My Portfolio

Normal 0 false false false EN-AU X-NONE X-NONE   Often I have been asked about which person in my life, now dead, would I like to spend an extra 24 hours with, and my answer is always the same – my Dad, Ken Wallace. I have always been told that I...

Normal 0 false false false EN-AU X-NONE X-NONE I fell in love not long after I’d commenced my nursing training and perhaps the two were somehow connected? In the 1960’s Australian student nurses were required to ‘live in’ in the Nurse’s Home, on the hospital premises, where we were subjected to...

Normal 0 false false false EN-AU X-NONE X-NONE   The very first man a little girl loves is her Dad, and this special lifelong relationship should be nurtured and cherished. Like other small girls, I adored my 6’6” Dad who was always a ‘larger than life’ personality and a helpless practical...

My son Ken celebrated his birthday on 24th July and, as well as the paella pan we gave him, I decided to put together a special heritage gift for him. Please take a look at my short video, as this is an idea you could try yourself.

Normal 0 false false false EN-AU X-NONE X-NONE Am I allowed to say that I hate my mother? While our relationship has always been pretty rocky (I know I remind her too much of Dad), her latest cruelty has totally shocked me and I just feel that it has killed our...

Normal 0 false false false EN-AU X-NONE X-NONE Dear Diary , it’s official – I’m engaged! We had the most wonderful, romantic, candlelit dinner at the Arkaba Hotel tonight and drove up to Windy Point to look at the city lights. Outside the Nurses Home, sitting in Greg’s mum’s green Morris...

Yesterday was my son Ken's 38th birthday (yes, I can't believe it either!) and as well as the Spanish paella pan John and I bought him and the Jewish Cheesecake I baked for him, I wanted to give him something of family significance. I have had, tucked away in my jewellery...

Normal 0 false false false EN-AU X-NONE X-NONE Dear Diary , I didn’t realise that nursing was going to be so difficult right when I started my first week as a nurse on Ward 1. Charge Sister T is so hard on the patients and constantly tells me to ‘sit the...

Normal 0 false false false EN-AU X-NONE X-NONE Dear Diary, Since Dad died in 1962, my life has changed in many ways. I don’t know how much alimony he paid, but just about everything is different now. I guess we were lucky as we have lived on Mum’s salary and have...

Normal 0 false false false EN-AU X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Unlike almost everyone I know, I didn’t encounter any inspirational teachers during my school years. As a Presbyterian, I was sent to Catholic schools from the age of 3 ½ when I became a monthly boarder at Star of the Sea in...

What a grouse weekend! I went to stay at Coralie's house for the weekend, after school on Friday. Mrs Bevan calls me her 4th daughter now as I spend more weekend time at her house than at mine! We all went down to West Beach Surf Lifesaving Club for the Surfie...

Normal 0 false false false EN-AU X-NONE X-NONE The Beatles concert last night was fantabulous !!!! We all wagged school yesterday (12th June) to stand in the crowd outside the Adelaide Town Hall, in our school uniforms, where they were welcomed to Adelaide by the Lord Mayor and Bob Francis who...

Normal 0 false false false EN-AU X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 I commenced my nursing training a few months before I turned 17, when I left home and moved into the Nurses Home at the Repatriation General Hospital at Daw Park, a suburb of Adelaide. There were 12 of us in our Preliminary...

The AIF Project Home | Search | About | Disclaimer   John Birmingham SPELLS Regimental number 508 Religion Roman Catholic Occupation Agent Address Burra Street, Port Wakefield, South Australia Marital status Single Age at embarkation 21 Next of kin Mother, Mrs. Capt. Spells, Burra Street, Port Watkefield, South Australia Enlistment date...

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My mother, Lorna May WALLACE (nee SPELLS) was an only child and the apple of her father's eye. She had often accompanied her parents on overseas voyages, usually to Europe, as Grandpa worked for Philips, the Dutch electrical company. She didn't, however, travel with them in 1934 when they bought her...

As I typed in the heading for this topic, I stopped and pondered over it for a few minutes. Was my greatest achievement the swimming trophies, medal and prizes I won as a teenager? Was my greatest achievement my nursing career; gaining my General , Psychiatric and Theatre qualifications while still...

Normal 0 false false false EN-AU X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 The once-smart red and white gingham oilskin cover is battered and shabby now, with splotches and mysterious old stains on many pages. Mum’s treasured recipe book has a special spot in my early memories and has been a constant companion all of...

Normal 0 false false false EN-AU X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 I only met Welsh singing sensation Tom Jones for a couple of  hours in 1965 but the memory of him has remained indelible in my mind. Tom was touring Australia with a ‘Best of British’ concert group, along with Manchester’s answer to...

Grandma\'s special cakes. When I was a wee girl living in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, one of my favourite tasks was help Gran with any baking task she had. As the owner/manager of a 10,000 acre Hereford cattle breeding stud and mother of 11 children, Gran was always very busy, every day...