Summary

Letter of condolence to Sylvia Forbes from R. Bruce Brown, General Manager, Commonwealth Hostels Ltd regarding her husband James Forbes who died in an industrial accident on 20 June 1963. The letter expresses his sympathy and offers the assistance of the Broadmeadows Hostel Manager where the family resided. James was employed by Stanton Pipes at the time, when he sustained a head injury in the workplace and died in hospital about 12 hours later. James was survived by his wife Sylvia and daughter Shirley, the family having migrated from Scotland in 1961.

James and Sylvia Forbes migrated from Aberdeen in Scotland with their two year old daughter Shirley and James' younger brother Harry. They travelled onboard the Sitmar Line ship Fair Sky, sailing from Southampton, England to Melbourne, Australia on 8 July 1961.The family were sent to Broadmeadows Hostel and more family followed who settled in Adelaide. Sylvia was employed at the Ford Factory while James worked for Stewarts & Lloyds Stanton Pipes Division. Tragically James was killed in an industrial accident on 20 June 1963 and after subsequently also losing her unborn baby, Sylvia and Shirley returned to Scotland on 18 September 1963. Shirley visited Australia for the first time since departing in 2014.

Physical Description

Single sheet of cream paper with type printed in black ink.

Significance

This collection provides a valuable and poignant insight into a young family's post-war British migration experience and their return home. It offers a perspective on the return migrant experience which is more difficult to obtain, as opposed to the more commonly told permanent settlement narratives; and it also reveals the diverse (and at time tragic) reasons why migration can be a transient experience for some.

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