\n[28 Jan 1944]<\/p>\n
Darling,<\/p>\n
We have another lamp \u2013 scrounged from the same poor simple soul from whom we borrowed the remains of last night\u2019s signal lamp.<\/p>\n
Roy sits opposite writing his new sweetie (brunette & beautiful and with husband in internment camp) and punctuating the oppressing stillness of the night with requests regarding the correctitude of his spelling.\u00a0 The old garrulity with less physical actions.\u00a0 He writes like he talks \u2013 it pours out of him, pages flash past on the blink of an eye.<\/p>\n
I haven\u2019t had a clean shirt on since I hit Finschhafen.\u00a0 The one I wear at present has the odour & appearance of a tarpaulin from one of Gearin O\u2019Riordan\u2019s trucks.\u00a0 The other is still wet from its rinsing in a creek down by the beach.\u00a0 Although I am as pleasant a little nosegay as one would find in many a week.\u00a0 A European Gorgonzola would walk away from me with a peg on its snout.<\/p>\n
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Now that the lamp is here I find myself regretting not having brought that New Testament with me as with its kindly simplicity I could have killed a few hours before sealing myself up in the meat safe up yonder bank.<\/p>\n
You have guessed, I hope my uninspiring letters are due to the overwhelming enervation of the tropics plus the lack of comfort in the tent.\u00a0 I\u2019m sitting on an oil drum with grinds of flesh off my behind, my eyes are full of coral dust \u2013 I\u2019m due to start turning yellow from surfeit of Atabrin tablets (to suppress malarial infection) from neglect of taking salt tablets which they say are necessary to counteract the excessive loss of bodily salt in sweat, and God knows what else. The half if me that is alive is tolerably happy.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know particularly what to draw as under the present conditions camp life is practically synonymous with that in the N.T. Make it all green & the jobs done.<\/p>\n
Went about 8 miles down the Road this afternoon1<\/a><\/sup>Most likely this was to Sattelburg where Wep sketched VC winner, Sgt, Tom (Diver) Derrick who won his VC at the Battle of Sattelburg. Battle of Sattelberg. (2024, January 16). Retrieved from https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Battle_of_Sattelberg <\/span> \u2013 hitch hiked in half a dozen different trucks.\u00a0 May just have well flown as I was in the air at least half the time.<\/p>\n I forgot to give you a rough idea of what I look like in jungle green & American garters.\u00a0 Of course the Japs just flee squealing for the son of Heaven at such an apparition.<\/p>\n In front of me is a picture reconstruction of a beach landing for official War Artist Cpt R C Hodgkinson Military History Section.<\/p>\n The light is going out for want of kerosene.\u00a0 Bugger me \u2013 this is the sort of thing that slays one!\u00a0 I can just see you now.\u00a0 Everything is going black \u2013 it\u2019s quite black now.<\/p>\n Later \u2013 we have managed to get some more kerosene, whacko the diddle-o!\u00a0 I\u2019m not smelling any better – even the skunks are moving out.\u00a0 I don\u2019t\u2019 mind that so much but I seem to be bringing in the flies.\u00a0 Soon I shall thwart them in my little meat safe.<\/p>\n![\"4\"](\"http:\/\/wepidgeon.com\/pidgeonpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/4.jpg\")
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