{"id":136,"date":"2023-07-10T12:15:01","date_gmt":"2023-07-10T02:15:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wepidgeon.com\/pidgeonpost\/?p=136"},"modified":"2023-08-11T16:27:05","modified_gmt":"2023-08-11T06:27:05","slug":"war-letters-brisbane-saturday-10-july-1943","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wepidgeon.com\/pidgeonpost\/?p=136","title":{"rendered":"War Letters – NW Australia: 10 July 1943, Brisbane; Awaiting malaria test"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
“Everybody gapes at my green armbands”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Brisbane
\nSat.
\n[10 July 1943]<\/p>\n

Dear Jesso,<\/p>\n

Poor little Willie<\/p>\n

Is sitting alone<\/p>\n

I\u2019m out at a military hospital waiting for results of a malaria test.\u00a0 Everyone going north has to have a Malaria free certificate.<\/p>\n

Arrived here at 1.15 after a pleasant trip.\u00a0 When we got to ANA office in Brisbane I left my gear & reported to the Public Relations people where I had to get a further pass & have arrangements made for transport further on.\u00a0 So far as I know I\u2019m leaving Monday.<\/p>\n

Contacted Hughie Dash, Telegraph representative here.\u00a0 He took me round, got me accommodation at a PRIVATE hotel.\u00a0 When I returned to pick up the luggage \u2013 the blasted kit bag was missing.\u00a0 One of the girls seemed to think it a great joke that she had seen a soldier take it out.\u00a0 Christ! Was I mortified!\u00a0 Panic swept over me like a steamroller.\u00a0 Your heart would have bled for me.\u00a0 The manager was a little more civilized & suggested it may have been picked up by mistake.\u00a0 So he started ringing all the military folk who were on the plane.\u00a0 None of them had it.\u00a0 At 6.30 pm I staggered down to the Police & reported.\u00a0 Tottered back to the ANA & at 7 pm the bloody thing turned up!\u00a0 A RAAF driver had taken it in mistake.\u00a0 I\u2019d have got drunk if there was anything to drink in this God-damned dry joint.\u00a0 The beer here just \u2018aint!\u00a0 It\u2019s only for \u00bd hour midday and again from 4.45 pm to 5.15 pm.\u00a0 A seething screaming mob of soldiers and civilians battle grimly for a smell of what\u2019s going.\u00a0 Most of them only get a look at it.\u00a0 Hugh Dash, Ian Gall, cartoonist and Roy Connolly, (of Colin Wills wife fame) & I managed to get 4 beers & 3 rums between 2 pubs.\u00a0 Grog was then over.<\/p>\n

Brisbane is a hell of a lot busier than Sydney.\u00a0 Streets are jammed with cars and people.\u00a0 Vast vistas of squealing yanks open before the eyes.\u00a0 The place is lousy with them.\u00a0 At night the city is scarcely less infested than in day.\u00a0 S\u2019Awful!\u00a0 Everybody gapes at my green armbands \u2013 most embarrassing \u2013 one hears \u2013 \u201cBig Shots!\u201d, \u201cGeneral Staff\u201d etc.\u00a0 Mortifying!\u00a0 All the others have learnt from experience to wear inconspicuous metal badges.\u00a0 The correspondents life is not a happy one!<\/p>\n

STOP PRESS<\/p>\n

Am leaving for Darwin at tremendously early hour as appointed.\u00a0 Lots of love, be good and give me some kind thoughts \u2013 love<\/p>\n

Willie<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brisbane Sat. [10 July 1943] Dear Jesso, Poor little Willie Is sitting alone I\u2019m out at a military hospital waiting for results of a malaria test.\u00a0 Everyone going north has to have a Malaria free certificate. Arrived here at 1.15 after a pleasant trip.\u00a0 When we got to ANA office in Brisbane I left my … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “War Letters – NW Australia: 10 July 1943, Brisbane; Awaiting malaria test”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[63,62],"tags":[2198,2201,2199,2200,72,71,68,67,69,70,65,1984,73],"class_list":["post-136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-darwin-jul-sep-1943","category-war-letters","tag-80yearsago","tag-northernterritory","tag-otd","tag-topend","tag-brisbane","tag-colin-wills","tag-daily-telegraph","tag-hughie-dash","tag-ian-gall","tag-roy-connolly","tag-war-correspondent","tag-war-letters","tag-yanks"],"yoast_head":"\nWar Letters - NW Australia: 10 July 1943, Brisbane; Awaiting malaria test - Pidgeon Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I\u2019m out at a military hospital waiting for results of a malaria test.\u00a0 Everyone going north has to have a Malaria free certificate.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wepidgeon.com\/pidgeonpost\/?p=136\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"War Letters - NW Australia: 10 July 1943, Brisbane; 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