‘All the Glamour of the East’: Tilly Shelton-Smith reports from Malaya, 1941
Journal: Australian Historical Studies
Year: 2010

Abstract In 1941, the Australian Women's Weekly sent journalist Tilly Shelton-Smith to Malaya to report on the 8th Division AIF from a ‘woman's angle’. Allegations that her stories overly emphasised the recreational activities and living conditions of the troops, and implied fraternisation with local Asian women, caused uproar and ongoing resentment. This article examines the episode in the context of wartime tensions around gender, class, race and morale. The author argues that the underlying r