simply to survive.

Footnotes

[1] SRNSW: Lands Department; NRS 8058, Returned Soldiers Settlement loan files;  [12/7299 No. 8335] W.V.Earl to ? 1 April 1922.

[2] Ibid, W.V. Earl to  ? 1 May 1922.

[3] Ibid,  CP Inspector’s Report 28 December 1925.

[4] Ibid, W.V. Earl to ? 31 September 1923.

Sources used to compile this entry:

State Records NSW: Lands Department; NRS 8058, Returned Soldiers Settlement loan files;  [12/7299 No. 8335] Wilfred Victor Earl.

National Archives of Australia: B2455, First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers (Wilfred Victor Earl) online:  http://naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/ItemDetail.asp?M=0&B=3531954