War Letters Archives - Page 8 of 8

July 15, 2013July 11, 2013

War Letters – Borneo: 15 July 1945, Townsville; Departing for New Guinea

Townsville

Sunday, 9.30 am,

[15 Jul 1945]

Darling,

Very hurried line to let you know that I am off to New Guinea in about 1/4 hour.

Lots of love to you and bub.

Arrived here about 11 am yesterday morning & have been staying at the Officer’s Club – am sharing the room & the trip up with Capt. Mark Miller of divorce fame. Will write you all the gossip later.

Love

Am running out of both time and ink.

Bill.

Background:

Divorce Suit in 4th Week .

SYDNEY, Monday.-When the divorce suit of a Sydney couple well-known in social circles entered its fourth week before a judge and jury in the Divorce Court to-day, it was estimated that costs had already passed the £2500 mark. Parties to the action are Captain Marcus Matthew Miller,A.I.F., son of a leading coal mine and brewery owner, and his wife, Jean Josephine Miller (nee O’Halloran),daughter of a well-known Sydney solicitor.

Miller is suing for divorce on the grounds of his wife’s adultery with Clifford Alexander, knitting mills proprietor, of Surry Hills, while his wife is cross-petitioning on the grounds of her husband’s adultery with a woman unknown and also his cruelty. Alexander is denying the allegation against him.

Source: 1945 ‘Divorce Suit in 4th Week.’, Advocate (Burnie, Tas. : 1890 – 1954), 5 June, p. 5, viewed 11 July, 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article68927076

July 13, 2013July 11, 2013

War Letters – Borneo: 13 July 1945, Brisbane; Killing time waiting for air transport

Friday 7pm

July

[13 Jul 1945]

Darling,

I have been put on the plane for Morotai tomorrow at the delightful hour of 4.15 am. No more sleep than usual I guess – am to be woken at 3.30 am. So will think I will have an early night.

As I have nowhere to leave my suit – the time at my disposal being so short I have made arrangements with the A.N.A. to take it down to Sydney. It will, in all probably go on one of tomorrows plane. Will you pick it up from their office in Martin Place and hang it up at your leisure. I have paid the freight charges.

Spent a very quiet day – dashed around the barracks this morning and saw the air movements officer who informed me at 5 pm that I was to go tomorrow’s machine. Staggered up to the Art Gallery this afternoon & gave it the once over. Came back to the club & had a shut eye for boredom’s sake. Bought a book on Gardening which you will find in the kit bag where you will find my suit. I have just discovered I forgot to include my shoes. So they’ll have to go to the tropics and back. Had tea alone at a chow café. Will go to bed shortly. Had a fast trip up from Sydney – took only 2 1/2 hours which is extra good. Strangely enough it is quite cold in Brisbane at the moment so I’m hanging on to my overcoat.

Lots of love, darling and give my little man a good hug for me.

Bill.

Will write you from my next overnight port of call.

July 11, 2013August 11, 2023

War Letters – Borneo: 25 June 1945, Sydney; Request for permission to travel

Brigadier J. Rassmussen,

Director General Public Relations,

L.H.Q.,

MELBOURNE. VICTORIA.

June 25, 1945

Dear Brigadier Rassmussen,

We are anxious to send our artist, W.E. Pidgeon – (Wep), to Borneo to do a series of paintings and black and white pictures for us.

Wep went to New Guinea for us and produced a number of pictures which we published in our issue of June 10, 1944. In January of this year he went to Morotai under the auspices of the R.A.A.F. and the results of his work appeared in our special R.A.A.F. issue on April 21, 1945.

I should be glad if you would let me know as soon as possible whether we have your permission to send him. I understand he has had all the necessary inoculations.

Yours faithfully,

Kenneth Wilkinson.

Acting Editor.

January 20, 2010July 11, 2013

War Letters Back Home – from Northern Australia, Papua New Guinea, Morotai and Borneo

During WW2, William Edwin Pidgeon (Wep) was a War Correspondent for The Australian Women’s Weekly. Between 1943 and 1945, Bill was attached to the Australian troops in Northern Australia, Papua New Guinea, Borneo and Morotai where he was situated when hostilities ceased in August 1945. In his work he recorded the daily lives of the men, women and natives around the camps, field hospitals, race meetings, church parades and some famous battle scenes. As a participant in their lives he drew and painted his subjects with a marked sense of involvement and an unmistakably Australian feeling of casualness. There is no straining after effect in his compositions, which are almost always of groups of figures in their appropriate settings. Their style is quite opposite to the style of the official war artist’s portrayal of troops in heroic action. The paintings are usually small in size, with a limited colour palette and restricted by what material was available on the run.

The following is a collection of letters to his wife, Jess, during these trips; letters composed in similar vein to his painting, yet full of visual verbal description describing life amongst the troops complete with illustrations scattered throughout.