An open letter to members of the Turpin, Regan and Blair families

My name is Shannon Meyerkort and I am a writer, currently researching and writing a novel set here in Perth just prior to WW1. The reason why I am contacting you, is that you may be related to one of the people who have inspired my story, and I am writing as a courtesy and also to try and make connections with the families of the people whose stories have motivated me to write.

Firstly, it’s important that I stress that the novel I am writing is fictional. It is not an autobiography although I aim for it to be historically accurate. However it is inspired by three people:

Doris Isabelle TURPIN (1873-1968) of Daglish, WA

John REGAN (1895-1915) of Jarrahdale, WA

Walter Bell BLAIR of Murwillumbah NSW/Maddington WA (1893-1915)

All three were students at the Claremont Training College around the period 1912-1914, which was the teacher training college of Perth at the time, and is now part of the University of WA.

I began researching Doris as she was the original owner of my house in Daglish. After making contact with her niece in 2014, I discovered that Doris (who had died a spinster at the age of 75) had a sweetheart who was a teacher, but he had died in WW1.

It was the question of who this man might be, although no one living could possibly know who he was, that led me to research fellow students at the College. Both John and Walter attended the College at the same time as Doris, and sadly, both men lost their lives in the early days of WW1. There is no way of knowing who Doris’s sweetheart really was, but as a writer I wanted to find the stories of men who could have been. Therefore, some aspects of both John and Walter’s stories (which I have been able to discover via sites such as Trove and ancestry.com) have informed the characters in my novel.

Neither Doris, nor John nor Walter ever married and had children, but they all had siblings and most likely have a large extended family still living here in Perth. I am trying to reach out to people who may be related, and this is why I have written this letter. With dozens and dozens of Turpins, Blairs and Regans listed in the white pages, it isn’t possible for me to contact everyone individually, and I am hoping this letter eventually reaches the right people, perhaps someone knows someone who knows someone.

I am not asking you for anything, but I just wanted to let you know about the story I am writing. It is obviously much larger than just Doris, Walter and John – as there were many thousands of men who lives were cut short by WW1 and many thousands of women back home, whose lives were irrevocably changed by the death of their sweethearts and husbands. I hope to do justice to their memories and am very happy to share the information I have discovered about them as a result of my research.

If you would like any further information please do not hesitate to contact me at meyerkortshannon@gmail.com

Sincerely

Shannon Meyerkort