[Ed: Thanks Joan, your words are very much appreciated by all of us. Good to see you are making use of the ARCHIVES!]

[Jim: Thanks for the great images Ron. Your story is inspiring and it is a wonderful tree you have there!]

[Ed: Thanks Eric. It was sad to read of Dolly's passing. Yours is a fine tribute and I'm sure our readers would be interested in it. ]

[Ed: Simon's images are in our Collection Box. We did a little digging and our findings are there too. Thanks Simon!]

[Ed: Quite a few Australians like to think that this song was written by our own Ted Egan as it was from Ted that Rolf Harris got the song and turned it into a huge hit here and in the UK back in the 1960s. However it was actually written by Edward Madden in the USA back in 1903. Not sure though if his words were totally original or based on an earlier poem about the Civil War. The song, "When We Were Two Little Boys" (words by Edward Madden music by Theodore F. Morse), was recorded in 1903 by Billy Murray on Victor.

You can read all about Madden on:
http://www.dorisday.net/On_Moonlight_Bay/The_Title_Songs/the_title_songs.html
He was born in 1878 and died in Hollywood on March 10, 1952, at the age of 74. Among the many songs he wrote were the well known "By The Light Of The Silvery Moon," and "Moonlight Bay".

Here are the lyrics as written by Madden. Rolf Harris' variations are
minor and they appear here in brackets. My opinion is that it is meant
to be about the Civil War, especially with the line "out of the ranks so
blue" which I feel refers to the uniform of the North.

TWO LITTLE BOYS Lyrics by Edward Madden

Two little boys
Had two little toys,
Each had a wooden horse;
Gaily they played
Each summer's day -
Warriors both of course.
One little chap
Then had a mishap,
Broke off his horse's head;
Cried for his toy,
(Rolf: Wept for his toy)
Then cried for joy
As his young playmate said:

"Did you think I would leave you crying
When there's room on my horse for two?
Climb up here, Jack. we'll soon be flying;
(rolf: Climb up here Jack and don't be crying)
I can go just as fast with two.
When we grow up we'll both be soldiers,
And our horses will not be toys;
And I wonder if we'll remember
When we were two little boys."

Long years passed,
War came so fast;
Bravely they marched away.
Cannons roared loud
And in the mad crowd
Wounded and dying lay.
Up went a shout -
(Rolf: Up goes a shout)
A horse dashes out,
Out from the ranks so blue,
Galloped away
To where Joe lay
And then came a voice he knew:

"Did you think I would leave you dying
When there's room on my horse for two?
Climb up here, Joe, we'll soon be flying
Back to the ranks so blue.
(Rolf: I can go just as fast with two )
Do you know, Joe, I'm all a-tremble,
Perhaps it's the battle's noise;
But I think it's that I remember
When we were two little boys."


A varient to the final chorus of the song is the following verse which makes the Civil War connection even stronger and puts the boys on
different sides:

"Did you think I would leave you dying
When there's room on my horse for two?
Climb up here, Joe, we'll soon be flying
To the ranks of gray, I'll take you,
Do you know, Joe, I'm all a-tremble?
Perhaps it's the flash and the noise;
But I think it's because I remember
When we were two little boys."]

[John Low:Karen, I wish I could help you with more information about Jack Barron but alas the brief account of him that accompanied the poem in Simply Australia is all the information I have. I would love to know more and have always thought I might do some more research when I had the time. I imagine some of the histories of North Queensland would yield further information and probably the historical resources of the State Library of Queensland's John Oxley Library would be worth investigation. I'm sorry I can't be more help.]