Rare white feather
postcard ,with an actual feather , from the collection
of Gary Davies , Magnetic Island , printed by Mudie and Westbury,
420 Little Collins Street , Melbourne .
During
an ABC talk about the NSW
Library Life Interrupted Exhibition ,which draws on the letters , diaries and
personal stories of Australian soldiers
in WWl , an extract from a young
soldier disclosed his reaction and the carnage
about him in the first few days
of fighting . On the third , after seeing many
killed around him, he said he felt like running away from it all, but did
not want to show " the white feather" . This had been overcome by a bayonet charge . White feathers were often
sent by women to conscientious objectors , regarded
as cowards , letting their mates fight and die . As the slaughter continued , the " coo-ee
'' call from the front for more men to join up and fight became stronger. This writer once
owned a South Australian country newspaper in which every
advertisement included a call
to join up and
fight , which undoubtedly would have put immense pressure on all young men in the district to sign up. White feathers were also issued
during WWll. Author Xavier Herbert received a white feather and claimed it came from his mother. He joined up and served in the NT and also explained the meaning of life to groups of soldiers at Melbourne Zoo. His wartime observations enabled him to write the novel Soldiers' Women . More special Anzac related
posts to come .
