Ben Carlin was born in Western Australia in 1912. He served during World War II with the
Royal Indian Engineers, and while awaiting demobilization Carlin came across a decommissioned
Ford GPA (an amphibious Jeep). He was sure that "with a bit of titivation you could go around the world in one of these things."
Ben Carlin traveled to the United States after the war and
purchased a Ford GPA from a military surplus auction. He and his wife Elinore set sail from Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1948. The voyage was
riddled with problems, both structural and marital. Elinore struggled with seasickness (and possibly Carlin's temper), and decided to call it quits when they reached Calcutta in 1954. She filed for divorce upon her return the United States, but Carlin pressed on.
Fellow Australian Barry Hanley
agreed to accompany Ben from Rangoon through Burma and up to Vietnam. This leg of the journey was also harrowing due to Burma
(Myanmar?)'s swampy conditions.
Upon reaching Japan, Hanley took a job and ceased traveling with Carlin, who was then joined by American
sexpert and author
Boyé de Mente. Together, they
completed the trip back to to Montreal in 1958, ten years after setting "sail" with Elinore.
Ben Carlin died of a heart attack in 1981, and
bequeathed his assets to Guilford Grammar School in Western Australia, which he attended as a child. The Half-Safe is
on permanent display there, a great source of pride. His assets, and the proceeds from his book
Half-Safe have gone toward the Charlotte
(his mother) Carlin Sholarship, “
for the proficiency of the English language with the avoidance of clichés.”
posted by ob1quixote at 12:16 PM on December 24, 2012