Sidney was name used.

Jean Isobel Low was born at Albury, New South Wales, Australia on 10 March 1896. During her childhood, she also lived in South Africa and Vancouver, British Columbia. She describes herself in a letter she wrote from Australia about 1918. This letter was to her cousin Elizabeth Low (ID=174) in the United States.

Two of her letters which we have in the family archives are reproduced below. The first letter is not dated but was probably written in 1918.


David Street,
Albury, NSW
Australia

My dear Cousin Elizabeth,
I received your very welcome letter some little time ago, and was just delighted to have it. We also got your photos, and we must thank you very much for them. What lovely big boys (or should I say "young men" now). Cousin Will & Dawson have grown. Willie is very much like our brother Will, in fact I think, one could very easily take them for brothers. The two younger girls are darling little children.
Now I suppose you will be interested to know what we are all doing out here in dear old "Ausie." First of all, I may mention, it is frightfully hot here today. The temperature must be well in the nineties.

Our brother Will is learning to be a farmer. He is learning with my Uncle, Mothers only brother, 35 miles from here at Culcain. He likes it very much. This harvest, he was driving a Harvester with five draught horses. He is coming on fine. Lizzie (or Clover as she is called) is almost 14 now, and is studying for a School Teacher. She passed her Qualifying Examination this Xmas. She is setting for her Junior Exam in Pianoforte also this year. She passed her Preparatory 95 for Music.
I am a Stenographer etc. at present I am in an office at home. I love my occupation, Shorthand & Typing etc. very much. Australia is very dull at present, like all other countries, I suppose. Things are an enormous price. Up to Xmas I have been working hard for the Red Cross & YMCA and other Patriotic Leagues. There were a party of girls who organised concerts and other affairs to raise funds for our boys in the firing line.
Do you do any photography. I am very interested in it at present, of course I am only an amateur at it. I am enclosing a snap, please dont critise it, as I am only learning the art of developing. I am in my riding costume. I did quite a lot of riding last year. I learnt to muster Cattle. One day I brought in 9 horses by myself. I was quite please with myself.

I read in your letter that you play the piano and that you were playing at concerts. I hope you were successful. It is beautiful to be able to play. I do not play very much, but am taking a greater interest in singing. I have had my voice trained a little and still hope to go on having it improved. I sing at various places. Last year I sang at Ad Crees Concert. I believe Malcolm Mackachern is touring The States now. I was trained by his teacher. He is a beautiful singer and an Albury boy. He is sure to give a concert in New Orleans. I would like to know if you hear him sing?
So you are engaged? Please accept my heartiest congratulations, and I sincerely hope you will be very happy. I suppose you are busy getting your Glory Bose together. I would like to meet your Fiance. I was engaged to an Australian Soldier for over 2 years, but I am sorry to say, he like hundreds of other soldiers, met an English girl and married her, before I knew our engagement had terminated. I think I can see your ring on your hand in the photo, is it a cluster? It looks like a cluster.
Mother and Father are in good health. We are having a new home built and we will be shifting into it soon, so will be busy.
Well my dear Elizabeth, I must draw this letter to a close.
I would like to hear from you as often as you find time to write, being so far away from each other, by writing it will bring us closer to each other, and I am always very
interested in everything over in America. Father and Mother wish me to extend an invitation to you to vist us any time you feel you would like to see Australia. I can assure you we will give you a good time. We all send our love to you all.
Your cousin,
Jean Low


"San Mateo,"
Ivor St.,
Henty,
N.S.W.
7/3/43
My dear Elizabeth,

Dad was pleased to receive the announcement of your daughter's marriage, and so was I, as it meant that we at last had an address of one of the Jack Low family. We have been a little worried about Dawson, as we havent seen, or heard from him for a long time, and these days, one is always anxious about anyone having to make the dangerous trips that he has to. We hope that he is quite safe and well, and that we will hear from him one of these days. Clover was so pleased to see him, and Dad was going to try and get down to see him next time he came into port. The travelling conditions are most difficult now, and accomodation is almost impossible to get when one does go to Sydney. Though Dad is very well, he is 73 and I dont like him roaming about the city in the blackout by himself, especially as Clover is not down there now.
I suppose it would not be a bad idea to give you some information about the members of our family, as it is such a long while since we have written to you. I suppose you have seen Dawson, as you had my address, and he would tell you the different pieces of news. I could not realise that you had a daughter old enough to be married, one doesnt notice the years slipping past and I notice that she is married to a soldier. Poor little girl, the young things, have my greatest admiration, they are so brave, and it is an unhappy world that they are living in. I hope that he is spared to her, and that this wretched war will soon be over and that we can resume our peacetime lives in happieness.
My oldest boy Jack is in the A.I.F. has been for one year, though he was underage, 17 but he managed it after 5 tries, we simply couldnt keep him back, he felt that there was a job to do, and he couldnt settle to his last exam. at school. He is an independ unit, I dont know whether you know what that is but we are not allowed to name them their proper name, so we will have to leave it at that. We have to be most careful when we write letters these days, especially to overseas, as they are mostly censored, and apart from being heavily fined or put in jail, if we
divulge information, we would not want to do it, if there is a chance that it may be captured (the ship) on the way over and the letters fall into enemies hands. Brian my other child is just 10 is in 6th. class at school, and a very lively customer indeed. Clover my only sister is serving in the Aus. Women's Army Services. She is in a very large camp not far from here, though she can ring up on the telephone, we cant see her often, as leave is very short and they are working very hard. She is in Signal- ling Headquarters in the office, she is in charge really, is a Cpl. She has been in the Army for 8 months now, likes it, apart from the restrictions, she finds those a bit hard, but as she says, we are in a tough spot especialy now, and it is up to all to take a hand where needed. You will notice that I am typing my correspond- ence, we are asked to do that whereever possible as it helps the censors, and then again it helps me too, as I am a very busy woman these days, and I find I have very little time for writing, and if I can get a few minutes to sit down at the machine, I can manage to run off a few letters, and still keep in touch with my friends.
My husband, Sidney, is a very busy man also, of course he is a returned soldier from the previous war, and has injuries that prevent him from joining up again, but he is in the Volunteer Def. Corps, and is also Recruiting Office for the RAAAF, AIF, AWAS and WAAAF, the last two are the womens services, and then we all have our Red Cross, W.V.S. and C.W.A. and Patriotic Committees. I have no help at all in the house these days, I used to have a maid and a laundress, but all the single girls are being called up, if they have not volunteered, by now. The war is so very near us now, that it is natural for us to go hard from morning to night, and instead of sending an order to the grocer or store for this and that and getting it delivered, we have to now take our baskets, and ask if they have this and that. Like as not we come home without three-quarters of the goods we wanted. Meals are a problem these days, see we have to feed all your fine American soldiers and personnel and thank goodness we have them here, especially your Airmen and Marines. We are breathing a little easier since the Bismark Battle, but we are daily expecting things to break even yet, but we are ready for them. We only have such a small population of 7,000,000 all told, as against the Japs crawling millions.
I notice that America has adopted the rationing system, I wonder if you would be interested in ours. We are rationed in sugar and tea in the kitchen goods line, as for sugar it is pretty tight, mainly on account of the labour shortage and transport, tea doesnt worry us, the amount we get, half a pound every 3 weeks for each person, is plenty. Of course all the shops are rationed in all tinned goods, for instance one cant buy tinned jams or jellies and very little preserved fruits now, but as I make all my own, it doesnt affect us personally. Our
hostels are suffering though, we are making up jam for them, and packing it in syrup tins, and sending it down to them. The clothes rationing is pretty severe, I have never been worse turned out, than I am at present, especially for cotton materials. Our coupons are divided into so many for each 6 months, and for instance a man cant buy a suit and an overcoat in one 6 months. I havent worn stockings all this summer, and only sockettes of wool mostly all last winter. We just give our legs a good browning up in the sun, and they are just the colour of suntan silk stockings. A pair of shoes costs 8 coupons, and socks 4 each, and handkerchief, half a coupon each, skein of wool half a coupon, a dressing gown 15, (we are not wanted to buy gowns like that, we are to wear our overcoats, or something like that, when we must) a boys overcoat is 18 coupons. We are issued with 112 for the year, a mans suit is 38, and a frock is 13, Mens pyjamass is 15, so you can see that it takes some thinking out, and making over. It is almost impossible to get towels or sheets, and then they only sell one to a family at a time. Fortunately I have always kept a good stock af linen up, but for a girl getting married these days it is a problem, they have to only have the bare necessities. Of course rubber goods and aluminium are quite off the market, and here we cant buy china cups and saucers, only those horrible glass ones.
I notice that you are at Dallas, Texas, the country of our wild west cowboys, but I suppose that was in the years past, like us, though our town is only very small, and is smaller since the war started and all the population have either drifted to the cities to make munitions or war materials, or enlisted, we are only 40 miles away from Albury or Wagga, towns of about 11,000 in population, and much more since the war. Our climate is very hot in the summer we have stretches of perhaps a fortnight of well over 100 degrees, reaching to 114 or 115. The winter is very cold, white frost on the ground, and snow all around on the mountains. I love the winter, but summer, I simply frizzle up. We spent a short holiday at Manly in Sydney this summer, surfed all the time, and came back fresh, ready for the fray again.
If Valerie's husband happens to come out here, I extend to him a very cordial invitation to get in touch with us, if he cant come and see us, we are on the main line, (Southern line) between Sydney and Melbourne, just half way between Wagga and Albury. We are always thrilled to be able to entertain any American soldiers, or airmen etc. as we feel we owe our security at present to them, as such a lot of our boys are prisoners of war, in Singapore, and the others over in the Middle East.
Will you tell Dawson if he comes out again, he wont be able to get in touch with Clover in Sydney now, or her friends at the Commercial Bank at Redfern, as they have
moved, but to wire me, and we may be able to see him, or Dad get down to him.
My brother Will is on a farm about 40 miles from here, he was rejected for the Army, on account of health reasons, but he is growing wheat and wool, so he is doing his little bit. Mother died 3 years ago, and Dad stays mostly with me.
He was saying the other day, that he would like to have a letter from one of his brothers, just for old time sake. I also would be pleased to have a letter from you, telling me all about your family etc.
I must close this for now, as I feel I have roamed along too much, do write soon, and after the war, perhaps we can visit each other. Just think of it, after the war, wont that be lovely.

Lots of kind regards and best wishes, from us all,

Yours very sincerely,
Jean (Low) Wild

[Added to this letter was the following note by Jean's father, William Carr Low.]

Dear Elizabeth & family
We were very pleased to get your card re the marriage of your daughter. I wish her & her husband all the happiness in their future life that she could wish for them. Jean has given you all the news about ourselves, and we would welcome news of you and your family. I was unable to meet Dawson on his last call, but Lizzie met him and enjoyed his company. We were wondering where he gone for his last trip he expected to be back in Australia again and we were looking to again having his company. I trust your Father & Mother are keeping well, this war will have caused your Father a deal of extra work seeing shipping is so scarce.
Give them my kind regards when you contact them and accept some to yourself and family.

Yours effect.
Uncle Will