Lester Dudley in Shepparton

Lester's mother, Elizabeth Dudley, known as Lily nee Canet

Lily's mother, Elizabeth Canet, nee Montgomery

Elizabeth Canet's mother, Elizabeth Montgomery nee Sandilands

Lester's father's mother, Hannah Dudley nee Green

Lester in Melbourne

Lester After WW2

Lester in Tallygaroopna

Lester leaves home

After years of scribbling Lester began regular diaries the week before his 23rd birthday. He had been living in a boarding house at Shepparton for some months, and life there had opened his eyes. While his rabidly teetotal father had a temper, Lester had never lived in a house where alcohol was consumed and routinely followed by arguments and violence.

The boarding house was run by a jockey, Bill Foley, and his wife, Josephine, and their evening bouts, both alone, and with boarders, Frank Dummett, another jockey, and his wife, were a regular occurrence. Lester kept to his room, initially a closed off verandah but later a bedroom inside the house.

This was the first time Lester had lived away from home as an adult but he visited his family every weekend, and on holidays, taking not only his laundry, but also the train for the brief journey between Shepparton and Tallygaroopna. He continued his quiet existence, daily work at the Ardmona cannery in nearby Mooroopna, studying accountancy by correspondence, and working part time in Shepparton on Saturday mornings at Cec Thompson’s timber yard.

In 1942 he wrote that he saw only one film that year, ‘Dive Bomber’. In later years he went to the films almost every week. It was after seeing his first films that he began writing criticisms, firstly in his diary and later in separate exercise books that included reviews of ballets, operas, plays and concerts. Return to Top

Lester had high standards for himself although he readily forgave and forgot flaws in others and always looked for the good side in people. He expected personal perfection and frequently castigated himself in his diary for being clumsy, for failing to write up his diary every day, for failing to conduct conversations the right way, for causing minor offense to people.

First Place - Twice

In 1942, a few months before his 21st birthday he achieved first place in both the final accountancy and law exams held by the Association of Accountants of Australia. He took the examinations in Shepparton and on 12 August that year he was admitted as an Associate of the Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants. Number 176562. None of the above was mentioned in his diaries, Lester didn’t believe in self praise.

In 1943, with the war at its height, his sister Valerie was a WRAAF at a Gosford camp. She was the last daughter to leave home, however after the end of the war, when she was working in Melbourne, she often had to give up employment to return to Tallygaroopna to look after her ailing parents. Lily had a difficult relationship with all of her daughters although in her final years it was the three girls, Valerie (later Carnegie), Daisy (Roughsedge) and Merlyn (Mann), who cared for her in their homes and Lester, driving a specially equipped car, who drove her between the city and country residences. Return to Top

Lester frequently communicated with his sisters and wrote to his brother, Ulva, who had joined the RAAF. His sister, Daisy, and her two sons, Maurice and Sid, were living in Wunghnu, the next small town to Tallygaroopna. Lester had a great deal of contact with his nephews who at this time were aged 10 and 9. Despite his disability, Lester played cricket and accompanied them for walks all over the countryside.

On Friday, October 22, 1943 Lester finished at cannery and on Saturday November 6 he said goodbye to the workers at Thompsons.

His plan, to look for a Melbourne job while working at the cannery did not eventuate.

On Tuesday, November 16, he went by train, with Daisy, to Melbourne, to stay with his maternal grandmother and her daughters, at their home in Brunswick, only a few blocks from the Moonee Valley Racecourse where the Melbourne Cup is held on the first Tuesday every year and when all Victorians, whether they are interested in horse racing or not, have a holiday.

When the main diary begins, in the following pdf, Lester's sister Valerie lived interstate and was with the WRAAF; Daisy lived with her two sons Maurice and Sidney in Wunghnu; and Merlyn was in Melbourne working on her wartime occupation as a tram conductress. Her husband, Tom Mann, was with the RAAF ground crew on Horn Island. Lester’s brother Ulva, (also known as Dud or Neil), was with the RAAF and was training as a pilot.

Click here to read the next section of diaries. Return to Top