W.E. Pidgeon
Morotai
Tuesday morning, 15th July 45 [17 Jul 1945]
Dear Jess,
You might be pleased to see that I have got this far without bother. We landed here about 3 pm yesterday after flying since dawn. Capt. Mark Miller & I had a few beers before lunch at the Townsville Officer’s Club on Saturday. It was over these beers that I came to remark that I had met Rod through the instrumentality of Grace Bowers. Talking along in a generalised way we came to mention Alsatians of which he has two. I then remarked that during a period of requited love I had also bought a hound to help me & my bruised heart. Said that I used to take said hound down to Bondi. He said he remembered the green Chrysler the dog and the attractive girl. Complement to you my treasure, for he didn’t know then that I later swept you off your feet.
We retired to the bedroom after lunch & he produced a bottle of Scotch & we proceeded to give it a gentle nudge. Just sufficient for him to be opened up on the divorce case. Apparently his wife did her block completely over Alexander & had no compunction about leaving her two young boys for his sake. Miller says that Alexander was considerably cooler in his approach to her. What I mean is that he had no intentions of anything but a good time. Miller reckons that the costs were about £9,800 of which he seems to think that he will be let in for his wife’s share – about £4,000. Miller seems an amiable enough fellow to me. A big man – & rather like Frank Packer to look at. Not intellectual but with plenty of intelligence towards the practical side of life. He began as a private & is now a Capt. Has done 5 years in the army is extremely proud of his kids & was so of his wife. His importance to us lies in the fact that he controls the British Brewery end of Miller’s interests. We got along very well.
We left Townsville as you know on Sunday morning & spent the night at Merauke on the southern side of Dutch New Guinea. As we arrived at dusk & left at dawn I can’t tell you what the place looked like. Coming over the ranges in New Guinea the pilot had to take the plane to 20000 ft. Boy was it cold! Ice was flying off the propellers & in places you could scratch frost off the inside of the plane. The oxygen apparatus wasn’t working for the interior of the plane. It is amazing how short of breath you become. You gasp like a blinking fish out of water. Your knees sag if you stand. I thought a 1/4 lb. block of chocolate would provide me with some energy but it only made me sick. I felt lousy. Picked up a bit on the way down to Biak where we refueled & took off on the 4 hours flight to this island. The weather was stinking & we flew at 600 ft through squalls & rain nearly all the way. There’ll be another hop like that to Tarakan in a day or so. It is raining here and is pretty cool. The cold weather has followed me all the way. This camp is one of the best – or I should say the best I have been in. Being a headquarters sought of do one might expect this to be so. Banana palms all in between the tents, good food & 2 bottles of beer a week. Not many cigarettes which are also rationed. I wish I had brought my old boots these are taking time breaking in. My feet feel rather like those of gouty diver. My elegant apparel is, I am a sure a joy to behold. As everybody here seems to have clothes of their own there is no occasion to into sharing my pants and my shirt. Damn the rain too. It makes much mud to stick to the corny foot!
I’m sick of sitting around so I’ll take a walk – corns, snuffles, out of focus eye, rain and all! Come what may! It shall scatter the cobwebs which spread a dusty net across my thoughts.
In the course of my work the very obliging Captain who runs this here part of the doings took me over to the O.M. store where I trade my wretched Vic. Barracks sack cloths for a shirt which fits & a pair of beautiful eau-de-ville pants with herringbone pattern. They are the same size but look considerably daintier & command much approval from my aesthetic eye. The general effect is now rather sweet than otherwise.
Soon it will be time for me totter over for the morning cuppa. Before breakfast the Batman arrives with hot coffee & hot water for the shave. What’s this for roughing it.
I have taken up the profuse sweating where I left it off in January last.
Well, lots of love to you & that young man. Will write in all probability again from here before I leave for Balik Papan.
Love,
Bill
This is supplementary news, or lack of it
Afternoon about 3 pm
Have had lunch out – with Major Cheong who runs the army newspaper and who is the chappie that drove me down from Atherton to Townsville. The weather at the moment is really wonderful & it finds your old man seated before his tent, basking semi nude in the sun – & sweating merrily whilst a nice cool breeze from the sea just a hundred yards off makes gentle passes at his back. Bananas to the left, bananas to the right, vines, ferns, paw paws & trees just behind the canvass – this is the real tropic life. A bird squeaks intermittently and some sort of droning insect keeps forever on a high pitched drone. What a life! Have been down on the strip but none of the crowd I met in January remain on the island. I dare say I shall contact them at Tarakan. Heard all the latest on “Tige’s ” bag snatching husband. Appears he was the menace of the north. Brace and bitted his eyes into every bedroom within sight. Acquired no end of valuable commodities and generally behaved like a very queer duck. It seems that it is just as well that we never invited him home. We may not have had much left by now. Am waiting on afternoon tea. I find it is on – farewell me while I eat. The tea arrives. This is a blessing as I am getting really too hot out in the sun. Must have lost a pound at least today. Am feeling better now than I have done for weeks so cheer up when considering my health. Lots of love again & will write again soon, very soon.